This Is a Person

Decagon Gallery is an online photography gallery that runs themed juried calls. This Is a Person is its portrait-focused exhibition — but the brief deliberately moves away from likeness-based portraiture. The gallery is asking for images that suggest psychological tension, ambiguity, vulnerability, or contradiction. Surface description of who someone is matters less than what the photograph implies about their interior life.

Selection is intentionally restrictive: roughly 10–12% acceptance rate. One image per selected artist is exhibited, so applicants choose carefully which submission represents the strongest reading of the theme. The 2026 juror is Hossein Fardinfard, a portrait photographer whose own practice works in this register.

Cash prizes total $1,000: $500 (first), $300 (second), $200 (third). Eligibility is open globally to photographers 18+. Submission is through the gallery's website with up to 8 images per entry. Fee is $25.

The 2026 deadline was May 3; results announced May 2026.