MENA Panorama

A PhotoVogue Open Call for Image-Makers from Middle East and North Africa and Their Diasporas

This year's PhotoVogue Regional Open Call celebrates the multiplicity of voices across Middle East and North Africa, foregrounding works that offer new perspectives, challenge dominant narratives, and expand visual storytelling.

MENA Panorama is PhotoVogue's regional initiative to champion the plurality of voices from MENA, moving beyond monolithic narratives to showcase the region's complexity, resilience, and diverse visual languages.

When
May 21, 2026 to September 24, 2026 (11:59 PM CET)

## Where
Online here on Picter

## Who
Open to all artists aged 18 and above from Middle East and North Africa, as well as those from the diaspora who maintain a meaningful connection to the region

## What
We welcome photography, video, and multimedia projects across all genres, including fashion, documentary, portraiture, fine art, and experimental practices. We are looking for work that expresses a clear point of view, whether through personal or collective stories, reflections on identity and belonging, or the strength of its visual language.

## Why
At a time of profound transformation across the region, this open call aims to create space for artists to represent themselves and their communities on their own terms, fostering visibility, nuance, and connection through image-making.

## Grants & Opportunities

$8,000 in total grants awarded to three artists
Presentation at the 2027 PhotoVogue Festival
Potential publication across Condé Nast titles in the region
Participation in PhotoVogue Virtual Portfolio Reviews

At PhotoVogue, we believe that representation matters. Images do not simply reflect reality, they shape how we see the world and one another. They construct narratives, define visibility, and influence the ways we relate to each other. For this reason, creating space for a plurality of voices and perspectives has always been central to our mission.

Following the Italian Panorama, Latin American Panorama, and East and Southeast Asian Panorama, PhotoVogue is launching a new regional open call dedicated to Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

At a time when many parts of the MENA region are experiencing conflict, instability, and profound social transformation, it feels especially important to create space for artists. Not to simplify or overlook these realities, but to recognize that image-making and storytelling remain essential. They allow for nuance, for complexity, and for forms of connection that can bring people together across distance, difference, and difficulty.

This open call invites photographers and video makers to submit work across all genres, including fashion, documentary, conceptual, and experimental practices. Rather than proposing a single narrative, it seeks to embrace the multiplicity of visual languages and lived experiences across the region.

MENA is not a monolithic space. It is shaped by a wide range of cultures, histories, and social realities, as well as by ongoing transformations and forms of resilience. For this reason, this open call does not aim to define the region, but to create a platform where artists can represent themselves, their communities, and their environments on their own terms.

We are particularly interested in works that reflect the diversity of lived experience, whether through intimate storytelling, explorations of identity and belonging, engagements with fashion and visual culture, or reflections on social, political, and environmental realities. At the same time, the open call welcomes practices that move beyond representation, embracing experimentation, abstraction, and new visual forms.

## How to Submit

## Who We're Looking For
We invite photographers and video makers from Middle East and North Africa (MENA), as well as those from the diaspora who maintain a meaningful connection to the region.

Across all genres, from fashion to documentary, portraiture, fine art, and beyond, we are looking for work that reflects the richness, complexity, and plurality of experiences across the region, as well as practices that push visual language in new and unexpected directions.

## Eligibility & Submission Period

Submissions are free and open on Picter from May 21st, 2026 to September 24th, 2026 (closing at 11:59 PM CET).
The open call is open to all artists aged 18 and above.
If you have previously applied to a PhotoVogue Open Call, we encourage you to submit a new project.

## Accepted Mediums & Submission Guidelines

This Open Call welcomes photography, video, and multimedia projects across all artistic genres.

AI-generated works are not accepted.

You may submit:

A series of up to 15 images, or a combination of images and video in the case of multimedia projects

and/or

A 60-second video trailer

## Grants & Opportunities

A total of $8,000 in grants will be awarded to three outstanding artists:

$4,500 – Outstanding Vision Grant
For an artist whose work redefines creative boundaries and sets new artistic standards.

$2,000 – Vision Grant
For an artist with a unique perspective and a strong artistic voice.

$1,500 – Rising Voice Grant
For a promising artist whose work shows originality and strong potential.

## Recognition & Exposure

Selected artists will:

Be featured at the 2027 PhotoVogue Festival, offering an international platform for visibility, exchange, and dialogue
Have the opportunity to be published across Condé Nast titles in the region, including Vogue, GQ, Architectural Digest, and Condé Nast Traveler
Be invited to participate in the next PhotoVogue Virtual Portfolio Reviews

Further opportunities and updates will be shared throughout the open call.

Image: Ismail Zaidy