PPA Photo Award 2025: Excellence in Contemporary Photography (Open Theme)

Pasadena Photography Arts announces an open call for the PPA Photo Award 2025: Excellence in Contemporary Photography (Open Theme). This annual award recognizes and promotes both emerging and professional photographers with residence in the United States, exemplifying excellence in contemporary photography. The deadline to submit is April 14, 2025 at 11:59pm MT, with results announced August 22, 2025.

Photographers are invited to submit cohesive bodies of work between 10-20 images with an accompanying statement. Acceptable formats include analogue, digital, portrait, abstract, mixed-media, documentary, street photography, conceptual, still-life photography, landscape, alternative photography, and cell phone photography. No fully generated AI images are allowed, however AI as an editing tool is permissible. The jury panel will be composed of Pasadena Photography Arts Advisors alongside guest juror Eve Schillo, Associate Curator at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, quality, and responsiveness to the call.

The winner receives a $2,000 cash prize, a Lenscratch feature, a published interview on the PPA website, and a virtual hosted artist talk. The non-refundable application fee is $42. Artists must be 18 years or older and legal residents with a primary address and bank account in the United States. Applicants may submit up to 2 projects per award cycle, with each project requiring a separate entry fee. Projects must not have been previously shown in their entirety in a gallery setting, published, or awarded prize money in another competition. Digital images should be submitted in .jpg format, sRGB color space, 1200 pixels on the long side, 72ppi, and no larger than 5 MB each. Photographers retain copyright of all images. Limited fee waivers are available for those impacted by recent Los Angeles fires; contact [email protected] for more information.