The RPS International Photography Exhibition (IPE) is the world’s longest running photography exhibition. We encourage everyone to participate in the annual open call, including new, emerging and established photographers worldwide, and everyone can submit one image for free. Explore the entry information below and find out how you can take part.
The RPS is an independent educational charity. By supporting the IPE, you help us to continue our mission of bringing 'Photography for Everyone'.
International Photography Exhibition 164
Entries are now closed. Shortlisted entrants will be announced in July 2022.
Call for Entries / IPE 164
Photographers and image-makers, of all ages, can submit their work to the RPS International Photography Exhibition. Submissions are encouraged from new, emerging and established photographers worldwide.
The IPE presents a unique opportunity to exhibit in a group exhibition at The Royal Photographic Society in Bristol, UK, and other nationwide venues, alongside a prize fund to support future photographic projects.
Exhibition selection is anonymous throughout, including the award winners, with a changing guest selection panel for each edition. The process is both rigorous and fair, where digital image and print work form part of the selection process. Each IPE edition is a unique celebration of photography today.
The information on this page includes all you need to know to submit your work to the International Photography Exhibition, including details of our Awards, key dates and an extensive FAQs. If you have an enquiry, or would like to hire and exhibit the IPE at your venue, email the Exhibitions Team. We thank you for your support of the RPS.
Entries are now closed.
Entry Information
1. Anyone of any age can submit their images to the IPE - this includes student, amateur, professional and non-professional photographers and image-makers worldwide.
2. The IPE is an open-call exhibition; therefore all subjects and approaches can be submitted, including alternative photographic processes and experimental work. There are no predefined categories, allowing for a completely open submission. Read our FAQs for details on artwork size. Entrants can submit four images from a series of work or four single images. One free single image entry is available to everyone.
3. Register online to submit your images. After the closing date, 17 May 2022, the online selection takes place and all shortlisted entrants are invited to submit prints for the final stage of selection. Entrants remain anonymous throughout the online and print selection process.
4. We will support you to submit prints of your work if you are shortlisted during the online selection. All shortlisted entrants receive £35 print credit towards the cost of producing their work, using London based professional fine art print lab theprintspace, which includes free worldwide delivery to the RPS. The RPS will frame the selected exhibition.
Early-bird prize draw deadline:
Friday 1 April 2022
Closing date for entries:
Tuesday 17 May 2022
Notify shortlisted entrants:
Friday 1 July 2022
Print submission window for shortlisted entrants:
Friday 1 July - Friday 12 August 2022
ENTRY COST
One free single image submission is available to all entrants. Payment for a series of work or a set of single images is made online during the entry process.
Standard entry of four images:
£30 per person
RPS Member entry of four images:
£24 per person
Entry of four images for anyone Under 30:
£18 per person*
*Entrants must be under 30 years old on 17 May 2022 (proof of age will be required if selected)
Reduced entry available for groups of 10+.
Please contact the Exhibitions Team
Please find a step-by-step guide on submitting your images to the International Photography Exhibition and a list of frequently asked questions.
CONTACT US
For further enquiries contact the
Exhibitions Team
The IPE is selected from an open-call. This means that images across all genres, using different types, processes, and experimental techniques can be submitted.
Explore the collection from recent editions and be inspired to enter your work.
Over 4000 photographers submitted to the International Photography Exhibition 163. View a selection of stand out submissions from shortlisted photographers who submitted their prints for the selection process.
Exhibition's History
The International Photography Exhibition has been held almost every year since 1854 and is the longest running exhibition of its kind in the world.
In the early years, the exhibition included work from some of the world's most eminent photographers including Julia Margaret Cameron, Roger Fenton, Edward Steichen and Paul Strand.
Meet the IPE 163 photographers
57 photographers were selected to exhibit in the International Photography Exhibition 163 from the annual open-call, including new, emerging, and established photographers worldwide.
