TCG Gallery Call for Entry

Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water

Photography & Lens-Based Art Open Call

An international open call for photographers and lens-based artists. Submit up to 3 images for consideration in a curated online exhibition and permanent website archive.

Submission Deadline September 20, 2026
Artist Notifications September 25, 2026
Exhibition October 1 – October 31, 2026
Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water open call flyer
Image: Robert O. Endres, Light and Darkness

Prospectus

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.

Key Details

Deadline: September 20, 2026

Artist Notifications: September 25, 2026

Exhibition: October 1 – October 31, 2026

Format: Online exhibition and website archive

Entry Fee: $15 USD for up to 3 images

Fee Waivers: Available on request for artists experiencing financial hardship

Selection: Approximately 35 images will be selected

What 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
  • Eligibility for optional artwork sales inquiries through the gallery
  • Artist credit wherever feasible in exhibition and promotional materials

Full Prospectus and Terms

Curatorial Statement

Elemental asks artists to think beyond simple depictions of nature. Earth, air, fire, and water are physical forces, but they are also emotional and symbolic structures. They shape bodies, landscapes, weather, architecture, memory, and survival.

This exhibition is interested in the visible force of the elements and the quieter evidence they leave behind: erosion, ash, fog, heat, flood, dust, breath, smoke, stone, ice, and atmosphere.

We welcome work that treats the elements literally, metaphorically, abstractly, or experimentally.

Possible Interpretations
  • 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.
  • Artists are responsible for ensuring that submitted works do not violate copyright, privacy, publicity, or other rights held by any third party.
Selection and Exhibition

Approximately 35 images will be selected for Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, an online exhibition presented by TCG Gallery.

Exhibition: October 1 – October 31, 2026

Selected artists will receive notification by email on or before September 25, 2026.

Submissions may be retained for up to one year for administrative purposes and possible consideration in current or future TCG Gallery opportunities.

Review Process

Submissions are reviewed with attention to image quality, originality, theme relevance, and overall exhibition cohesion.

TCG Gallery uses a blind review process whenever possible. Submitted images and titles are reviewed with emphasis placed on the strength of the work rather than artist biography, résumé, or prior exhibition history.

Providing an image description is optional but strongly encouraged.

Sales Optional

Artists may choose whether their selected work is listed as available for sale. Artists may also mark work as not for sale.

If an artist chooses to make work available, TCG Gallery may direct interested collectors or inquiries to the artist or may assist with communication when appropriate.

TCG Gallery retains a 30% commission on any work sold through TCG Gallery.

Copyright and Usage

Artists retain copyright to their submitted 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. This may include use on TCG Gallery’s website, social media, email newsletters, exhibition catalogs, and related promotional materials.

TCG Gallery will credit artists whenever work is displayed or promoted whenever feasible. Artists may request removal of their work from future promotional use in writing.

AI Policy

Submitting work created by or substantially altered with artificial intelligence is prohibited unless a specific call explicitly states otherwise.

Submission Fee and Fee Waivers

The entry fee is $15 USD for up to 3 images.

Entry fees help support the administrative, promotional, web hosting, and production costs involved in organizing online exhibitions.

Financial circumstances should not prevent artists from sharing their work. Fee waivers are available on the honor system for artists who need one. Artists who need a waiver may contact TCG Gallery before submitting.

File Preparation

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 unless a specific call states otherwise.

Please list print dimensions in inches or centimeters if the work is available for sale. If the work is not for sale, you may mark it as NFS.

Please upload JPG or JPEG files with a minimum of 1200 pixels on the longest side and a minimum file size of 500 KB when possible.

Suggested file format: firstname_lastname_title-01.jpeg

Compliance

TCG Gallery cannot accept submissions or provide services 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.

Entry Form

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