Organizer Information
Solas / Shadow is an online international photography gallery dedicated to showcasing the work of contemporary image-makers through engaging, thoughtfully curated exhibitions. Backed by over 10 years of experience in lens-based media and arts curation, the platform operates on the belief that powerful photography thrives beyond traditional institutional gatekeeping. The gallery is deeply committed to supporting emerging and underrepresented photographers while remaining entirely open to artists at all stages of their practice. Conceptually, its exhibitions explore the fluid dialogue between light and darkness, presence and absence, and the seen versus the unseen, creating a collaborative, inclusive global community.
Title & Description
Focus / Expand: Call for Entries
Solas / Shadow Gallery has officially launched its open call for Focus / Expand, a conceptual group exhibition exploring the thematic polarity between targeting minute details and expanding outward to view the larger picture. The exhibition invites photographers to reflect on the mechanics of perception, scale, intimacy, distance, and isolation. Submissions should consider how humans choose what to see, what remains overlooked, and how a swift shift in perspective can fundamentally alter our understanding of places, objects, identities, and personal narratives. The theme further queries how these visual shifts mirror contemporary local and global issues, giving creators complete freedom to investigate one or both aspects of the prompt.
Categories
The open call is strictly focused on Contemporary Photography and Lens-Based Art across all technical, stylistic, and conceptual genres.
Eligibility
- Geographic Scope: Open unconditionally to national and international photographers residing worldwide.
- Age Limit: Entrants must be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission.
- Practice Level: Welcomes creators at all stages of their career, from self-taught amateurs and emerging students to established professionals.
Program Benefits & Awards
Selected artists will receive broad international visibility through a multi-platform digital rollout:
- Global Gallery Exhibition: Works will be showcased in a professionally designed and curated online group exhibition on the official gallery website.
- Catalog Publication: Selected pieces will be published in a dedicated, high-quality Exhibition Catalogue, distributed both digitally as a PDF and via a physical print edition.
- Video Presentation: Artworks will be featured in a custom exhibition showcase video broadcast on the gallery's official YouTube channel.
- Social Media Promotion: Dedicated artist profile spotlights across the gallery's social media platforms.
- Institutional Recognition: Grantees will receive an official digital certificate of participation.
Application Fee
- Submission Cost: Free to submit. There are no initial entry fees or portfolio assessment charges.
- Participation Fee: Artists who are officially selected to join the final exhibition contribute a tiered layout and administrative fee based on the volume of accepted works:
- For 1 Selected Image: £16
- For 2 or More Selected Images: £22
Application Requirements
Photographers may submit up to 5 individual images for evaluation. Files must strictly align with the following specifications:
- Technical Format: All images must be delivered in JPG format.
- File Naming Protocol: Files must be labeled using the artist's name (e.g., Ann-Smith1.jpg, Ann-Smith2.jpg) to ensure seamless tracking.
- Email Body Information: The submission message must include the artist's full name and surname, location and/or nationality, direct links to their website or active social media channels, titles for the images (if applicable), and a concise short biography limited to a couple of sentences.
How to Apply
To enter, compile your technical metadata and email your portfolio files using reliable digital file transfer platforms such as Smash, WeTransfer, or Swiss Transfer.
- Application Submission Email: submissions@solas-shadowgallery.com
Location
This is a virtual opportunity. Portfolio intake, jury review blocks, digital catalog design, and final gallery layouts take place entirely Online.
Additional Details
Artists permanently retain 100% of the underlying copyright to their submitted creative works. By participating, selected artists grant Solas / Shadow Gallery a non-exclusive permission license to reproduce, display, and distribute their submitted imagery for the explicit purpose of promoting the exhibition across the gallery website, YouTube streams, social media updates, and all physical or digital marketing materials and catalog publications.