Decagon Gallery - "The Room Next Door" International Photography Exhibition

• Decagon Gallery

• Deadline: December 15th, 2026

• Theme: The Room Next Door

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

• Entry Fees: Yes

• REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE

There is always another room just beyond our reach: a door left slightly open, a window glowing across a courtyard, a corridor disappearing around a corner, or a voice drifting through a wall. These fragments suggest the presence of another space, another story, or another life unfolding somewhere nearby. We sense that something exists beyond what we can see, yet its true nature remains unknown. It is this tension between presence and absence, visibility and uncertainty, that lies at the heart of THE ROOM NEXT DOOR.

This photographic open call invites artists to explore the boundaries of what can be seen and what must be imagined. We are looking for photographs that bring viewers to the threshold of a space without allowing them to enter it completely. These images should evoke a sense of anticipation, curiosity, or quiet unease, suggesting something beyond the frame without providing a definitive explanation. The most compelling photographs will leave room for interpretation, encouraging viewers to construct their own narratives around what remains unseen.

Rather than relying on concealment or obvious visual tricks, the mystery should emerge naturally from what the photograph chooses to reveal and what it leaves unresolved. A partially visible interior, an unexpected reflection, a distant light, or a shadow extending from an unseen source can all create a powerful sense of possibility. The image becomes an invitation to look closer, to imagine what lies beyond the visible scene, and to consider the invisible connections between spaces.

We welcome a wide range of photographic interpretations, including doorways, thresholds, windows, corridors, and reflective surfaces. Submissions may depict interiors observed from the outside, exterior environments seen from within, or glimpses of neighbouring lives separated by physical or emotional distance. We are equally interested in photographs that explore the presence of unseen sounds, the movement of light across a wall, or the shadows and traces left by something outside the viewer's field of vision.

Both documentary and conceptual approaches are encouraged, alongside experimental photography and carefully constructed or staged scenes that imagine what might exist on the other side. People may appear in the photographs, but they should not necessarily dominate the image. The central focus is the space between one place and another, between what is accessible and what remains beyond reach.

Through THE ROOM NEXT DOOR, we invite photographers to explore the poetic potential of uncertainty and the stories that emerge from incomplete views. We are interested in images that resist easy answers, transform ordinary spaces into sites of possibility, and remind us that what remains unseen can be just as powerful as what is directly in front of us.