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2026 SPE Membership Exhibition Call

Juror: Maria Kelly, Assistant Curator of Photography, High Museum of Art

SPE   /   Deadline: 01/30/26

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2026 SPE Membership Exhibition Call
Gallery: SCAD, Atlanta, GA.
Exhibition Dates: March 16th - April 3rd, 2026
Juror: Maria Kelly, Assistant Curator of Photography, High Museum of Art
Artist Reception: Thursday, March 19, 2026, 6:00-9:00 pm
Our call for entry is now open for the 2026 Members Exhibition, coinciding with the 63rd annual Society for Photographic Education conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Submissions will be accepted through January 30th, 2026.
Members are invited to submit work related to our conference theme, Catalyst for Exchange. At its core, communication revolves around connection—a mutual space for exchanging meaningful and relevant information. As photographers, we can use images to challenge assumptions, dismantle barriers, and spark meaningful conversations. In today's rapidly changing world, social, academic, and cultural systems are being reshaped at a pace that often leaves little room for reflection or dialogue. These shifts demand new approaches and open exchanges considering individual and collective experiences.
Submitted work may include still imagery, mixed media, experimental work, and/or book arts. SCAD will be printing 2D work (still imagery). All other work must be shipped. The maximum size is 24 inches on the longest dimension for 2D prints.

Juror Maria Kelly:

Maria L. Kelly is the Assistant Curator of Photography at the High Museum of Art. Maria was the curatorial assistant in the High's photography department from 2011 to 2016 and returned to the museum in 2019. During her time at the High, Maria has helped organize more than twenty-five photography installations. Her exhibitions at the High include Photography's New Vision: Experiments in Seeing (2025), Tyler Mitchell: Idyllic Space (2024), Underexposed: Women Photographers from the Collection (2021), What Is Near: Reflections on Home (2016), Helen Levitt: In the Street (2015), and Leonard Freed: Black in White America (2014). She was the venue curator for Deana Lawson (2022), co-organized by the ICA Boston and MoMA PS1, and André Kertész: Postcards from Paris (2022), organized by the Art Institute of Chicago.

Maria holds a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia, both in art history. Her master's thesis, The Unfixed Landscape: Meghann Riepenhoff & Matthew Brandt, considered experimental bodies of work by both artists within the context of the history of photography and the Land Art movement. Previously, she worked at The Sir Elton John Photography Collection and the Brooklyn Museum and has held internships at The Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Georgia Museum of Art.

Location

Gallery: SCAD, Atlanta, GA.

Fees

Student Members: $15.00 / Non-Student Members: $30.00

Eligibility

Eligibility:
This Call for Entry is open to all active members of SPE. You must be a member of SPE during the time of the exhibition (March 2026). All memberships will be verified before images are delivered to the juror for review.

Requirements

Submission Requirements & Timeline:
Work may be submitted through SlideRoom until Jan. 30, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
All images must be submitted as jpeg files, sized to 1200 pixels (@72 ppi) on the longest dimension, sRGB color space.
Applicants must include a screenshot of their membership status.
Incomplete applications, those without payment, late submissions, or those without current (at the time of jurying) membership, will not be considered.
Notification of selected work - Feb. 15th, 2026.
Works not printed by SCAD (mixed media, experimental work, and/or book arts) MUST arrive at the gallery by March 9, 2026
If your work is selected and not printed by SCAD (mixed media, experimental work, and/or book arts), you will be responsible for shipping to and from the gallery, including any associated fees and insurance. An exhibitor agreement and further instructions will be provided.
Accepted 2D works printed by SCAD will be destroyed after the exhibition. Work must be at most 24 inches on the long dimension.
Any artwork that does not adhere to the guidelines above will be rejected.

Contact Information

T Roberts

W: https://spenational.slideroom.com/#/Login
E: atl2026@spenational.org