2027 Foto Forum Santa Fe Photography Award

Foto Forum Santa Fe is pleased to announce an open call for our 2027 Foto Forum Santa Fe Photography Award, an annual international competition open to emerging and established artists. 

The selected photographer receives a 2 month Solo Exhibition at our downtown Santa Fe gallery, $1,000 in Cash and Prizes: $1,000 Cash Prize, and $500 for shipping. 

The 2027 Foto Forum Santa Fe Photography Award is accepting entries November 10th, 2026 through March 4th, 2027 midnight 12am MT,  with results announced in mid-April and the show to open June 4th, 2027. Photographers are invited to submit up to twelve images at least 1mb in size but not bigger than 2mb files or videos from a related body of work that is ready for exhibition. This year's Juror Leigh Ledare will choose the winner based on creativity, cohesion, maturity, and quality of the work.

Foto Forum Santa Fe is pleased to announce an open call for our 2027 Foto Forum Santa Fe Photography Award, an annual international competition open to emerging and established artists. The award was conceived to support photographers by giving them an opportunity to have their work viewed by our outside jurors as well as our in-house curator Executive Director Sage Paisner, to give the winner the chance to share their work in the photography-friendly city of Santa Fe, and to put a little money in their pocket to help in the production of the work.

We also think it is encouraging to know that our executive director Sage Paisner has identified artists that have been added to our gallery roster who entered but did not win the Award. We highly encourage you to take the time and effort to apply.

Information about the 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 Award Winners Jared Ragland, Federico Estol, Rebecca Moseman, Ciro Battiloro, Jerry Takigawa, and Renee Romero is available on the Photo Award section of our website Photo Award

more about the award visit our website Foto Forum Santa Fe

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ABOUT THE JUROR: 

ARTIST BIO

Leigh Ledare creates work that raises questions of agency, intimacy and consent, transforming the observer into the voyeur of private scenes or situations dealing with social taboos. Using photography, the archive, language, and film, he explores notions of subjectivity in a performative dimension, his interventions putting in tension the realities of social constructions and the projective assumptions that surround them. Ledare’s projects have been exhibited extensively in the US and abroad. Recent exhibitions include: The Plot, The Art Institute of Chicago (2017); Vokzal, The Box, Los Angeles (2017); Place du Jardin aux Fleurs, Office Baroque, Brussels, as well as numerous group exhibitions including the 2017 Whitney Biennial, The Whitney Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Manifesta 11, Zurich (2016). Ledare's work has also been the subject of major surveys at Charlottenborg Kunsthal, Copenhagen (2013), and WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels (2012). Publications by Ledare include: Double Bind Conversations (Art Resources Press, 2015), a book length dialog co-authored with Rhea Anastas; Ana and Carl and some other couples (Andrew Roth, 2014), a collaboration with Nicolas Guagnini; Leigh Ledare, et al. (Mousse Publishing, 2012), edited by Elena Filipovic; An Invitation(Leroy Neiman Center for Print Studies, Columbia University, 2012), a photolithography edition; Double Bind (a three volume multiple published by MFC-michèle didier, 2012); and Pretend You’re Actually Alive (PPP Editions/Andrew Roth, 2008). Ledare’s work is in the public collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Art Institute of Chicago; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; The Centre Pompidou, Paris; and Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland. In 2017 Ledare was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

First Place Award receives a two month solo exhibition in our Santa Fe gallery down the street from SITE Santa Fe located in the Railyard Art District and $1,000 in Cash and Prizes: $1,000 Cash Prize, plus a $500 stipend towards delivering the work to the gallery and having the work returned to the artist. 

Fee:$40 Discounted Early Entry November 10th, 2026 to January 22nd 2027, then $50 starting January 23rd, 2027 to until February 24th, 2027. $60 late entry February 25th until March 4th, 2027.
Students and Foto Forum Santa Fe Members email sage@fotoforumsantafe.com for 20% discount coupon.

Photographers are invited to submit up to twelve images at least 1mb in size but not bigger than 2mb files or videos from a related body of work that is ready for exhibition. This year's Jurors will choose the winner based on creativity, cohesion, maturity, and quality of the work.

Foto Forum Santa Fe is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that creates an artistic space to explore the current relationship between photography, storytelling, science, and technology through artist exhibitions, workshops, visiting artist lectures, research, and community outreach. The Photography Award expands upon Foto Forum’s commitment to showcasing both contemporary work from established artists and giving opportunities for emerging photographers to find an audience.

IMPORTANT DATES

Early Bird Entry Discounted ($40)

 November 10th, 2026 -January 22nd, 2027 

Standard Entry ($50 ) January 23rd, 2027  - February 24th, 2027 

Late Entry ($60) February 25th, 2027 - March 4th, 2027 

March 15th, 2027: Jury Selection Begins

April 18th, 2027: Results Announced; Winner Contacted

June 4th, 2027: Solo Exhibition Opening Reception


Portfolio Selection Advice:
The Award is centered around a solo exhibition in the Foto Forum Santa Fe gallery. We suggest you send in twelve photographs that you feel could be part of a cohesive exhibition, rather than trying to show the broad range of different work you make. We are not accepting video submissions at this time, but video can be part of the exhibition. You can submit video stills and describe the video in your Artist Statement. The selected winner will work with Sage Paisner to curate the final exhibition, which may include works not submitted with your application. The Artist Statement is a perfect place to explain how the twelve photographs relate to each other and provide additional information about the body of work and your artistic practice.

All applicants are required to submit a portfolio of 6 to 12 photographic images or videos.

Eligibility: All artists 18 years or older