PhotoMidwest Biennial Exhibition 2026

PhotoMidwest Festival 2026 invites photographers from across the Midwest to enter the 14th Biennial Juried Exhibition, juried by Karen Irvine, Curator and Associate Director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago.

Eligible states: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. All photographic imagery is eligible — traditional film, alternative process, digital, and all post-production techniques.

PhotoMidwest Festival 2026

Presented by PhotoMidwest in collaboration with Promega Art Showcases

14th Biennial Juried Exhibition 

September 17, 2026 – February 26, 2027

In fall 2026, PhotoMidwest will produce its signature event, the PhotoMidwest Biennial Festival in Madison, Wisconsin. Festival exhibitions occur at various galleries, including the Promega Corporation's Art Showcase gallery, PhotoMidwest Studio, and the Pyle Center on the UW–Madison Campus.

The festival's capstone event is the 14th PhotoMidwest Biennial Juried Exhibition, which showcases photographers from 13 Midwest U.S. states. PhotoMidwest seeks work from photographers living and working in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

2026 Juror | Karen Irvine

Karen Irvine is Chief Curator and Deputy Director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago. She has organized over sixty exhibitions of contemporary photography at the MoCP and other institutions and written essays for numerous artist monographs and magazines. She received an MFA in photography from FAMU, Prague, Czech Republic, and an MA in art history from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

A message from Karen Irvine:

“I'll be looking for photographs with purposeful composition and skilled technique that slowly reveal a strong and personal point of view. In general, a photographer has just a few seconds to grab a viewer’s attention using style, composition, framing, color, and subject matter. Compelling images usually have a sense of mystery, layers of meaning, and ask more questions than they answer. In other words, they go beyond what they literally depict, and incite the viewer’s imagination.”

Awards and Recognition*

Best of Show: $1000 cash award
Images of Distinction: (3) $250 awards

*Selected by Juror Karen Irvine

Key Dates & Deadlines

The exhibition will be on view at the Promega Corporation's Art Showcase gallery from September 17, 2026, through February 26, 2027. Selected images will also appear in an online gallery, on our website, and across social media.

Submission Deadline: July 1, 2026, 11:59 PM Mountain Time 

Acceptance Notification: August 5, 2026 

Artwork Delivery Deadline: September 10, 2026 

Opening Reception: September 17, 2026, 4–7 PM CST

Submission Guidelines

Entry fees: $45 for up to three images

Additional Images: Up to two additional images may be submitted for $10 each

PhotoMidwest members receive a $10 discount. Not a member? Sign up for a membership here, and we’ll email you the discount code you can use upon checkout on the CaFÉ website.

Note: You must enter the discount code before clicking “proceed to checkout” during the application process.

All submissions must be made digitally through CallForEntry.org. Interested artists must create a free CaFÉ profile to apply. Profiles can be created and saved for future use. Artists with existing profiles should verify their contact information.

For the purposes of this exhibition, the Midwest is defined as including the states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. All photographic imagery is eligible for submission, including traditional film, alternative process, digital, and all post-production techniques.

Images entered in prior years' festivals selected as finalists will not be included in the current festival year's judging. However, images that have been entered in previous years but have yet to be selected as finalists are always welcome.

Exhibition Information

Contributing artists are responsible for shipping, return costs, and transit insurance. The exhibition venue provides insurance for installation and exhibition. Accepted artists will receive instructions for shipping or hand delivery.

Entries will be handled with care, but neither PhotoMidwest nor its representatives are liable for loss or damage. The acceptance email will provide additional packing and shipping details.

All work must arrive ready to be hung. The PhotoMidwest Festival Committee reserves the right to reject unsuitable images or those with framing that doesn't meet professional standards for exhibition at the Promega Corporation's Art Showcase gallery.

For a complete festival schedule and additional information, visit PhotoMidwest.org.

About PhotoMidwest 

PhotoMidwest is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1998 as The Center for Photography at Madison. For nearly three decades, PhotoMidwest has served as a home for the photographic arts in the region, with a mission to connect, educate, and inspire all who create, support, and appreciate photography as a means to personal expression.

For more information, e-mail festival@PhotoMidwest.org

About Promega Art Showcases

Committed to creativity and community, Promega Corporation has sponsored quarterly art showcases each year since 1996. The Promega Art Showcases are open to the public and have featured the work of local, national, and international artists.  As a life science business, Promega supports the work of scientists who are charged to seek what is unknown, and answer questions ultimately designed to improve our quality of life. Creative thinking is essential to their method. As such, art - both observing and creating - re-energizes an imagination that inspires science and life. https://www.promega-artshow.com/