Call For Entry: Elemental: Earth •Air •Fire •Water

Elemental is a photography 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.

We are seeking photographic and lens-based 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.

Elemental is an international open call for photographers 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 for submission.

Submission Deadline: September 20, 2026
Juror Notifications: September 25, 2026
Format: Online Exhibition
Exhibition: October 1, 2026 to November 1, 2026

Possible Interpretations

Earth, air, fire, and water

Landscape, weather, atmosphere, and natural forces

Stone, soil, sediment, erosion, and decay

Smoke, flame, heat, ash, and combustion

Bodies of water, rain, mist, ice, flood, and reflection

Wind, breath, clouds, storms, and open space

Environmental change, damage, renewal, and survival

Ritual, myth, spirituality, and elemental symbolism

The body in relation to nature, weather, or physical force

Ruins, abandoned places, and materials altered by time

Light, shadow, color, and texture as elemental subjects

The relationship between the human-made and the natural world

Abstract or experimental approaches to matter, surface, and atmosphere

Staged, constructed, or surreal interpretations of the elements

The traces left behind by fire, water, weather, pressure, or time

Eligibility

Open to photographers worldwide

All photographic genres and processes accepted

Digital, film, alternative process, and mixed-media photographic works welcome

Individual images and cohesive series may be submitted

About TCG Gallery

TCG Gallery is an independent artist-run exhibition platform dedicated to supporting emerging and established photographers through curated exhibitions, publications, and collaborative projects. Operating outside traditional institutional structures, TCG focuses on accessible opportunities for artists while maintaining a commitment to thoughtful curatorial practice.

Curatorial Statement

Photography has always been tied to the material world. Light touches a surface. Weather changes a place. Water reflects, distorts, and destroys. Fire consumes and leaves evidence behind. Air moves through the image as atmosphere, breath, distance, or absence. Earth holds the weight of the body, the ruin, the landscape, and the remains of what came before.

Elemental seeks photographic works that treat earth, air, fire, and water as more than simple categories. We are interested in images that show the elements as forces, symbols, textures, threats, memories, and forms of transformation.

Works may approach the theme through landscape, still life, portraiture, abstraction, documentary photography, staged scenes, experimental processes, or symbolic imagery. The element may be visible, implied, emotional, or atmospheric. It may appear through a storm, a burn mark, a body in water, a field of stone, a room filled with light, or a quiet trace of damage.

The exhibition asks artists to consider how the physical world shapes human experience, and how photography can hold the tension between beauty, instability, and force.

We look forward to seeing your work.

- TCG Gallery Team

Terms of Entry

All entrants, by their submission, attest that the images submitted are their work and there has been no copyright infringement of any artist, living or deceased. All submissions must be original and completed by the artist’s hand. Submitting work created by or otherwise altered with artificial intelligence is strictly prohibited.

Selection and Exhibition

The Curator, Director, and Juror(s) will select approximately 35 images for exhibition in The Chateau's Online Gallery (TCG). TCG's management system (CRM) creates an entrant profile and categorizes submissions into themes upon successful submission. You will receive a confirmation email upon receipt of a successful submission. Submissions will be stored in the CRM "digital flat file" for one year for consideration in the current and future exhibitions.

Jurying Process

Jurors for TCG are a rotating assortment of past exhibitors, curators, editors, and members of various fields in the arts and culture sector. We believe in a "blind" jury process in which the juror is unaware of the photographer's identity. The selection process is based solely on the image and its title. Providing an image description is optional but is highly encouraged. TCG will notify entrants by email of the juror's selections.

Selling Your Work (Optional)

While TCG is a commercial gallery, participants may list their work as Not for Sale (NFS). However, participants are strongly encouraged to price their work. Once priced, TCG's agent will promptly contact a participant regarding any purchase inquiry. TCG will retain a 30% commission on any work sold through TCG and its agents.

Copyright and Usage

You retain all rights to your work at all times. You grant TCG the non-exclusive right to reproduce your image in the exhibition catalog, on our website, and for extensive promotion on social media (with proper attribution whenever possible). We will always credit you wherever feasible. You have the option to rescind this agreement in writing at any time.

Submission Fee

There is a $15 USD entry fee for up to three (3) image submissions. These funds directly support TCG Gallery’s administrative, advertising, and operational expenses.

We firmly believe that financial circumstances should not prevent artists from sharing their work. Fee waivers are available on the honor system for anyone who needs one. If you would like to request a waiver, please contact us through our contact form or by email

.Since 2019, TCG Gallery has operated continuously in various forms as an independent, de facto non-profit passion project dedicated to supporting emerging and established creators, experimental photography, and independent artistic practices outside of traditional institutional funding structures. As we work toward expanding future operations in New York City, submission fees help sustain our promotional campaigns, web hosting, exhibition materials, and other essential costs associated with maintaining the gallery.

US Foreign Compliance Statement

We cannot accept submissions or provide services from citizens residing in the following sanctioned countries: Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Belarus, Russia. Visit our US Foreign Policy Compliance Statement for more information.

Entry Form Instructions | Frequently Asked Questions

• You may submit up to (3) images per entry. You may submit more than one entry.

• There is no size or production year restriction for submitted images.

• Please list your print dimensions in inches or centimeters. (If something is not for sale, then you do not need to provide this information.)

• Please name your images in the following format: firstname_lastname_title-01.jpeg.

• Please upload your files with a minimum of 1200 pixels on the longest side and a minimum size of 500kb.

• Contact us if you need help or have any questions, and we’ll get back to you shortly.