Rotterdam Photo 2026: Echoes of Silence – War in the Artist's Soul

Rotterdam Photo 2026 invites photographers to submit work exploring the theme "Echoes of Silence – War in the Artist's Soul." The festival seeks autonomous photographic work that departs from personal resonance, psychological processing, and symbolic representation. This is not a platform for reportage or direct registration of violence, but rather introspective, subjective, and visually layered perspectives on conflict in all its forms—whether visible or invisible, distant or intimate, historical or unfolding, collective or deeply individual.

Works may explore loss, grief, resilience or healing after displacement and migration; portraits or environmental images reflecting social tension, cultural shifts, and identity negotiation; landscapes or urban scenes capturing ecological disruption; abstract, symbolic, staged or experimental work evoking inner unrest; or still lifes, analogue distortions, double exposures, and poetic imagery expressing emotional truth rather than literal events.

Selected photographers will showcase their projects in dedicated exhibition space during Rotterdam Photo 2026, with opportunities to sell work (no commission charged by the festival), network with gallerists and international art press, and participate in Rotterdam Photo Talks and networking events. Winners receive submission review by photography professionals, featured promotion across festival and partner networks (LensCulture, Dodho magazine, All About Photo), publication in the festival program, international press exposure, and access to the event with 10,000+ visitors. Additional opportunities include exhibition in Barcelona (June), Tampere, Finland during Backlight festival (September), and Switzerland during Photo Schweiz. A Young Talent Award with cash prize and gear is also available. Entry fee: 35 EUR. International deadline: January 5, 2026.