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Call For Photography • Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water

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Organization: The Chateau Gallery Location Online Entry Fee Paid Entry Deadline September 20, 2026 Exhibition Oct 1 - Nov 1, 2026
Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water
TCG Gallery Call for Entry

Submission Deadline:
September 20, 2026, 11:59 PM ET

Artist Notifications:
September 25, 2026

Exhibition Dates:
October 1 - November 1, 2026

Entry Fee:
$15 USD for up to 3 images

About the Call:
Elemental is a photography and lens-based art exhibition centered on earth, air, fire, and water.

The elements are not just scenery. They are pressure, weather, heat, erosion, breath, flood, smoke, stone, ash, light, atmosphere, and survival. They shape the physical world, but they also carry emotional weight. They can suggest beauty, danger, memory, destruction, renewal, and transformation.

TCG Gallery invites photographers and lens-based artists to submit work that engages with one or more of the four elements, either directly or symbolically. The work may be quiet, violent, minimal, surreal, documentary, abstract, staged, or experimental. A photograph of water does not have to be about water. A photograph of fire does not have to show flame. The strongest images may come from what the elements leave behind.

Possible interpretations include:
- Earth, air, fire, and water
- Weather, atmosphere, and natural forces
- Erosion, flood, smoke, stone, ash, light, heat, or breath
- Landscape, environment, and transformation
- Beauty, danger, destruction, renewal, and survival
- Symbolic or abstract approaches to the elements
- Documentary, fine art, staged, surreal, or experimental work
- The traces left behind by elemental forces
- Human vulnerability within natural systems
- Elemental forces as metaphor for emotion, memory, or change

Eligibility:
Open to photographers and visual artists worldwide, ages 18 and older.

All forms of two-dimensional images, traditional and non-conventional media, and conventional or alternative photographic processes with an analog or digital photographic base are welcome.

Individual images and cohesive series may be submitted.

All submitted work must be original and created by the submitting artist. Submitting work created by or substantially altered with artificial intelligence is prohibited unless a specific call explicitly states otherwise.

Submission Requirements:
Artists may submit up to 3 images per entry. Please include accurate artwork information, including title, year, medium, dimensions, and price or NFS if the work is not for sale.

File Requirements:
Please submit JPG or JPEG files. Files should be at least 1200 pixels on the longest side and at least 500 KB when possible.

Suggested file format:
firstname_lastname_title-01.jpeg

Selection Process:
Approximately 35 images will be selected for the online exhibition. Submissions are reviewed with attention to image quality, originality, theme relevance, and overall exhibition cohesion. TCG Gallery uses a blind review process whenever possible, with emphasis placed on the strength of the submitted work rather than artist biography, résumé, or prior exhibition history.

Selected Artists Receive:
- Inclusion in the curated online exhibition
- Artist name, artwork title, medium, dimensions, and price listed with selected work when provided
- Permanent website archive after the exhibition closes
- Promotion through TCG Gallery’s website, email list, and social media channels
- Artist credit wherever feasible in exhibition and promotional materials

Sales:
Sales are optional. Artists may list works as available for purchase or not for sale. For artwork sold through TCG Gallery, the gallery retains a 30% commission.

Copyright and Usage:
Artists retain copyright to their work. By submitting, artists grant TCG Gallery the non-exclusive right to reproduce submitted images for jurying, exhibition presentation, archival documentation, and promotion of the exhibition. Artist credit will be included whenever feasible.

Fee Waivers:
Fee waivers are available on request for artists experiencing financial hardship. Artists who need a waiver should contact TCG Gallery before submitting.

Compliance:
TCG Gallery cannot accept submissions where doing so would violate applicable United States sanctions, export, payment-processing, or compliance restrictions.

About TCG Gallery:
TCG Gallery is an independent, New York City-based online gallery presenting curated photography exhibitions, open calls, artist features, and exhibition archives for emerging and established photographers worldwide. With a focus on accessible opportunities, thoughtful curatorial presentation, and long-term artist visibility, TCG Gallery supports photographers through online exhibitions, website archives, email features, and social media promotion.

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