The PHmuseum 2021 Mobile Photography Prize is now open for submissions

Send your best smartphone images for $5,000 in cash prizes, a solo show at PHmuseum Lab, and feature in our 3rd photobook exploring the phenomenon.

Send your best smartphone images for $5,000 in cash prizes, a solo show at PHmuseum Lab, and feature in our 3rd photobook exploring the phenomenon.

The PHmuseum Mobile Photography Prize is back to engage all of us in the research we started a couple of years ago to understand how mobile devices are influencing photography and the way we document. This 3rd edition's theme is Portraits - a reflection on identity, representation, and self-representation in the digital age. With part of Generation Z (born 1997-2012) and the whole Generation Alpha (2010 onwards) being the first people in human history to have full consciousness of their image and own portrayal since a very young age, we aim to explore how mobile phones and the digital environment are influencing the perception of the self and the way we live.

What does it mean “to be present” in a digital world base on representation? With this open call, we will explore such relevant questions and look for photographs that could help us document and understand this constantly evolving phenomenon. Images that can provoke new reflections to understand how the millenary human fascination for representation and self-representation is approaching this digital era.

The open call offers $5,000 in cash for the mobile photos of the year, inclusion in our third 200-image photobook on mobile photography, and feature in a physical exhibition at PHmuseum Lab in Bologna, Italy. Plus features on BuzzFeed News and C41 Magazine. To participate, you are invited to enter one or more images taken with a mobile device. You can upload photos from your desktop computer, phone gallery and Instagram library. Submissions will be reviewed by a panel comprising of Cindy Sissokho (Cultural Producer, Curator, and Writer), Alana Celii (Photo Editor, The New York Times) Cristian Rahadiansyah (Festival Director JIPFest) and Sara Urbaez (Photo Art Director, Square). The deadline is set for 17 June, while there is a reduced entry fee option until 3 June. Learn more and apply at phmuseum.com/m21.