The Crux of Visibility: Portraits, Vision, and Empathy
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Call for Entries -
Open Call: The Crux of Visibility: Portraits, Vision, and Empathy
Juried By: Shana Lopes, PhD, is an Assistant Curator of Photography at SFMOMA
Deadline for Submission: Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at Midnight PST
Notice of Acceptance: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Opening Reception (Virtual): Thursday, November 19, 2026, 12 pm – 1 pm PST on Zoom
Exhibition Run Dates (Virtual): November 19, 2026 – February 19, 2027
Description
To be seen means to be recognized. To be photographed, or captured, means to be seen in a certain way: by the photographer, the mechanical eye, the viewers of the image, and the economic and social systems in which the photograph (and its photographed subjects) will circulate and be evaluated. Portraits hold a unique form of power, and can exist in various photographic languages; from ID cards to institutional archives, from museum collections to family albums. Portraits can be instrumental or conceptual, they can convey fragmented and complex identities, or arrest all other possible meanings by offering a single interpretation to one’s face and environment.
This call is curious about the conversations and connections enabled by portraiture, suggesting that the photographer and mechanical eye can inhabit and further problematize such limitations and photographic histories or undo them by offering a view rooted in compassion and understanding. In that sense, this call suggests that the photograph can enable a dialog anchored in empathy and acceptance. This open call invites submissions for images that consider photographic portraits as a possibility for connection and unexpected encounters, whether those exist in the worlds of conceptual, documentary, digital, or candid photography.
Prizes
1st Place winner will receive $500 cash prize; 2nd Place winner will receive a $250 LACP gift card and one-year membership; 3rd Place winner will receive a $250 LACP gift card. Other artists will be selected as Honorable Mentions and will have their work shown in an online gallery, running for three months.
The Juror
Shana Lopes, PhD, is an Assistant Curator of Photography at SFMOMA. Born and raised in San Francisco, she has curated or co-curated exhibitions such as Constellations: Photographs in Dialogue, Sightlines: Photographs from the Collection, A Living for Us All: Artists and the WPA, Zanele Muholi: Eye Me, The SECA 2024 Art Award, People Make This Place: SFAI Stories, and Alejandro Cartagena: Ground Rules. Over the past fifteen years, she has gained curatorial experience at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Eligibility and Guidelines
The exhibition is open internationally to all levels. The juror will select works based on creativity, originality, and quality. LACP invites artists working in all mediums and styles with a relationship to photography to take part in the exhibition.
Please note explicitly in your image description and/or artist statement if AI was involved in the image production process for more than simple editing.
The deadline to send digital files for consideration is Tuesday, September 22, 12:00 midnight, 2026.
Acceptance Notice
The selection process will be blind. Once the juror has made selections, all entrants will receive an email from LACP with a list of images and artists selected for the show. The selected images and artists’ names will be posted on LACP’s website.
LACP is not responsible for connecting the selected artists with the juror. In addition, LACP reserves the right not to use a particular selected image(s) for promotional purposes if the image(s) is deemed inappropriate for use on LACP’s social media, newsletter feed, and/or on in any other marketing material.
Entry Details & Fee
There is no limit to the amount of images which can be submitted. If submitting more than 35 images, please repeat the payment process as necessary. Size each image 1200 pixels on the long side at 72 dpi DO NOT HAVE YOUR FIRST OR LAST NAME IN THE FILENAME. You are welcome to name the files anything you like, or to keep the original file number. NOTE: Please DO NOT watermark your images when submitting. Thank you.
$25 for 1 image ($12.50 for LACP Members)
$50 for 2-5 images ($25.00 for LACP Members)
$75 for 6-10 images ($37.50 for LACP Members)
$100 for 11-15 images ($50.00 for LACP Members)
$125 for 16-20 images ($62.50 for LACP Members)
$150 for 21-25 images ($75.00 for LACP Members)
$175 for 26-30 images ($87.50 for LACP Members)
$200 for 31-35 images ($100.00 for LACP Members)
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Liability & Agreement
Each photographer retains all copyrights to his or her images. Photographers whose submissions are chosen for the exhibition grant the Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP) the right to use their images for display on LACP’s website and for the purpose of promoting exhibitions, promoting LACP’s programs, and promoting the artist. Promotions and images may also be placed on social networks for LACP with artist credit. Artists grant the use of their image(s) as stated without further contact from LACP. The artist understands that LACP will not be held responsible for loss, theft or other damage, whether caused by the negligence of its officers, members, or others. Photographers are welcome to sell their photos during the online exhibit, with 50 percent commission to LACP. Submission of application will constitute an agreement to all these terms and conditions.
Questions? Email: info@lacphoto.org