VIEW ALL
Grants & Open Calls
Open Call Rules
Open Call

The $20,000 Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture

A $20,000 prize awarded annually to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photographic portraiture.

In addition to the winner, the jury selects three finalists each year who are invited to participate in an exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography. The Prize is generously funded by the Arnold & Augusta Newman Foundation and proudly administered by Maine Media. The Griffin Museum of Photography hosts the annual exhibition of work by the winner and three finalists each October.

The open call is now live and will close on Friday, August 7, 2023 at 11:59pm. 
Submit or edit your work

Updates:

Visura is hosting a Q&A session to learn about the Arnold Newman Prize, and best help prepare anyone interested in participating - RSVP here to receive a Zoom link to the event.

Dates for the virtual Q&A events:
Thursday, July 27 at 11:00am
Wednesday, August 2 at 1:00pm




The 2023 jury consists of Sarah Leen, Caleb Cain Marcus, and Lisa Elmaleh. View the 2022 winner, finalists, and honorable mentions.

The contest is open to all photographers age 18+ internationally, except where laws prohibit it.

Terms & Conditions

Deadlines & Notification:

The call for entries will be open from July 5, 2023, and close at 11:59pm on August 7, 2023. All entries must be received during the call for entries and no later than 11:59pm ET, August 7, 2023, to be eligible. All entrants will be notified of their status by August 2023.

Fees:

There is a $60 fee per submission. All fees are paid through Visura and are non-refundable.

Application Fee Waiver: Through a partnership with The Authority Collective, Black Women Photographers, Diversify Photo, Foto Féminas, Indigenous Photograph, and Women Photograph, the Arnold Newman Prize will be making a select number of application fee waivers available to photographers seeking to apply to the 2023 Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture.Photographers who cannot afford the submission fee should request a fee waiver from one of the following organizations before July 31, 2023. Please note: You must fit the demographic makeup of the individual organizations from whom you are requesting the waiver.

For fee waiver questions or inquiries, please contact contest@mainemedia.edu.

Prizes:

The winner will receive $20,000. This prize is unrestricted and may be used however the winning artist wishes. Each of the three finalists will receive a $250 stipend to help cover expenses related to participating in the exhibition. The winner and three finalists will be officially announced in August 2023 and their work will be featured in an exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA from October 19 to 29, 2023, with an opening reception on October 6. Artists will be responsible for shipping work to/from the Griffin

Jurying:

Jurying will begin once the call for entries has closed. The 2023 jury consists of Sarah Leen, Caleb Cain Marcus, and Lisa Elmaleh. All submissions will be reviewed by the jurors. All jurying will be done anonymously. All decisions made by the jurors are final.

Image Guidelines:

  • Images may originate in any format, including but not limited to digital files, digital prints, color transparencies, color prints, or black and white prints — so long as they are submitted electronically.
  • Previously published material for which non-exclusive rights were granted may be entered as long as you still maintain the right to grant Maine Media a license.
  • For a photograph in which a person is recognizable, you must be able to provide a model release from the subject or, in the case of a minor, the subject’s parent or guardian and provide it to Maine Media upon request. You do not need to submit it at the time of entry.
  • Each submitted photograph, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material made by the applicant. By entering the competition, the entrant acknowledges that the submitted photographs are original work created solely by the applicant; that the photographs do not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity, or intellectual property rights of any person or entity; and that no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the photographs. Photographs that violate or infringe upon another person’s copyright are not eligible.
  • The photographs entered must not, in the sole discretion of Maine Media, contain obscene, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable content. Entries deemed inappropriate will be disqualified.

Finalists may be asked to submit a high-resolution file of at least 300 ppi at 12 inches on the longest side. Maine Media reserves the right to disqualify contestants who are unable to provide a high-resolution file.

Eligibility:

All photographers of any level, 18 years and older, are eligible. Individuals affiliated with Maine Media, including current full-time or part-time year-round employees, board members, and their immediate families (children, siblings, and spouses) are not eligible to enter. Maine Media shall determine winner eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion. This contest is not available in all countries, states, or provinces where rules translation, registration, or bonding is required and is void where prohibited.

Use Rights:

Entrants retain all rights to their work. Entrants must own and have exclusive copyright to all images they submit. By submitting to Maine Media, entrants grant the use of images for the purpose of marketing by Maine Media and for display on the Maine Media and Arnold Newman Archive websites. As conditions of this permission, Maine Media shall attribute all photographs to the maker.

Privacy:

We respect your privacy. Maine Media will not sell, rent or exchange your e-mail address.

Legal Terms and Conditions:

  • This competition is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Certain restrictions may apply. Entries will be void if Maine Media determines the entry to not be an original, or if the entries are illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, or obtained through fraud or theft.
  • Participants also agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules; (b) that the decisions of the Jurors are final on all matters relating to the competition; and (c) if he/she wins that Maine Media may use each winner's name, city, state, and photograph in any publicity or advertising relating to the Arnold Newman Prize. All federal, state, and local taxes on the prize are the sole responsibility of the prize recipient.
  • Maine Media, in its sole discretion, reserves the right not to award the prize in the event that an insufficient number of eligible entries meeting the minimum judging criteria are received, and in this case, will return the entry fees.
  • In the event that the selected recipient of the prize is ineligible or refuses the prize, the prize will be forfeited and Maine Media, in its sole discretion, with advice from the Arnold Newman Prize Advisory committee, may choose whether to award the prize to another entrant.

Third Party Release/License:

Upon request by Maine Media, each entrant must be prepared to provide a signed, written, personal release from all persons who appear in the photograph submitted, authorizing us to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry in connection with and promotion of the Arnold Newman Prize, in any media now or hereafter. In addition, upon request by Maine Media, each entrant must be prepared to provide a signed, written, license from the copyright owner of any sculpture, artwork, or other copyrighted material that appears in the photograph entry, authorizing us to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the photograph in connection with any promotions of the competition. Failure to provide such releases upon request may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.

Limitation of Liability:

By participating, entrants agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless Maine Media and each of its partners, affiliates, agents, and its employees, directors, and representatives from any claims, losses, and damages arising out of their participation in the Arnold Newman Prize or any competition-related activities and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any prize awarded hereunder. Maine Media assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of, or unauthorized access to, Prize entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. Maine Media is not responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail entry to be received on account of technical problems, or traffic congestion on the Internet, or at any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to this competition.

Right to Cancel or Suspend Contest:

If for any reason the Arnold Newman Prize is not capable of running as planned due to infection by computer viruses, bugs, worms, trojan horses, denial of service attacks, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Maine Media that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this competition, Maine Media reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the entry process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. If Maine Media elects to cancel or terminate the competition, Maine Media will not retain any rights in the submitted entries and will return the entry fees.
(Click here for Visura's Terms & Condititions)