A Guide To September 2026 Photo Awards & Open Calls

PhMuseum Women Photographers Grant, PhotoVogue Global Open Call, PhotoVogue Regional Open Call: MENA Panorama, Eidolon Grant, FORMAT27 Open Call, and VMFA Aaron Siskind Award For Photography are among the opportunities we selected this month.

PhMuseum 2026 Women Photographers Grant

Early Bird Deadline 24 September / Entry fee €25

Now in its 10th edition, the Grant aims to empower the work and careers of female and non-binary professionals of all ages and from all countries working in diverse areas of photography. The main recipients will share a total of €10,000 in cash. Additionally, MPB, Europe’s top camera reseller and partner of this edition, in collaboration with PhMuseum, will further select two projects for their Special Mention, granting a €2,500 voucher each to spend on used photo and video gear on mpb.com. Prizes also include a solo exhibition at PhMuseum Lab in Bologna, Italy, in 2027, with travel, accommodation, and production costs included.

Plus, up to 40 shortlisted works will be screened at PhotoVogue Festival 2027, in Milan, Italy, while the Vogue Italia photography department, led by Alessia Glaviano, will further select a work among all of the submissions for an online featured interview. PhMuseum's team will also select 9 photographers from all the applicants, who will be granted a 30-minute online portfolio review with a mentor of their choice from the PhMuseum Education program.

An independent jury composed of Elisa Medde (Editor, Curator and Writer), Mariela Sancari (Photographer), Yagazie Emezi (Artist & Photojournalist), and Myriam Boulos (Photographer) will also assign honorable mentions to highlight projects they took into consideration.

The submission period opens on 8 September. Learn more on PhMuseum's website.

PhotoVogue 2026 Global Open Call

Deadline 11 September / No entry fee

Under the theme Brave New Visions: Creativity as Rebellion, PhotoVogue invites photographers and video makers to respond to today's social, political, and cultural realities through original visual storytelling. Rather than illustrating a prescribed theme, the open call encourages artists to present a distinct point of view, challenging conventions, resisting indifference, and expanding the possibilities of contemporary image-making across photography, video, and multimedia.

Three artists will receive grants totaling $12,000 (€10,290): the Outstanding Vision Grant ($6,000/€5,140), the Vision Grant ($4,000/€3,430), and the Rising Voice Grant ($2,000/€1,710). Prize recipients will also be featured at the PhotoVogue Festival, with opportunities for publication across Vogue's global editions and participation in the PhotoVogue Virtual Portfolio Reviews.

Learn more on their website.

PhotoVogue 2026 Regional Open Call: MENA Panorama

Deadline 24 September / No entry fee

Rather than defining the region through a single narrative, PhotoVogue invites photographers and video makers to explore identity, belonging, social and political realities, fashion, and experimentation. The call is open to artists from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as members of the diaspora.

Three artists will receive grants totaling $8,000 (€6,860): the Outstanding Vision Grant ($4,500/€3,860), the Vision Grant ($2,000/€1,710), and the Rising Voice Grant ($1,500/€1,280). Selected artists will also be featured at the 2027 PhotoVogue Festival, have opportunities for publication across Condé Nast, and participate in PhotoVogue Virtual Portfolio Reviews.

You can apply for free until 24 September. Find out more on their website.

Eidolon Grant 2026

Deadline 30 September / No entry fee

The Eidolon Grant offers a total of €25,000 to support artists, academics, researchers, and enthusiasts exploring vernacular photography. The program seeks projects that preserve, interpret, and analyze everyday photographic practices and their cultural, historical, and social significance. For the current edition, the grant features two distinct categories – Contemporary Everyday Photographic Cultures and Everyday Photographs of the Past – with selected proposals ultimately contributing to the Eidolon Centre for Everyday Photography’s ongoing public program.

Grant recipients will be announced on 10 November, with the funding distributed among the selected projects and disbursed in coordinated installments. The jury consists of Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck, Catlin Langford, Sam Mercer, Alba Zari, and Róza Tekla Szilágyi.

Learn more on their website.

