PhotoArtDoc 2026 Open Call — State of Transition

PhotoArtDoc is a festival at the intersection of documentary and art photography, organized by the Belarusian Independent Photographic Association (founded 2023). The annual open call selects work for the festival's exhibition, zine, and online gallery.

The 2026 theme is TRANSFORMATION — State of Transition. The brief asks how individuals navigate continuous change and uncertainty as a fundamental contemporary condition. The framing reflects the festival's wider editorial position, which prioritizes work made under conditions of political, social, and personal flux.

Selection structure: first place receives a solo exhibition in Vilnius, Lithuania, plus inclusion in the PhotoArtDoc 2026 zine and online gallery. Second and third places are featured in the zine and online gallery without the exhibition.

Eligibility is open globally to photographers and artists working with photography. Projects must have been created or completed between 2024 and 2026 — recent work only. A maximum of two projects per author. Image transformation techniques such as montage, collage, and multiple exposure are permitted, but the methods used must be described in the application.

The 2026 jury is Tatyana Chypsanova (documentary photographer), Michael Grieve (photographer and founder, Werkstatt: / ArtFotoMode), Tadas Kazakevičius (documentary photographer), Adam Mazur (art critic and curator), and Kateryna Radchenko (curator and founder, Odesa Photo Days). Application is free, submitted via Google Form, with 10–15 images per project. The 2026 deadline was May 1.