THE CENTER ANNUAL

THE CENTER ANNUAL

©Isabella Kahn (left), ©Simon Silva (right), ©Katie Kehoe (bottom)

SUBMISSIONS OPEN

DEADLINE APRIL 19, 2026

The Center Annual is Houston Center for Photography’s yearly group exhibition that seeks to highlight and provide insight into current themes, technologies, and practices in photography. The show features a diverse array of works from members of our global photography community and is selected by a leading curator, editor, or artist. This annual exhibition opens our galleries to photographers from anywhere in the world, whether emerging, mid-career, or established, and as such, aims to provide viewers with critical insight into our current moment—both within the field of photography and within society at large. Of those selected, two artists are chosen to receive the HCP Juried Membership Honoraria of $500 each.

HCP is thrilled to announce a NEW print purchase award for our Center Annual exhibitions: The Museum of Fine Arts Houston Purchase Award, gift of the Houston Center for Photography with the support of Joan Morgenstern and Patricia Eifel. The purchase award, a cash prize of up to $5,000, will be awarded each year to an artist or artists picked by MFAH Curator of Photography, Lisa Volpe, from among those exhibited in HCP’s Center Annual. The chosen work will become part of the permanent collection at MFAH if approved by the museum’s review committee. This award is offered in addition to the two $500 HCP Juried Membership Honoraria that are awarded every Center Annual Exhibition. 

Many thanks to our generous supporters Joan Morgenstern and Patricia Eifel.

This year’s 43rd Center Annual is juried by Asha Iman Veal. Submissions are open until April 19, 2026!  

About the Juror: Asha Iman Veal

Asha Iman Veal is a curator for globally collaborative exhibitions of contemporary art, focused on conceptual photography and moving-image, cross-diasporic themes, and intercultural dialogues through methodologies of art education. Veal is a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives and works between Paris, France and Chicago, Illinois. 

Asha Iman’s recent past exhibitions include: Black Creativity at the Museum of Science & Industry (Chicago 2025); Everyone Wants to Know More / Beyond the Realm of Fantasy, Faculty Triennial at the MSU Broad Museum by Zaha Hadid (Michigan (2024); LOVE: Still Not the Lesser at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago 2023); Beautiful Diaspora / You Are Not the Lesser Part at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago 2022); RAISIN (vol1) at the Chicago Architecture Biennial (Chicago 2022); Martine Gutierrez at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago 2021); Dream at Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago 2021); The Tokyo Show: Black & Brown Are Beautiful at the Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago 2019); and more.

She’s visited as an invited lecturer at institutions including GRAIN Projects UK, Humanity In Action – Netherlands, Istituto Italiano Cultura Chicago, Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam Netherlands, San Diego State University, Stockholm University Department of Culture and Aesthetics, and more. Veal regularly serves as a guest critic and jury reviewer for awards and residencies, including the East African Photography Awards, Terra Foundation/American Academy in Rome, Visual Studies Workshop NY, University of Chicago Arts + Public Life, and more. She’s a frequent invited portfolio reviewer and crit panelist for organizations including the FORMAT International Photography Festival UK, Rencontres d'Arles France, FotoFest Houston, University of Chicago DOVA, RISDI, Chicago Artist Coalition, and others. She contributed to the recent texts: Jess T. Dugan & Charlotte Cotton: Love Pictures (2026 Radius Books), Diasporas are the Landscape (2025 Visual Studies Workshop), Here, There: New Perspectives on the Collection (2025 Illinois State Museum).

Veal is a board member of Filter Photo in Chicago.

(BA New York University, Gallatin School of Individualized Study. MFA The New School. MA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. PhD The University of London Institute in Paris, in process)

All entrants must be, or become, HCP members at the time of submission. To become an HCP member, click here.

Please note that memberships are non-refundable.

Your membership number and discount code may be acquired by emailing info@hcponline.org with the subject line “Membership ID request.”

DEADLINES/CALENDAR - 2026

Friday, March 20th – Call for entries opens

Sunday, April 19th, 2026 – Call for entries deadline

Early May 2026 – HCP notifies applicants

Early June 2026 – Exhibition opens

Submit here
Submit here

 FAQs

  • Absolutely not! As long as you’re an HCP member and want to show your photo-based work, you’re welcome to apply.

  • No, this is an international open call.

  • No, there is no entry fee, but you must be a member of the Houston Center for Photography to apply for this call, for which there is a fee. If you are a member but do not know your membership number, contact us at (713) 529-4755 ext. 10 or info@hcponline.org.

    Not a member? Click here to join!

  • Members receive 15% off online and onsite courses, along with gaining the opportunity to enter either one or both of annual calls for entry: The Center Annual and the HCP Fellowship Awards.

    The calls you may enter depends on the membership level you select.

  • Carefully edit a group of no more than 5 images or videos that describe your current photographic work.

    Videos should be saved as either QuickTime (.mov) files or MPEG-4 (.mp4) files. Images should be resized using the following specifications:

    • JPEG (.jpg) or PNG (.png) filetype

    • 72 DPI

    • 2000 pixels (px) on the LONGEST side

    • Adobe RGB (1998)

    You will also need to have the following information available:

    • Artist Statement

    • Artist Bio

    • CV or Artist Resume (PDF or Word Doc)

    • Artist Website (if applicable)

    • Title, Year, Size (in inches) and Medium of each piece

  • We use the application platform Submittable for all of our calls for entry. Once the call opens, clicking the “APPLY NOW” button will take you directly to the online portal to submit your application.

    Once on Submittable, You will need to click “Submit” to begin the submission process. Then you can start to copy/paste your artist statement and resume or bio into the form and complete the questions. At the end, you will be able to upload your images to submit.

    Make sure you have your HCP membership number handy since you’ll have to enter it during the application process.

  • Yes. Each year a new juror is selected to ensure that there is a fresh set of eyes on our members’ work.

  • No, you cannot submit work that has previously been exhibited at Houston Center for Photography.

  • Applicants will be notified via the e-mail used for their Submittable submission about whether or not their work was accepted into the exhibition shortly after the Juror makes their decision. From there, the HCP will reach out to the Exhibitors to schedule shipping arrangements.

    HCP retains the right to reject any selected work that differs from the work submitted.

  • Yes, HCP’s staff, Board of Directors, and Friends & Founders Circle members are eligible to apply for the Center Annual, however they are not eligible for cash awards, purchase prizes, or any further recognition by the juror.

  • HCP shall provide insurance covering the Selected Work commencing from the time the work is picked up for shipment from the Exhibitor, continuing throughout the Exhibition, and terminating upon redelivery of the work to the Exhibitor or to such other address as specified by the Exhibitor. HCP retains the right to display and reproduce work accepted for this exhibition for publicity and promotional purposes—including but not limited to advertisements regarding the future of HCP’s Exhibitions department, Education department. A. C. E programs, and other areas in promotional of the HCP. The Exhibitor retains the original copyright to their artwork.

    • HCP is responsible for the payment of the costs of shipping to and from HCP via ground shipment only. HCP will not cover the cost to produce a crate or for any other packaging materials. Packaging peanuts are NOT permitted.

    • HCP is responsible for installing and lighting the Exhibition.

    • The Exhibitor’s entry constitutes understanding and agreement with the conditions outlined in this prospectus.

    • HCP Memberships are nonrefundable.

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