Submission Guidelines for Photography Open Calls
TCG Gallery accepts photography and lens-based work through curated open calls, online exhibitions, and artist opportunities. This page explains the general submission process, file requirements, artist responsibilities, copyright terms, and what to expect after submitting.
Each exhibition has its own prospectus. The individual call for entry always controls the theme, deadline, fee, file requirements, notification date, and eligibility details. Please read the full prospectus before submitting.
Before You Submit
Please review the exhibition theme carefully and choose work that connects meaningfully to the call. The strongest submissions are not always the most literal. TCG Gallery welcomes direct, poetic, documentary, conceptual, experimental, and emotional interpretations of exhibition themes.
Artists should submit finished work that is ready for online presentation. Please proofread all names, titles, dates, statements, and artwork details before completing your submission.
Who Can Submit
Unless a specific call states otherwise, TCG Gallery welcomes submissions from photographers and lens-based artists at all career stages, including emerging, mid-career, independent, self-taught, and established artists.
Artists do not need gallery representation, an art degree, or an extensive exhibition history to submit. TCG Gallery is interested in strong images, clear artistic intent, and work that contributes meaningfully to the exhibition theme.
International artists are welcome unless a specific call states otherwise.
Eligible Work
TCG Gallery primarily accepts photography and lens-based work. This may include traditional photography, digital photography, documentary photography, conceptual photography, staged photography, experimental photographic processes, mixed photographic methods, and other image-based practices rooted in photography.
AI-generated work, heavily manipulated work, archival work, or mixed-media photographic work may be eligible depending on the specific call. If a call has special restrictions, they will be listed in the prospectus.
Previously Exhibited or Published Work
Previously exhibited or published work is generally acceptable unless the individual call states otherwise. Artists must hold the necessary rights to submit, display, and authorize promotional use of the image.
Older work is also welcome if it fits the theme and remains representative of the artist’s practice.
Image Requirements
Please follow the file requirements listed in the individual call. In most cases, artists should submit web-ready JPEG files rather than oversized, full-resolution print files.
Large print files are not needed during the initial submission stage. Oversized files can cause upload failures, slow down submission platforms, increase storage burdens, and make the review process more difficult.
If a larger file is needed after acceptance, TCG Gallery will request it directly.
Recommended File Format
Unless the individual prospectus says otherwise, we recommend:
JPEG format
Web-ready image files
Clear, properly oriented images
No watermarks unless specifically allowed
Accurate color and contrast
File sizes that follow the submission platform’s requirements
Please do not submit tiny, blurry, compressed, or low-quality files that prevent the work from being properly reviewed.
File Naming
When possible, use a clean file naming format that includes your name and artwork title.
Example:
ArtistName_Title.jpg
Avoid file names such as:
IMG_4829.jpg
finalfinalversion2.jpg
screenshot-untitled-copy.jpg
Clean file names help prevent confusion during review, publication, and exhibition preparation.
Artwork Information
Please provide accurate artwork details with your submission. A typical format includes:
Artist Name
Title
Medium
Dimensions
Year
City / Country
Price, if available
Please double-check spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Artwork information may be used for exhibition pages, captions, social media posts, email announcements, and other published materials.
Artist Statement
Your artist statement should be clear, direct, and relevant to the submitted work. It does not need to sound overly academic.
A strong statement usually explains what the work is about, why you made it, and how it relates to the exhibition theme. Specific, honest language is usually stronger than inflated art jargon.
Submission Fees
Some TCG Gallery open calls require a submission fee. The fee amount, deadline, and payment process will be listed in the individual prospectus.
Submission fees help cover the real operating costs of running an independent gallery, including website hosting, submission platforms, payment processing fees, email systems, software subscriptions, advertising, file management, design, and administrative time.
Submission fees do not generate meaningful profit. They help offset the cost of keeping the gallery active, visible, and accessible without major institutional support.
Refund Policy
Submission fees are generally non-refundable unless a specific call states otherwise. Fees cover the administrative cost of receiving, organizing, reviewing, and managing submissions, regardless of the final selection outcome.
If you experience a technical issue during submission, please contact TCG Gallery as soon as possible.
Selection Process
Submissions are reviewed based on image quality, originality, relevance to the theme, visual impact, and how the work contributes to the final exhibition as a whole.
A strong individual image may not always be selected if it does not fit the final rhythm, pacing, or curatorial direction of a specific exhibition. Non-selection should not be read as a judgment of the artist’s overall ability or value.
Open calls are competitive, and many worthwhile submissions cannot be included in every exhibition.
Notification
Notification dates are listed in each individual call. Accepted artists are usually contacted by email, so please make sure your email address is accurate and check spam, junk, and promotions folders around the notification date.
Due to the volume of submissions and the small size of the TCG Gallery team, individual feedback may not always be available.
If Your Work Is Accepted
Accepted artists may be asked to confirm artwork details, provide a larger image file if needed, submit or revise a short bio or statement, confirm sales information, and review how the work will appear online.
Please respond to acceptance emails by the stated deadline. Delayed responses may affect inclusion in the exhibition, promotional materials, or artist listings.
Copyright and Image Use
Artists retain copyright to their work.
By submitting, artists grant TCG Gallery permission to display selected work as part of the exhibition and to use accepted images for related promotional purposes, including the website, social media, email announcements, exhibition graphics, press materials, and digital archive pages.
Copyright remains with the artist.
Sales
When applicable, accepted work may be listed as available for sale. Artists are responsible for providing accurate pricing, edition information, availability, and contact details.
Sales terms may vary by exhibition. Any commission, payment, or inquiry process will be listed in the individual call or communicated with accepted artists.
Online Exhibitions
TCG Gallery primarily presents exhibitions online unless a specific call states otherwise. Online exhibitions allow the gallery to feature photographers from different locations and make the work accessible to a broader audience.
Accepted artists are encouraged to share the exhibition link and tag TCG Gallery when posting about the show.
Common Reasons Submissions Are Not Accepted
Work may not be selected for many reasons, including limited space, weak image quality, incomplete information, poor fit with the theme, excessive file issues, or overlap with other selected works.
Sometimes strong work simply does not fit the final exhibition. That does not mean the work is bad. It means the curatorial decision was specific to that call.
Submit Again
Artists are encouraged to submit to future calls. Curatorial direction changes from exhibition to exhibition, and work that is not selected for one call may be a strong fit for another.
Questions
For questions about a specific open call, submission issue, accepted artwork, or exhibition requirement, please contact TCG Gallery through the contact method listed on the website or prospectus.
Please include the exhibition title, your name, and a clear description of your question.