The 8th Chelsea International Photography Competition is the current edition of New York Art Competitions’ international photography call, focused on contemporary photographic practice and creative image-making. The competition has no fixed subject theme, allowing work to explore subjects ranging from regional cultures and travel photography to commercial imagery and photojournalism.
The competition is run by New York Art Competitions, with Agora Gallery, ARTmine, AGI Fine Art and Harlowe listed among its partners and sponsors. The 8th edition is judged by Alison Morley, Chair Emerita of the Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism Program at the International Center of Photography; photographer and director Roy Schweiger; and Sandra M. Stevenson, Deputy Director of Photography at The Washington Post.
The open-topic format gives photographers considerable freedom in choosing the work that best represents their practice. The judging process is strongly image-focused: résumés and artist statements are neither required nor encouraged at submission, while professional-category entrants may optionally provide a series description, making the competition a direct opportunity to have photographic work assessed by an experienced professional jury.
Entry fee: Amateur Photography: $45 for up to 5 images, plus $5 for each additional image; Professional Photography: $55 for 5 images, plus $5 for each additional image.
Eligibility
Open to photographers worldwide over 18 in either the amateur division, for those pursuing photography for pleasure rather than financial benefit, or the professional division, for photographers running a profitable practice and earning the majority of their income from photography; entries must be original photographs owned and authored by the entrant, collaborations of no more than two photographers are accepted, there is no creation-date limit, all submitted photographs must be available for sale, and videos plus sexually explicit, violent or racist material are excluded.
Prize
Prizes are valued at more than $55,000: 30 photographers will be selected for a New York collective exhibition, comprising 15 amateur photographers displaying one photograph each and 15 professional photographers displaying three to five photographs each; five photographers receive $500 cash prizes, one receives the Harlowe Art of Light Award with an Avant Max Creator Kit (Midnight), five receive one year of exposure on ARTmine.com, five receive one week of social media promotion during the exhibition, and 10 receive Honorable Mentions with complimentary entry to the 9th Chelsea International Photography Competition. Amateur exhibition works are printed and mounted by the organizer, while professional exhibition recipients are responsible for printing, framing or mounting, shipping and transit insurance.