CALL OUT FOR STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Public space is always in flux, shaped not only by policy and planning, but also by protest, improvisation, and the rhythms of everyday life. Change might be gradual, like service lanes becoming café-filled laneways, or temporary, like street parties or guerrilla gardens. Often, uses overlap, such as the flight of stairs that is both a commuter’s shortcut and a skateboarder’s playground.
For the upcoming exhibition Rehearsing the City, we reflect on public space as a stage, a place where meaning is constantly performed, contested, and redefined. The exhibition will present archival photographs from Victoria’s government collections that capture moments when the urban environment was reimagined or repurposed, alongside new work by contemporary street photographers responding to how space is used today.
For this call-out, we’re looking for photographs taken in Victoria within the past two years that reveal how public space evolves through both individual and collective influence. This could include government projects, corporate developments, protests, or community-led changes. It could also show how people use the built environment in creative or unexpected ways, reinterpreting or subverting its intended design through everyday actions or deliberate acts of resistance.
The 11 chosen photographs will be exhibited in Rehearsing the City, opening May 2026 at the Victorian Archives Centre Gallery in North Melbourne. They will also be included in the online version of the exhibition and will have the opportunity to become part of the State Archives' permanent collection. (If you'd like to find out more about how records are chosen for the permanent collection, watch this video: prov.vic.gov.au/what-do-we-archive-and-why)
Our definition of street photography:
- Candid and unstaged.
- Taken in a public space.
- Unmanipulated work, which remains true to the original image captured through the lens.
- Includes people or evidence of people having been in the space.
- Makes an observation or provokes thought.
Our definition of city:
Any public space where different people might cross paths. We welcome photographs taken in regional Victoria!
Guidelines:
- Complete the online Submission Form.
- Submissions are free.
- Up to 3 submissions per person.
- A title, location and artist statement are required for every photograph submitted.
- Submissions close 9am Tuesday 27 January 2026.
- Your image must be online and available for us to view without a password. This preview file does not need to be high resolution. Before sending us the link please test that it can be viewed when you are logged out of the application. The link must go directly to a single image. If you'd like to keep your work private, we recommend uploading to Google Drive or Dropbox, both of which are free to set up. If using Google Drive, please ensure that the sharing link is set to '
- All images must be taken in 2024 - 2026, within the state of Victoria, Australia.
- All images should interpret the theme Rehearsing the City (as outlined above) and be street photography (as defined above).
- Entrants will be notified of the outcome on Friday 13 February 2026 and selected photographers will have one week to send us their high-resolution files for exhibition.
- Photographs will be printed for the exhibition at 71cm on the longest side at 300dpi. Ideally we would like files for printing that are at least 8386 pixels on the longest side, but anything above 10MP (3872 x 2592 pixels) should be ok. If your file is smaller than 3872 pixels on the longest side, please check with us before submitting. Please do not upscale your file.
- Image rights remain with the photographer. VAC Gallery will use images for publicity purposes only.
- Exhibiting photographers will receive a payment of $300 (+GST if registered).
- For any questions, email media@prov.vic.gov.au with the subject line: Rehearsing the City.
- To join our mailing list, fill in your details here: https://prov.vic.gov.au/provenance-subscription and select VAC Gallery.
Submission Form: