Kuala Lumpur Photography Award - Autoportrait 2026 Portrait Prize "Play"

• Kuala Lumpur Portrait Award

• Deadline: November 25th, 2027

• Category: Autoportrait

• Prize: €1,000 + Exhibitions in Malaysia and UK

• Entry Fees: Yes (Free for Students)

• REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE

KLPA presents the third interim edition of the AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call, inviting photographers and visual artists to explore the creative possibilities of self-portraiture through the theme of PLAY. For this edition, KLPA is collaborating with the FORMAT International Photography Festival, incorporating PLAY, the central theme of FORMAT27, into an open call dedicated to experimentation, imagination, and the evolving language of photography.

Since its earliest beginnings, photography has developed through curiosity, exploration, and the willingness to experiment with unfamiliar techniques and ideas. From Nicéphore Niépce’s pioneering photographic image to the development of albumen prints, photograms, cyanotypes, and collage, the history of the medium demonstrates how discovery often emerges through playful experimentation. The process of making photographs has always involved testing possibilities, challenging established methods, and finding new ways to represent the world around us.

Self-portraiture naturally embodies this spirit of exploration. Beyond simply recording one's appearance, it offers an opportunity to investigate identity, perception, performance, and the relationship between the photographer and the image. PLAY can take many forms within this process: it may be joyful, curious, provocative, mischievous, imaginative, spontaneous, experimental, or deliberately disruptive. Artists are encouraged to consider a broad range of interpretations, from playing with the camera and photographic techniques to questioning the boundaries between truth and fiction, exploring emerging technologies, documenting play as an activity, or examining its social and political significance. The theme may also address sport, freedom, creativity, and the consequences of play being restricted or denied.

Selected winners and finalists will have their work presented through projection or a special screening as part of the FORMAT27 festival in Derby, United Kingdom, running from 11 March to 11 April 2027. The open call offers photographers an opportunity to share their personal perspectives on self-representation and contribute to an international celebration of photographic experimentation.