Entering photography contests can be an enhancement to prestige and CV. It’s always a boost to me to get a print accepted in a show or win a juried exhibit. Working toward professional society awards is another venue, long kept separate, but there’s no reason today’s artistic photographer…

…can’t be a player in both the fine art and commercial photography fields.

Read to the bottom for some current photo contests, shows and grants.

CallForEntry.org, or CaFÉ for short, is a great place to find opportunities for artists in general and photographers in particular. It’s always been hard to find venues hosting serious imaging. And so often the rules nastily state that photography is not allowed. “CaFÉ” links artists with real show and contest opportunities. Researching worthwhile contest events for photographers past the ubiquitous travel magazine pages has now gone to a new level. This is a no-brainer. Sign up today.

CaFÉ™ is brought to you by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). This consortium has harnessed data base efficient systems that benefit the arts and creative industries. Something that has been sorely needed.

“WESTAF is a non-profit arts service organization dedicated to the creative advancement and preservation of the arts. WESTAF fulfills its mission to strengthen the financial, organizational, and policy infrastructure of the arts in the West by engaging in arts-policy research and state arts agency development, convening experts and leaders around critical policy issues, developing innovative programs, providing a variety of services, and supporting programming for artists and arts organizations. WESTAF is located in Denver, Colorado, and is governed by a 22-member board of trustees largely comprised of arts leaders in the West. Founded in 1974, the organization serves the largest geographical area and number of states of the six U.S. regional arts organizations. WESTAF’s constituents include the state arts agencies, artists, and arts organizations of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
“WESTAF’s other systems include : ArtJob.org, an online Arts job bank listing national opportunities for arts administrators and others, internships, grants, public art projects, and residencies; ArtistsRegister.com, an online gallery that allows visual artists to showcase their work and connects the artists with private collectors, gallery owners, interior designers, corporate art buyers, public art administrators, and general art enthusiasts; ZAPPlication.org™, an online application and adjudication system for art fairs, festivals, and shows; and CultureGrants Online™, a highly adaptive online grants-application system designed to make it easier for state, local, and regional public arts and humanities funding agencies to manage grant-making processes. WESTAF is also the creator and purveyor of a research-based economic development tool, the Cultural Vitality Index, that measures and provides comparable data about the health of an area’s creative sectors.”

WESTAF http://www.westaf.org/ is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

It’s free to sign up to get periodic e-mailings of new opportunities for exhibitions, publications and contests. CaFÉ is a wonderful, easy to access and understand compilation of galleries and public arts venues seeking artists to submit work for consideration. Generally entry fees are low, sometimes no cost, and typical award $$ are offered. There are also grant opportunities.

The best part of CaFÉ is its transparent functionality and easy directions to apply and submit digital entries. Registry is fast and uncomplicated. There are step-by-step directions to format and create a library of digital files that are then attached to individual entry applications. There is no fee to use CaFÉ, other than the individual contest fees.

Links to specific information about shows and contests (and of course whether photography is accepted) are found in the Calendar heading. An easy scan to see what’s new, and if some event would be a fit for your style of images.

Here’s a sampling of photo opportunities as hosted at CaFÉ!

Louisville Art Association 2012 National Juried Photography Show

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Fee: $35.00 (Louisville Art Association 2012 National Juried Photography Show)
Entry Deadline: 5/9/12

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Louisville Art Association 2012 National Juried Photography Show

Aaron Siskind Foundation: 2012 Individual Photographers Fellowship

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Entry Deadline: 5/18/12

The Aaron Siskind Foundation is offering a limited number of fellowship grants for individual artists working in photography and photo-based art. Recipients are selected by a review panel on the basis of artistic excellence, accomplishment to date, and the promise of future achievement in the medium in its widest sense. Applicants must be non-students, 21 years of age or older, U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. The Foundation seeks to support artists/photographers who demonstrate a serious commitment to the field, who are professionally active or employed in the field. Applications accepted beginning: Monday, March 12th. Deadline: Friday, May 18, 2012. For more information visit: www.aaronsiskind.org

Savage Arts Council: Juried Art Competition and Show : Minnesota Only

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Fee: $40.00 (Savage Arts Council: Juried Art Competition and Show)
Event Dates: 6/14/12 – 7/21/12
Entry Deadline: 5/30/12

The Savage Arts Council presents the Sixth Annual Savage Juried Art Competition and Show, and invites all professional and amateur artists in Minnesota to apply to compete and exhibit their works. The Savage Juried Art Competition and Show is a celebration of visual arts created in Minnesota. The Show is open to the public June 14 – July 19, 2012. Artists across the state come together to showcase the wide variety and depth of art created throughout Minnesota. $1,225 in prizes will be awarded. Please join us in celebrating the original art of Minnesota.

Art Melt 2012: Louisiana ONLY

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Fee: $35.00 (Art Melt 2012)
Event Dates: 7/13/12 – 8/3/12
Entry Deadline: 6/1/12

This call is for LOUISIANA RESIDENTS ONLY! The Art Melt is the largest multi-media, juried exhibit in the state of Louisiana. Now in its 9th year, the Art Melt strives to promote professional artists throughout the state of Louisiana while providing an opportunity for the public to experience the best of local fine art, music, performing arts, and culinary creation. This show is open to Louisiana resident artists only. The Art Melt 2012 will take place in downtown Baton Rouge, LA at the Shaw Center for the Arts on Saturday, July 14th from 5-10pm. All artwork accepted to the competition will hang in the Shaw Center Gallery and remain up and open to the public for 3 weeks following the event.

Camera Club of New York 2012 Juried Photography Competition

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Entry Deadline: 6/4/12

The Camera Club of New York (CCNY) is pleased to announce an open call for entries for its Annual National Photography Competition. Photographers and photo-based artists working in any genre are eligible to apply. Applicants are encouraged to submit a cohesive body of work. This year’s jurors will be photo editor and curator Elisabeth Biondi and photographer Martine Fougeron. Selected applicants will be featured in an exhibition at the CCNY gallery in the summer of 2012 and on our website. The first place selection will receive $500. Deadline is 11:59pm, June 4, 2012.

Car Culture: LAPS Member Show: ONLY NON-CONVENTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

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Fee: $20.00 (Car Culture: LAPS Member Show)
Event Dates: 10/3/12 – 11/16/12
Entry Deadline: 6/30/12

READ CAREFULLY. THIS IS A PRINT SHOW This exhibition is a collaborative effort with the Mid America College Art Association. From the assembly lines in Dearborn, MI, to the hot rods of Southern California, the automobile reflects many aspects of our culture and society. We are seeking artwork that reflects, represents, poses questions about the vehicle or the CULTURE SURROUNDING THE AUTOMOBILE. Artists’ statements are requested and will be displayed along with the selected artwork.

Land Through the Lens: Photography of Boulder County Open Space

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Fee: $25.00 (Land Through the Lens: Photography of Boulder County Open Space)
Entry Deadline: 11/9/12

A juried show will be held at The Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder Colorado, in March 2013, to promote the discovery, understanding and enjoyment of Boulder County Parks and Open Space through the photographic celebration of the natural world.