Find out more about the artist and their work
Awards & Recognition
The International Photography Exhibition presents an opportunity to exhibit in the world's longest running photography exhibition. You will also be eligible for several significant awards:
1. IPE Award / £1500 and 1-year free membership to the RPS
2. Under 30s Award / £1000 and 1-year free membership to the RPS
3. Exhibition Tour / 100 photographs will be selected for the touring exhibition, opening at the RPS Gallery, Bristol
4. RPS Photographic Commission / £1250 commission to create new work, awarded by the RPS
5. RPS Journal Features / Four opportunities for a photographer to feature in the award-winning RPS Journal, selected by the Editor
6. Visitor Prize / £250 prize voted for by visitors to the Bristol exhibition
7. Selectors Spotlight / Four photographers will receive a statement by one of the guest selectors about why they selected the work. This will be included in the exhibition
8. IPE Journal Edition / All selected photographers will receive a digital copy of the IPE edition of the award-winning RPS Journal
9. International Recognition / Shortlisted photographers will be celebrated across our online and digital channels, including opportunities for Instagram take-overs
10. Membership Offer / All IPE entrants receive 15% discount on a new RPS membership
11. Digital Spotlight / We will share stand-out entries during the entry period across RPS digital channels
RPS Gallery, Bristol, United Kingdom
The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) is an educational charity committed to bringing photography to everyone. Founded when photography was in its infancy, today we are a world-leading photographic community.
Our gallery is situated in the photography hub of Bristol alongside the Martin Parr Foundation. Previous exhibitions have included IN PROGRESS: Laia Abril - Hoda Afshar - Widline Cadet - Adama Jalloh - Alba Zari; Jack Latham's Sugar Paper Theories and Mandy Barker's Altered Ocean.
Selection Panel
Mariama Attah is a photography curator, writer and lecturer with a particular interest in overlooked visual histories, and understanding how photography and visual culture can be used to amplify underrepresented voices. Mariama is curator of Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool. She was previously Assistant Editor of Foam Magazine. Prior to this, she was Curator of Photoworks, where she was responsible for developing and curating programs and events including Brighton Photo Biennial and was also Commissioning and Managing Editor of the yearly magazine Photoworks Annual.
Amak Mahmoodian is an Iranian artist based in UK. Her work questions notions of identity, bridging a space personal and political. Amak’s practice explores the effects of exile on memory, dreams and daily life. In 2015, she completed a practice-based doctorate in photography at the University of South Wales, having previously studied at the Art University of Tehran. Working with image, poems and archives, she looks for lyrical realities framed in photographs. Amak has shown her work extensively and won numerous awards.
Ryan Prince is an award-winning portrait and documentary photographer based in London. He uses his camera as a tool to explore themes that revolve around his own identity as a black British male from the Jamaican diaspora. Ryan’s photographic work has been in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, The Royal Photographic Society 163rd international exhibition and he was the winner of the Martin Parr Foundation Bursary Award.
Michael has been involved in photography for his whole career. He started as a photography specialist at Christie’s auction house where he curated auctions internationally. He has a particular knowledge of British photography but his interests extend across Western, Asian and African historical and contemporary photography.
Michael leads the RPS's education and public programmes. He is also the founder of the online community, British Photographic History.
Recent Awardees
"I am really humbled that my work has been selected for the IPE awards, especially after seeing all the amazing work that was submitted this year!"
Tim Franco, France
"I am deeply honored to win the award and I am thankful to everyone who appreciates my dad’s story."
KyeongJun Yang, South Korea
"It's an incredible honor to not only be a part of an historic exhibition but to also have my work recognized by such an esteemed committee. The support and resources of The RPS has encouraged me to continue pushing myself and my work in ways that weren’t possible before. I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity to share my interpretation of what it means to be human on this strange and fantastic planet."
Cody Cobb, USA
"As any other debut project, the work follows many long periods of experimenting, indecision and risk. It’s a privilege to have it be given this level of recognition and platform for outreach and exposure - especially amongst the high standard of photography in this year’s RPS exhibition."
Chirag Jindal, New Zealand
"I am extremely grateful to be awarded the Gold RPS Award from such a strong line up. I really rated the names on the judging panel and the other photographers that participated. I hoped they’d see something engaging in terms of the background story behind this project as Nevis itself is so steeped in history, so I feel both delighted and very humbled to be selected for the award."
Catherine Hyland, UK
The International Photography Exhibition is supported by
