CITIESTOBE PHOTO AWARD 26. Guidelines & Legal Bases

1. ABOUT THE AWARD
The CitiesToBe Photo Award is an international photography competition focused on urban complexity, organized by CitiesToBe - the urban think lab by Anteverti.

Each edition of the award is structured around a specific curatorial theme that invites photographers to explore key questions shaping contemporary urban life. The 2026 edition focuses on "Third Places" - the shared spaces where everyday urban life unfolds beyond the domestic and the productive realms.

Created in 2019, the award stems from a shared belief: that artistic practices - and photography in particular - are powerful tools to understand, question and reimagine contemporary urban life. Over its previous editions, the award has built a growing visual archive that reflects the complexity, tensions, and possibilities of cities today.

The 2026 edition marks a new step in this trajectory, shifting its focus from single images to photographic series, and reinforcing its commitment to supporting authors working on long-term visual narratives about urban complexity.

2. CURATORIAL FRAMEWORK - 2026 EDITION
The Role of Third Places: The Contemporary City Beyond Home, Productivity, and Algorithms
In 1989, in The Great Good Place, urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg introduced the notion of the "third place": spaces of informal, open, and egalitarian social interaction that are neither home nor workplace. These are the settings where the encounters and experiences that make urban life fascinating, inspiring and enriching take place - where the unexpected, the unplanned, and the accidental unfold. Where routine is disrupted and the urban experience expands.

From the ancient Greek agora to theatres, parks, bars, libraries, squares, and cafés, third places have long embodied this condition. They are spaces that have enabled the exchange of knowledge and opinions - from culture to cuisine, from gossip to scientific theory - while fostering conversation, attentive listening and the discovery of difference. They are spaces where we encounter what is not like us, where empathy, tolerance and coexistence are practiced. Places of inclusion, community, belonging and participation in shared urban life. Places, ultimately, of democracy.

Yet in an era of hyper-digitalized relationships, where algorithms guide us through the city - curating places, filtering experiences, and segmenting the conversations we are exposed to - these spaces face new questions. In a turbulent global context marked by conflict, polarization, and growing pressure on collective spaces and shared understanding, what role do third places still play in our cities? Is there still room for them? Are we willing to keep sharing them? What forms might they take in the future? Will they hybridize, or will there be a renewed desire for the archetypal openness of the ancient public square?

The CitiesToBe Photo Award 26 - the third edition of Anteverti's international photography competition on urban complexity - focuses precisely on this: the role of third places in the contemporary city.

3. PARTICIPANTS & ELIGIBILITY
The CitiesToBe Photo Award 2026 is open to:

• Artists and collectives of any nationality, regardless of place of residence
• Participants must be 18 years or older
• Projects may be individual or collective
• Each artist or collective may submit one project only
• Participants must hold the copyright and exhibition rights for the submitted work

Additional requirements:

• All submitted images must have been shot after January 1st, 2024
• Projects must be clearly linked to the theme "Third Places"

Employees of Anteverti / CitiesToBe and Jury members are not eligible to participate.

4. WORKS TO BE SUBMITTED

Format: Photographic Series / Projects
The CitiesToBe Photo Award 2026 focuses exclusively on photographic series or projects.

• Each submission must consist of a series of 10 to 20 images
• The images must form a coherent photographic project
• Only one project per participant is allowed
• The project must be related to the theme "Third Places"

Medium

• All works must be lens-based photography.

• AI-generated or synthetic images are not allowed.

• Standard photographic editing and post-production are permitted

5. PRIZES & DISSEMINATION
The CitiesToBe Photo Award 2026 understands the prize as a combination of economic recognition, acquisition and visibility.

Awards

• 1 Winning Project: Prize of €1,500

• 5 Finalist Projects: Prize of €500 each

Acquisition
The winner and finalists grant Anteverti the rights to print one (1) photograph from each awarded series, selected by Anteverti. The production costs of these prints will be fully covered by Anteverti. The printed photographs will become part of Anteverti's private urban photography collection.

Dissemination
The awarded projects will receive dedicated visibility through CitiesToBe platforms:

• Publication as photo essays on citiestobe.com
• Editorial content aimed at highlighting the authors and their work
• Dissemination through digital communication channels (Instagram, Linkedin, Newsletter)

Additional Promotion
CitiesToBe and Anteverti may further promote the awarded and submitted works through exhibitions, publications, or communication materials, always ensuring proper credit to the authors.

6. SUBMISSION PROCESS
Projects must be submitted through the official platform PICTER, at site.picter.com/citiestobe-photo-award-26. Participants will be required to provide:

Personal Information

• Name and surname

• Country

• Email

• Short bio

• Website / portfolio link

Project Information

• Project title

• Project statement

• Location(s)

• Year(s) of production

• Confirmation of authorship and rights

7. IMAGE FORMAT

• Images must be submitted in JPG format

• Technical specifications will be detailed on the submission platform

• Shortlisted participants may be required to submit high-resolution files

8. JURY

The Jury will be composed of professionals from photography, visual culture, and urban thought.

• Roger Grasas, Photographer and Visual Artist
• Arianna Rinaldo, Independent Curator and Lecturer
• Cristina Garrido: Co-founder of CitiesToBe & CEO Anteverti
• Pilar Conesa: Co-founder of CitiesToBe, President of Anteverti and Curator of the Smart City Expo World Congress
• Sergio García i Rodríguez, Editor-in-Chief of CitiesToBe & Head of Communications and Place Narratives of Anteverti

Evaluation Criteria

• Artistic quality

• Conceptual strength

• Coherence of the series

• Relevance to the curatorial framework ("Third Places")

• Engagement with urban complexity

9. TIMELINE

• June 22, 2026 - Call opens

• September 30, 2026 - Deadline

• November 2026 - Announcement of winner and finalists

10. RIGHTS & LEGAL TERMS

• Authors retain full copyright of their work

• Participants guarantee they hold all necessary rights

By submitting, participants grant CitiesToBe and Anteverti the right to:

• Use images for promotion of the award
• Disseminate and communicate the works
• Exhibit and publish them within the framework of the award

Additional Conditions

• The organization will not transfer images or personal data to third parties for commercial purposes.

• The winner and finalists grant Anteverti the rights to print one (1) photograph from each awarded series, selected by Anteverti.

• Awarded authors agree to collaborate in eventual exhibition and editorial production

• All uses will include proper credit

Legal Framework
These guidelines are governed by Spanish law. In case of discrepancy, the English version will prevail.

11. FINAL PROVISIONS

Participation implies full acceptance of these guidelines.

Anteverti reserves the right to:

• Modify these rules
• Cancel or adapt the award if necessary

For inquiries: citiestobe@anteverti.com