Photometria Awards Open Call 2026
“Coming of Age (18+)”
judged by Alec Soth
Alec Soth Portrait Sterre Otte
INFORMATION ABOUT Alec Soth
THE CONTEST
Photometria Awards 2026 “Coming of Age (18+)”
As the festival reaches its 18th edition, it symbolically enters a phase of maturity, capable of reflecting on and exploring central issues of transition. Coming of Age (18+) focuses on the process of coming of age, not as a chronological or legal milestone, but as a multifaceted condition shaped by internal and social ruptures, redefinitions, and acts of self-determination.
Innocence does not disappear, but is transformed, while the subject is constituted as conscious, responsible, and socially exposed. The theme centers on the emergence of autonomy: the individual ceases to function as an extension and is constituted as a distinct entity. The body becomes a field of meaning, desire, control, and assertion, while identity—gender, social roles, status—is subject to constant negotiation.
Thoughts on coming of age hover between childhood and responsibility, where play coexists with the weight of choices. “Permitted” and “forbidden” are understood not only as social rules, but also as internalized boundaries that are tested and reconfigured. In this context, the 18+ designation functions as a symbolic marker of a liminal state, signifying the tension between freedom and responsibility, the personal and the social.
The theme highlights personal and collective experiences of transition: first decisions, ruptures, moments of emancipation or conformity, as well as the social expectations that shape the concept of “adulthood.” Coming of age is approached as a dynamic field of tension between the past, social imperatives, and subjective choice.
“Coming of Age (18+)” provides a framework for reflection on the fragility, ambivalence, and boldness that accompany the transition to adulthood, prompting the audience to consider whether this constitutes a stable state or a constantly renegotiable condition.
Entry Fee
- 1 photo – Free of charge
- 3 photos – 5 euros
Submission
You can participate with 1 photo or with 3 if you want to participate with payment. After completing the photo submission, an email confirming participation in the contest will be sent.
Awards
- 1st place: NIKON Z30 Kit NIKKOR Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR, sponsor courtesy by Damkalidis SΑ
- 2nd & 3rd place: A signed photo album by Alec Soth
In addition, one of the top three shortlisted winners will have the opportunity to participate in the next year’s festival with a solo exhibition.
The exhibition of the 25 selected photographs of the contest Photometria Awards 2026 is going to take place in Ioannina at the 18th Photometria International Photography Festival. It will also continue its journey after the festival ends.
Results
The results of the top 25 photos will be announced within two months following the final submission deadline.
The top three winners will be announced at the festival opening.
Terms and Conditions
- Participation for 1 photo is free of charge, while up to 3 photos the cost is 5 euros, with each image size not exceeding 400 KB.
- Photos must be original work of the participants and the organizer bears no responsibility for any copyright theft.
- Photometria Festival is not obliged to return the printed photo to the participants.
- Participants grant the right to the organizers to publish, display and print the potos, with the only condition that the photographer’s name will be mentioned.
- However, participants have no right to renumeration.
- The copyrights of the photos belong to the photographers.
- The assessing of the photographs will be based on the composition, consistency and their relation to the competition’s theme.
- Participation in the contest implies automatically that the non-exact compliance with the terms of the competition (non-indication, inaccurate data, sending more than one photo, etc) leads to the exclusion from the contest.
- The decision of the jury panel shall be final and no objection or any other claim is acceptable.
- If your photos are selected to the top 25, you will be asked for your original files in high resolution for printing.
- Photos produced by AI artificial intelligence are not accepted. The organizer has the right to cancel the participation and resort to any legal actions against the creator if an AI image participation is noticed.
By entering the competition, you agree to your information by email to the actions of Photometria Festival.
Participation in the contest implies full acceptance of the above terms and no claims can be made against the organizing authority.
Contact: info@photometria.gr
Sponsor:
About Alec Soth
Alec Soth Portrait Sterre Otte
Alec Soth (b. 1969) is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He has published over twenty-five books including Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004), NIAGARA (2006), Broken Manual (2010), Songbook (2015), I Know How Furiously Your Heart is Beating (2019), and A Pound of Pictures (2022).
Soth has had over fifty solo exhibitions including survey shows organized by Jeu de Paume in Paris (2008), the Walker Art Center in Minnesota (2010), Media Space in London (2015), and the Tokyo Museum of Photographic Art in Tokyo (2024).
Soth has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2013). In 2008, Soth created Little Brown Mushroom, a multi-media enterprise focused on visual storytelling.
Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Hammons Gallery in Minneapolis, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, Loock Gallery in Berlin, and is a member of Magnum Photos.
