Photography Contest

Women by Women: A Global Open Call by PhotoVogue

Women by Women: A Global Open Call by PhotoVogue

Deadline |

CLOSED

Theme |

Women

Territory |

Worldwide

Eligibility |

18+

Entry Fees |

FREE

Prizes |

Exhibition
This year’s PhotoVogue Global Open Call celebrates the limitless ways women see and are seen—embracing photography and film as powerful tools to reclaim, redefine, and expand visual storytelling.

The Urgency of Representation

The illusion of linear progress—the belief that rights, visibility, and recognition are irrevocable—has been shattered by the current political climate.
Across the globe, we are witnessing increasing pushback against women's autonomy, from reproductive rights to freedom of expression, reminding us that what once seemed secure can also be taken away.

As these rights are contested, it becomes more urgent than ever to not only consider how women see but how they continue to carve out spaces for their perspectives.
In a world where their ability to shape narratives and define vision remains a battleground, representation is both an act of resistance and a tool for change.

For generations, women have fought not only to reclaim how they are seen but to assert their right to see on their own terms.
Photography and video have long been arenas where vision is not just about aesthetics but about power.

This year’s PhotoVogue Global Open Call is dedicated to Women by Women—a celebration of the myriad ways women represent themselves and one another through photography and video.

From The Female Gaze to Women’s Vision

This is not a new conversation.

In 2016, the PhotoVogue Festival explored The Female Gaze, featuring artists such as Cindy Sherman, Petra Collins, Aida Muluneh, Nan Goldin, and Zanele Muholi.
At the time, it felt urgent and revolutionary—a necessary counterpoint to the Male Gaze theorized by Laura Mulvey. A new generation of female photographers and filmmakers was reclaiming their right to look and be looked at on their own terms.

Nearly a decade later, we ask: Does The Female Gaze still capture the evolving complexity of how women see today?

While female-led perspectives in photography, film, and video have expanded, systemic barriers persist.
Women continue to face disparities in visibility, opportunity, and financial stability.
Meanwhile, digital platforms—while offering new avenues for representation—have also intensified scrutiny, commodified feminist narratives, and constrained women’s freedom of expression.

Perhaps The Female Gaze, as a direct response to The Male Gaze, is no longer sufficient—it remains tied to a binary opposition.
Instead, contemporary feminist and critical theories have expanded our understanding of vision and representation, moving beyond rigid categories to embrace fluidity, intersectionality, and self-definition.

Thinkers shaping this evolution include:

bell hooks – Explores how race, class, and resistance shape women's ways of seeing.
Judith Butler – Argues that gender is fluid, performed, and constantly evolving.
Rosi Braidotti – Links identity to technology, environment, and shifting social structures.
Audre Lorde – Reframes difference as a source of power rather than division.
Sylvia Wynter – Questions colonial and racial hierarchies that shape dominant visual paradigms.
Donna Haraway – Challenges essentialism, advocating for hybridity and interconnectedness.

By drawing from these perspectives, we move beyond binary frameworks and acknowledge that women's ways of seeing are dynamic—shaped by lived experiences, histories, and the socio-political forces that both restrict and redefine them.

Why Women by Women?

This open call does not seek to define a singular “woman’s gaze” but rather to embrace the limitless ways in which women see, interpret, and reconstruct vision.
It is not about opposing dominant visual paradigms but about affirming women's perspectives as diverse, fluid, and self-determined.

We welcome submissions from all women and those who identify with womanhood—across race, gender identity, sexuality, ability, and socio-political backgrounds.

Identity is not only shaped by who holds the camera but also by the act of being seen.

As Susan Sontag reminds us in On Photography, photography does not merely reflect reality—it constructs it.

At a time when women’s identities are under attack, when their rights and very existence are being erased, photographing women is an act of affirmation.
It is a declaration that they exist, that they see, and that they are seen—on their own terms.

Women by Women: Reclaiming the Narrative

In 2016, The Female Gaze was a crucial intervention in a world where women’s perspectives had long been overlooked.
It was an essential step in reclaiming space in visual culture.

Nearly a decade later, the conversation must evolve.

This open call moves beyond a binary response to The Male Gaze, embracing a more fluid, intersectional approach that reflects the complexities of identity, power, and representation today.

In 2025, Women by Women affirms that women’s vision is not merely a reaction to The Male Gaze—it is a powerful force in its own right, free to shape its own narrative.

If the camera is power, then let’s wield it—in our own voices, in our own thousand ways.

