Decagon Gallery - "Self" International Photography Contest 2026

• Decagon Gallery

• Deadline: November 17th, 2026

• Theme: Self

• Prize: $1,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition

• Entry Fees: Yes

• REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE

What happens when the camera stops looking outward and begins to look back at us? SELF explores self-portraiture as an act of discovery rather than self-display — a way of asking difficult questions, confronting personal experiences, and making visible parts of ourselves that are often difficult to express.

This exhibition is not interested in polished images created simply to present an ideal version of the self. We are looking for photographs that feel personal, vulnerable, and honest. The work may be uncomfortable or beautiful, quiet or confronting, carefully staged or completely spontaneous. What matters is the reason behind the image: a need to understand something, to remember, to grieve, to change, to question, or simply to face oneself.

A self-portrait can be much more than a photograph of a face or body. It can become a record of a particular moment in a person's life, a response to an experience, or an attempt to give physical form to something internal. The camera can become a mirror, but it can also become a witness and a confessional. In front of it, the photographer controls both sides of the encounter — deciding what to reveal, what to conceal, and how much of themselves they are willing to place in view.

We welcome photographs and photographic series that explore the many dimensions of personal experience, including identity, aging, illness, grief, joy, gender, memory, loneliness, family, transformation, and the body. We are open to all visual approaches, from constructed and highly conceptual work to direct, intimate, and documentary-style self-portraits.

Ultimately, SELF is about more than seeing oneself. It is about the courage to look closely. We want to see work that carries emotional stakes — images created because the artist needed to confront something within themselves, and was willing to let that private encounter become visible to others.