PHOTO IS:RAEL is pleased to invite artists to submit proposals for the Main Exhibition of the 13th International Photography Festival, taking place in Tel Aviv in October 2026.

Selected works will be exhibited in the Festival’s Main Exhibition and featured in the 2026 Festival catalog and website.

The theme of this year’s festival, Citizens, positions photography as active civic practice. Citizenship is not merely a legal designation, but a choice to be present and to make one’s voice heard. By bringing forward grassroots perspectives, the festival transforms personal experience into shared public knowledge. The camera becomes a means of claiming visibility, enabling marginalized groups to redefine themselves and, through acts of creation and participation, take part in shaping and strengthening the democratic fabric.
Scheduled for October to coincide with the upcoming elections, the festival seeks to foster a celebration of civic engagement and democracy, contributing to the resilience of Israel’s democratic values.

We invite artists working across a wide range of media – including photography, film, video, performance documentation, animation, and digital, interactive, or hybrid forms – to submit proposals for the upcoming Festival. We welcome submissions from artists worldwide, at all stages of their careers, featuring existing works or new projects that explore this year's theme.