The Chennai Photo Biennale launches the third edition of its International Open Call on World Photography Day, 19 August 2026, in partnership with SIGMA India. Open globally to photographers and lens-based artists of all ages, it invites urgent visual stories across genres, with selected works to be exhibited in Chennai in early 2027, continuing its expansive, interdisciplinary approach to photography.
The third edition of the Chennai Photo Biennale (CPB) International Open Call is inviting photographers and lens-based artists worldwide to submit images and visual stories they believe need to be seen now. Launching on 19 August 2026, World Photography Day, the open call is presented in partnership with SIGMA India. Submissions will remain open until 31 October, with selected works to be exhibited in Chennai in early 2027.
The initiative has grown considerably since its first iteration. Across its first two editions, the open call received more than 15,000 image submissions from over 40 countries, and the work of more than 160 photographers was exhibited at venues across Chennai, including VR Chennai, Avatar Foundation for the Arts, and Chennai Corporation Public Parks. More than a lakh visitors saw the exhibitions across these spaces.
This opportunity is open to photographers and artists of any age, from anywhere in the world. The call invites photographic and lens-based work in a wide variety of styles, including nature, portraiture, documentary, landscape, still life, conceptual, and experimental practices. While submissions must be grounded in photography or lens-based methods, participants can incorporate or intersect with other art forms such as performance, painting, sculpture, sound, literature, text, and additional media. Both single images and photographic series are accepted, enabling artists to share a distinctive viewpoint, artistic voice, or way of seeing. There is no set theme for this open call, giving artists the freedom to submit work that reflects their own interests, inquiries, and methods, without needing to respond to a specific curatorial concept.
The expanded jury for this edition comprises photographers, artists, curators, educators and arts professionals, including Bhavna Kakkar, Charan Singh, Indrajit Khambe, Senthil Kumaran, Vineet Vohra, Uma Bista, Umah Jacob, and Ushmita Sahu.
As juror Indrajit Khambe notes, “In an age when AI-generated images are taking over every digital platform, I believe raw, authentic images, those that feel genuinely captured by humans, will become increasingly valuable. An open call is one of the most authentic ways to share such images with serious photography enthusiasts and viewers.” The CPB International Open Call Edition 3 arrives at an interesting juncture, posing a simple yet more urgent question: what images do we need to see now?
Submissions for the CPB International Open Call Edition 3 open on 19 August and close on 31 October 2026. The selected works will be exhibited in Chennai in January/February 2027.
The launch of the open call will be followed by a panel discussion titled ’Photography Now’ on 5th September, with Senthil Kumaran (Juror) and Dhivya Ravishakar (former applicant), moderated by CPB Co-founder, Varun Gupta.
Venue: SIGMA India (Shetala Agencies Pvt Ltd) , 27, 5th Street, Bharathi Ave, Kaveri Nagar, Kottivakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600041
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