Filter Photo - "Field Notes from the Middle" Call for Entries

Filter Photo invites photographers making work about the Midwest to submit to Field Notes from the Middle, an inaugural juried exhibition. This call is open to photography, photographic materials, and other lens-based artwork that engages with the region.

Juror Nathaniel M. Stein, Curator of Photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum, will select five artists to each exhibit 5–7 works from a single body of work. As a survey of contemporary photography across the Midwest, the exhibition embraces a broad understanding of the medium and the many ways artists are engaging with photographic practices today.

Artists making work in the following Midwestern states are eligible to apply: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Each of the exhibiting artists will be eligible for the 2026 Filter Photo Museum Purchase Award of $2,000, with the selected work acquired by the Cincinnati Art Museum for its permanent collection.