The Photometria International Photography Festival, as part of its ongoing development and support of young creators, announces the launch of the “Youth Collective 2026” competition.

Youth Collective is aimed at young artists aged 18 to 25, regardless of their educational background. The festival aims to provide a space and opportunities for a wider range of emerging artists, encouraging contemporary photographic expression and experimentation.

The competition will run from March 1 to 31, 2026, and aims to highlight new perspectives and fresh artistic approaches through the medium of photography.

How to Participate

All young artists aged 18 to 25 years old, regardless of academic training in photography, are eligible to participate.

Participants should submit their work via the festival website five (5) individual photographs, regardless of subject matter, the title of each image (if available) and the name of the creator.

Participation Procedure:

– Select 5 photos you wish to submit.

– Name your files in the format: name_name_title_image_title.jpg (if there is a title, otherwise write untitled).

– Submit the photos via the festival platform.

– Entry fee: 5€ per submission.

Results & Exhibition

The best photographs will be selected by the jury and will be presented in the exhibition “Youth Collective 2026”, which will be part of the 18^th Photometria International Photography Festival, at a venue to be announced soon.

The results will be announced within two months after the submission deadline, at the festival’s social media. Winners will also be notified by email.

The festival will cover the production of prints of the selected photographs.

Jury panel

Szilvia Mucsy (HU)

Photographer, teacher, curator, founder and director of Budapest Photo Festival, Chair of RANDOM – Contemporary Photographers Association, lecturer at Moholy-Nagy University of Art Design. She began her photographic career at the Studio of Young Photographers Hungary, where she became a member of the executives. After graduating from Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design on Photography Department she studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens, Greece.

She is a member of the Belgian Young Photographers United, the Association of Hungarian Artists, and the RANDOM – Association of Contemporary Photographers. Her work has been exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions in private galleries, museums in New York, Athens, Amsterdam, Rome, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Budapest, Bratislava, Brussels. photofestivals like Belgrade Photomonth, Chaves Photofestival, Photo Romania, Cluj, Daegu Photo Biennale, South Korea, Fotofestival Lenzburg, Switzerland. She has been awarded by the National Geographic Photography Contest Hungary, twice by the József Pécsi – Hungarian Fine Art Photography Grant, she got 5 times the Photographic Art felowship by Hungarian National Cultural Fund, Winner of 2nd Jury Series Prize and Public Prize at PhosAthens Streetphoto contest in 2017, selected into Futures Talent in 2018 and into the winners of Fotofestival Lenzburg, Switzerland in 2024. Her works were published by many online and printed international magazines and others like Esquire Moscow, her book Mediterrano was published in Hungary in 2008.

Hara Sklika (GR)

She is a PhD candidate in the Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts at the University of West Attica, and holds a master’s degree in photography, Research, and Methodology. She studied Tourism Management in Athens and later Creative Photography at the Leica Academy, while also expanding her knowledge at Central Saint Martins and the London College of Communication.

Alongside her research-oriented work in curating photographic exhibitions, she develops anthropocentric photographic projects. Her activities include self-publication of photographic albums. She has served as production manager at the Antiparos International Photography Festival. She is currently Communications Manager at the Photometria International Photography Festival. She has participated in several exhibitions, and her articles and works have been published in the Greek and foreign press. Since 2019, she has been one of Fujifilm’s X-photographers worldwide.

Stefanos Kesidis (GR)

He is a freelance photographer, Deputy Director of esp+ photography school, and co-founder of the nonprofit organization Creative Factor. Since 2024, he has been the Founder and Artistic Director of the Visual Arts International Festival (VAiF). He studied Mathematics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and holds a master’s degree in “Photography: Research and Methodology” from the University of West Attica, with a thesis titled Photography as Evidence of Environmental Pollution in the Suburban and Urban Zones of Thessaloniki.

Professionally, he works in studio photography, architectural photography, aerial photography, teaching, the digitization and documentation of photographic archives, as well as the photographic documentation of exhibitions. He is an external collaborator with institutions such as the Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece.

His research interests focus on contemporary Greek photography and its institutional and curatorial context, archival photography, documentation and archiving practices, and landscape photography.

Terms & Conditions

1. Only applications that have completed the payment procedure within the deadline are eligible.
2. If the photographs depict people without their consent, the responsibility lies solely with the photographer and not with Photometria International Photography Festival.
3. Files must be in JPG format, 1500 pixels on the largest side, with a resolution of 300 ppi. Name the image files as follows: Name_Picture_Name_Title.jpg (if there is a title).
4. Photometria International Photography Festival reserves the right to use the selected images to promote the exhibition, as well as for future promotional activities of the festival, with reference to the artist. The printed portfolios will be kept in the archive of the festival, which reserves the right to manage them and to re-exhibit them in the future.
5. By participating in the competition, you agree to be informed by email about the Photometria Festival activities.

Submission of your portfolio implies acceptance of the above terms and conditions by each participant.

Contact: photometriafestival@gmail.com