The 14th PHODAR Biennial invites photographers worldwide to submit their work on the theme “Traces Remain”.
Founded in Bulgaria in 1999, PHODAR celebrates contemporary photography through its international competition, exhibitions, and publications. Its focus is the photographic series, encouraging projects that combine a distinctive visual language with depth of meaning.
Awards include the Grand Prize, Debut Award, and Award for Humanistic Photography.
“Traces Remain” takes its title from a novel by Bulgarian writer Pavel Vezhinov. Drawing on Susan Sontag’s reflections in On Photography, the theme explores the marks left by time, people, and events. From personal memories and family archives to altered landscapes and social transformations, what do we preserve, what do we erase, and how do we interpret what remains?
The competition welcomes professional and amateur photographers aged 18 and over from all countries. Each entrant may submit one coherent series of 8 to 20 images from an ongoing or completed project. All photographic genres are welcome.
Photographs must have been taken on or after 1 January 2025. Long-term projects continued or further developed since that date may also include earlier photographs. Stock photography is not permitted.
Selected works will be exhibited during the PHODAR festival in Sofia, with opportunities for inclusion in the biennial’s photobook and online gallery. Copyright remains with the photographers.
Submit your series and share your interpretation of the traces that remain.
No Entry Fee!
It's free to enter.