Personality: The Face and Its Absence

PH21 Gallery is a curatorial gallery operating from Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. "Personality: The Face and Its Absence" is the gallery's themed call inviting photographers to explore personality and portraiture beyond traditional facial depiction — through the body, objects, spaces, traces, absence, or symbolic association.

All creative photographic interpretations are welcome, from traditional portraits and selfies to photomontages and AI-generated photo-based images. The brief favors work in which personality surfaces by indirect means as readily as by the face itself.

The 2026 exhibition runs August 22 through September 15, 2026 at PH21's Barcelona gallery in the Gothic Quarter. The Curator's Choice winner receives three free entries for future PH21 themed group exhibition calls (up to 15 images each); honorable mentions are also recognized.

Selection is by curators Zsolt Bátori (PhD, founder and director of PH21 Gallery, Photolucida board member) and Borbála Jász (art historian, Photolucida juror). Acceptance is competitive — curators have final selection authority.

Entry fees are tiered. Standard rates run €25–€45 for 3 to 15 photos at early bird (closing June 15, 2026), rising to €30–€50 at final deadline (June 22, 2026). Discounted rates of €15 (early bird) or €20 (final) are available for students, unwaged persons, and applicants from low-income economies. A series may contain up to 5 photographs. Submissions are made by email. Eligibility is open globally to photographers 18 and over.