Decagon Gallery
“A mans manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait.”
― Goethe
This Is a Person
The life you can’t see.
Submission Deadline: May 3, 2026
Online Exhibition: May 20 – July 20, 2026
Curated by TBD
Location:
Decagon Gallery —Online | Global Audience
Deadline: April 30
Call For Entry:
THIS IS A PERSON
The life you can’t see.
Every face carries a life that cannot be summarized. What remains on the surface is only what time has chosen to leave — traces of love, endurance, tenderness, becoming.
In this open call, we focus on the human face as portrait — not as an image, not as a performance, but as a surface that remembers life.
Faces don’t simply express emotion — they store it. Memory pressed into skin. Time held in a gaze. Presence shaped by lived experience.
We are not looking for performance, shock, or spectacle. We are looking for presence — portraits that feel emotionally honest, whether they hold joy, tenderness, longing, calm, vulnerability, strength, or quiet happiness.
This call welcomes portrait photography that approaches the face as a human space, not a visual object. Portraits that allow emotion to exist without explanation. Portraits that feel like touching someone’s inner world without naming it.
Open to photographers worldwide.
All portrait approaches are welcome: black and white, color, analog, digital, conceptual, documentary or experimental work.
Awards
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First Place: $500
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Second Place: $250
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Third Place: $150
Curatorial Recognitions
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Director’s Choice: $50
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Human Presence: $50
This is not about faces as objects.
This is about people.
About the lives we don’t immediately see — but somehow feel.
Who Should Submit
This call is for photographers who approach portraiture as an act of attention, not extraction.
You should submit if your work is grounded in observation, restraint, and emotional clarity—if you are interested in what remains rather than what performs.
It is well suited to photographers who work slowly, who allow time, trust, and proximity to shape the image. Artists whose photographs emerge from real encounters—whether intimate or distant—but carry a sense of human presence that cannot be simply an expression or pose.
If your photographs respect the subject as a person rather than an image, this exhibition is intended for your work.
Submission Details
Entry Fees
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$10 for one image or $25 for four images
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$5 for each additional image (entries 5–8)
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Two additional free entries (entries 9–10) when the first eight are submitted
How to Prepare Your Files
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JPEG or JPG only
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Minimum 2100 px on the longest side
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Max file size: 4 MB
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Name each file:
"FirstName-LastName_title.jpg"
What You Will Receive
Professional Curatorial Engagement
Every selected image will receive thoughtful curatorial notes that speak to your vision and approach — a rare opportunity for meaningful feedback.
Global Visibility & Promotion
Selected work will be featured in our online exhibition, exhibition catalog (print + digital), and showcased via Decagon’s newsletters, press channels, and social platforms — reaching audiences across continents.
Cash Awards & Solo Exhibition
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First Place: $500 plus a solo online exhibition
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Second Place: $250
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Third Place: $150
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Director's Choice: $50
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Human Presence: $50
Key Dates
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Deadline: May 3
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Notification of Acceptance: May 20
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Exhibition Launch: May 20— July 20
Cash Awards will be paid via PayPal, Venmo, MoneyGram or check, and can not be sent to any country under US sanctions.
Submit Here