How to Submit

Who We’re Looking For

We seek women photographers and video makers worldwide whose work offers fresh and compelling perspectives across all genres—from fashion to documentary, portraiture, fine art, and beyond.

Grants & Opportunities

We are awarding a total of $12,000 in grants to three artists whose work challenges conventions and expands creative possibilities:

$6,000 – Outstanding Vision Grant For an artist pushing creative boundaries.

$4,000 – Vision Grant For an artist with a compelling and unique perspective.

$2,000 – Rising Voice Grant For an emerging artist showing originality and promise.

Recognition & Exposure

Selected artists will:

Be showcased at the next edition of the PhotoVogue Festival
Have the opportunity to be published in Vogue editions worldwide
Be selected to participate in the next PhotoVogue Virtual Portfolio Reviews

Image: Ramona Wang

Featured Photo Contest

AAP Magazine #50 / SHAPES

$1,000 cash prizes | Winning image(s) published in AAP Magazine #50 | Extensive press coverage and global recognition

Best Photography Contests in 2024

Each year, there are hundreds of photography competitions all over the world, so we've decided to select for you the best of the best! Our selection of the best photo contests in 2024 is thoroughly curated to help you, whether you are a professional photographer or an amateur, to help find your next creative breakthrough. These all-star competitions offer the greatest opportunities for international exposure and/or incredible financial benefits. Some of them are closing soon, so get your photo submissions in!

ENDS 07/03/25
Through this 1st edition, in partnership with Europe's top camera reseller MPB, we will select one project to be published as a fully-funded photobook curated by PhMuseum.
ENDS 07/07/25
BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL FOTO AWARDS is an international platform for photographers from all levels and genres to share their best images with the creative community in Hungary and Eastern Europe.
ENDS 07/08/25
Critical Mass sparks career-changing opportunities. Ready to get your work noticed? This is the place to do it.
ENDS 07/14/25
Production of a limited edition photobook (100–200 pages), designed by Gomma’s in-house team
ENDS 07/15/25
200 shortlisted portraits taken in the past year will be published in the dedicated Portrait of Britain book
ENDS 07/15/25
Praxis Gallery seeks the submission of photographic art that demonstrates the fundamental qualities that make motion & blur a compelling element of contemporary photography.
ENDS 07/15/25
The next edition of the Circulation(s) festival will take place from March 21 to May 17 2026 at the CENTQUATRE-PARIS.
ENDS 07/22/25
Be Featured in our July 2025 Online Juried Solo Exhibition! Juror: Ann Jastrab, Executive Director, Center for Photographic Art
ENDS 07/27/25
The Head On Photo Awards 2025 winners share an incredible prize pool in excess of $75,000, including $15,000 in cash. All finalists have their work exhibited in print and online in Head On Photo Festival 2025!
ENDS 07/29/25
Our 50th printed issue of AAP Magazine will feature the best projects showcasing the theme "Shapes".
ENDS 08/01/25
TIFA connects photographers from around the world with the creative community in Tokyo, Japan, providing them with an excellent platform to present their work to a new market.
ENDS 08/05/25
The 2025 Global Contest promotes climate justice. We believe climate change is a human rights issue, so we are looking for images that show people impacted by the escalating climate crisis.
ENDS 09/01/25
The Ian Parry Scholarship is divided into two categories: The Sunday Times Award for Achievement and The Canon Award for Potential.
ENDS 09/01/25
The winner receives a €25,000 cash award to develop the project within ten months
ENDS 09/05/25
The Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards celebrate the photobook's contribution to the evolving narrative of photography
ENDS 09/15/25
We are excited to offer one (1) $20,000 grant and six (6) $5,000 grants to help bring these vital stories to life.
ENDS 01/06/26
Rewarding the best single images! Enter for free and you could win $5,000, top Sony digital imaging equipment plus more!
ENDS 01/06/26
First place receives Sony Digital Imaging equipment and inclusion in the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition and book
ENDS 01/06/26
Dedicated to young photographers under 19 years-old - first prize is top Sony digital imaging equipment plus benefit from global exposure
ENDS 01/13/26
Rewarding the best photo series worldwide! Enter for free and you could win $25,000, a range of Sony digital imaging equipment plus more!
ENDS 02/15/26
Art is born out of passion. Fine Art photography is a perfect instrument, which allows a person to communicate with the world and share their vision. It results from the author's deep sensitivity, a need to express feelings through image.