Backyard

Texas Photographic Society announces a call for entries for Backyard, a themed, juried exhibition of places shaped by use, memory, and proximity. The exhibition will be juried by Judy Tedford Deaton, Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions and Collections at the Grace Museum in Abilene, TX. Backyard will be exhibited at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Abilene, Texas, opening February 13th, 2026 and continuing through March 28th, 2026. A closing reception with the juror will be held on March 28, 2026.

Artists working in all photographic media are encouraged to submit work that examines the backyard as a constructed environment—shaped by human intention and natural forces—or as a psychological or symbolic space informed by memory and experience. The exhibition welcomes literal, abstract, documentary, and experimental approaches. Submissions may engage with backyards as physical spaces or as metaphors: sites of personal history, social boundaries, ecological systems, cultural identity, or contested ground.

Entry deadline is January 26th, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CST. Entry fee is $30 for TPS members or $40 for non-members, covering 5 images, plus $5 for each additional image up to 12 total. Artists must be at least 18 years old. Works exhibited previously in a TPS show are not eligible. Selections will be announced January 30th, 2026. Awards include First Place ($400), Second Place ($250), Third Place ($150), and up to 5 Honorable Mentions. Work is due at the Center for Contemporary Arts by February 10th, 2026 and will be shipped back March 29th, 2026.