That One Photograph
Decagon Gallery
Funding
$1,000 USD total cash awards
Deadline
20 June 2026
Location
Open to all countries
About
International photography open call seeking the one image you never left behind — emotionally weighted work tied to memory, grief, intimacy, or time.
Some photographs stay with us long after we take them — not because they're technically perfect, but because they continue holding something we were never fully able to leave behind. Decagon Gallery invites photographers worldwide to submit that one image.
This is not a call for spectacle or polished craft. The gallery is looking for photographs that carry emotional weight — images tied to memory, attachment, intimacy, grief, distance, tenderness, longing, or time. The strongest submissions will feel lived rather than constructed. They may be quiet, visually restrained, or emotionally difficult to explain.
Each photographer may submit one photograph only. Along with your image, you're invited to include one short sentence — not describing what the photo shows or when it was taken, but expressing what continues to live inside it.
Awards
- First Place: $500 + solo exhibition on the Decagon Gallery website
- Second Place: $250
- Third Place: $150
- Two Honorable Mentions: $50 each
- Human Presence Nomination: free entry to a future Decagon open call
All selected photographers receive inclusion in the curated online exhibition, a dedicated exhibition page, feature on Decagon's Instagram, and inclusion in the exhibition catalogue.
Submission details
- Submit JPG files, 2100px on the long side
- No text, watermarks, borders, or frames
- File naming: FirstName-LastName_title.jpg
- All photographic styles and processes welcome
- Photographers retain full copyright
Entry fee: $15 for one entry, $5 each additional (up to 3 total)
Exhibition dates: 1 July – 1 September 2026
Notification: 28 June 2026