FORMAT27 Open Call

Deadline 7 September / Entry fee €27

FORMAT International Photography Festival is looking for artists, curators, and collectives to be exhibited in its 2027 biennale under the theme Play – exploring experimentation, curiosity, and creative force. All lens-based practices are welcome, including installation, moving image, performance, publications, and experimental formats. Up to five selected projects will be exhibited in Derby, UK, with prize recipients selected by a jury composed of Jean-Christophe Godet, Diane Smyth, Caroline Hunter, Alex Kahl, João Kulcsár, Jenni Grainger, Yining He, and Wang Peiquan.

Selected applicants will receive a £1,000 (€1,160) artist fee, up to £300 (€1,150) in travel reimbursement, accommodation during the opening weekend, and full production for their exhibition, alongside catalog inclusion and festival pass access. Projects are also eligible for major festival honors, including the FORMAT27 Open Call Award, the Genesis Metro Award, and international exhibition opportunities with partner festivals in China and France.

Read more on their website.

2026 VMFA Aaron Siskind Award For Photography

Deadline 2 September / No entry fee

The award provides two unrestricted $25,000 (€21,450) grants to U.S.-based photographers. Designed to honor Aaron Siskind’s artistic legacy and the former Individual Photographer's Fellowship, it supports artists at various career stages who have not yet received broad critical recognition. It specifically targets photographers developing or completing significant, long-term bodies of work – including series, photobooks, or exhibition projects – celebrating photography as a vital mode of creative expression.

The two recipients will be selected by a jury panel comprising Nicole Acheampong, Kristen Lubben, and Brian Piper.

Learn more on their website.

Prémio NARRATIVA - FUJIFILM 2026

Deadline 30 September / No entry fee

Organized by NARRATIVA and Fujifilm Portugal and open to Portugal-based photographers, the award recognizes outstanding, unpublished visual projects addressing contemporary issues. The selected prize recipient will receive a €3,500 cash prize and a solo exhibition at NARRATIVA’s gallery in Lisbon, Portugal, scheduled for January 2027. Additionally, the jury may award up to two honorable mentions, whose work will also be publicly presented at NARRATIVA

The jury is composed of Yael Martínez, Ana Rocha, and Mário Cruz.

Find out more on their website.

Prix Yzza Slaoui De La Découverte

Deadline 21 September / No entry fee

Committed to supporting emerging talent and fostering intercultural dialogue, Les Rencontres de la Photographie de Marrakech has established the Prix Yzza Slaoui de la Découverte, with the aim of discovering and supporting a Moroccan photographer whose work demonstrates a personal vision, genuine artistic quality, and strong potential for development. Created in memory of Yzza Slaoui, the award celebrates rigorous, free, and open-minded photography, reflecting the values of transmission and innovation that characterized her life and career.

The selected photographer will receive a solo exhibition or an official screening as part of Les Rencontres de la Photographie de Marrakech 2027, a €2,000 grant awarded by an international jury composed of recognized figures from the fields of photography, contemporary art, publishing, and cultural institutions, such as Abdellah Oustad, Adrian Radzyminski, Valentina Sinis, Vilma Dobilaite, Noureddine El-Warari.

Moroccan photographers can submit their work until 21 September. Read more on their website.

Cite The Past, Sight The Stars – Wigwell Lodge Residency

Deadline 6 September / No entry fee

The Photographers’ Gallery invites artists working with expanded photography and digital practices for a new residency at Wigwell Lodge, in Derbyshire, UK. It takes place from 2 February to 31 March 2027, in the context of photography’s 200th anniversary. Working in partnership with The Ampersand Foundation, applicants are encouraged to use this opportunity to test ideas, explore new methodologies and pursue speculative or research-led projects.

The residency offers two months’ accommodation and studio space, a £1000 (€1,165) stipend per month, a £1000 (€1,165) production budget, up to £500 (€580) towards travel, promotion before and throughout the residency, curatorial and administrative support from The Photographers' Gallery throughout the residency with the potential to develop into a project or commission for 2027/2028, a public presentation or showcase at The Photographers' Gallery or a partner venue at the conclusion of the residency.

Check The Photographers’ Gallery's website to learn more.

-------

Visit our awards page or download our iOS awards app to get a complete view of the best photography opportunities that are currently open for entry.