IMPORTANT: Do not pay until all projects are uploaded. To enter additional projects click “Add Another Project”. To enter the Photo-Book category, add at least one image to your photo book project. This can be the cover, a product shot of the book dummy or some images of the book.

What do you win?

All Submitting photographers will benefit from:

• Submission review by Photo Industry Professionals
• Opportunities for Immediate Exposure (e.g. across festival / partner social networks and websites)

Between 20 and 40 photographers / artists will benefit from:

• awards and cash prizes (See Awards listed below)
• having their work produced for exhibition (At no cost to the photographer / artist)
• exhibition exposure in the Festival’s main city centre gallery
• inclusion in the special Festival issue of Abridged Magazine
• longer term Festival representation and promotion
• exhibition alongside some of the biggest photographic names as part of the major photographic event
• publication and inclusion in the Festival programme
• inclusion in the Festivals award winning marketing & PR campaign, which has an estimated reach of 30+ million people
• international press exposure
• being seen by over 80,000 people, including a substantial number of visual arts professionals and the media
• dedicated feature on the Festival website and online gallery
• opportunities offered for exhibition and publication through festival partners
• £20 reduction off the 2023 Belfast Photo Festival International Portfolio Review fee

Applicants will have their work viewed by an international panel of highly influential experts in the field of photography, plus have the opportunity to win awards and a significant cash prize.

Spotlight Award - £2,000 (est $2,712 / €2,321)

Aesthetica Editorial Award -- Full editorial presentation in an upcoming digital / printed issue of Aesthetica international art and culture magazine

One Years Free RPS Membership - Free membership for one year to the prestigious Royal Photographic Society

Abridged Editorial Award - Presentation in a special Festival issue of Abridged Magazine

All winners will have their work produced by the Festival for exhibition in the main Festival gallery.

Competition Description

Having helped to launch so many photographers careers, the Open Submission of the international Belfast Photo Festival is back with more opportunities than ever before.

Being described as “One of the best photography festivals in the world,” (Capture Magazine) the biennial Belfast Photo Festival provides a perfect platform for gaining exposure to an international audience, with previous editions having welcomed over 150,000 visitors from all over the world.

Belfast Photo Festival is offering artist’s / photographers the opportunity to exhibit their work in the main Festival gallery alongside some of the biggest names in the field, and have their work taken on tour to be exhibited at the 2024 Photo Schweiz (Zurich, Switzerland), with a number also having the opportunity to be featured in the arts magazine Abridged. The winners will be eligible for a number of awards, including a cash prize of £2,000 (est $2,712 / €2,321).

The theme has been left open to remove any restrictions; submissions must be photographic or lens-based but can include incorporations of other art forms with the photographic medium (i.e. performance, painting, sculpture, music, literature etc).

Individuals and collectives are welcome to apply; individuals should select and enter between 1-15 photographs from a particular project/series or body of work AND/OR submit their Photo-book for exhibition by uploading a single PDF (no image limit)

(NOTE: You can submit both a photo-book and photographs of the same project, but an individual fee will need to be paid for both. If submitting only a Photo-book and not photographs, it will be your photo-book that will be selected for presentation and not photographic prints for exhibition)

Collectives are also welcome to apply; as a collective, you can submit up to 15 photographs (a €29 submission fee will apply for every 15 images submitted)

By submitting you accept the following terms and conditions:

• You agree to supply high resolution files of your submitted photographic work for printed production and exhibition outdoors by the Festival at no cost to you (the photographer)
• If submitting photo-books, you agree to supply the photo-books for exhibition professionally printed and bound.
• If required, insure the requested photo-books are suitably packaged and reach the Belfast Photo Festival by 20th May 2023, ready for display.
• Insurance of all photo-books supplied to the Festival remain the sole responsibility of the submitting photographer
• You agree to your selected prints / photo-books being taken on tour
• You agree to being included within relevant promotional material for the Festival
• The returning of supplied photo-books to the owner after exhibition is the sole responsibility of the photographer, however the Festival will facilitate the return of all photo-books..
• Winners will be announced on the Belfast Photo Festival and Picter websites and contacted by e-mail The decision of the Jury will be final