PHODAR Biennial invites photographers worldwide to enter its 14th international photography competition, dedicated to the theme “Traces Remain”.

Founded in Bulgaria in 1999, PHODAR brings together photographers, audiences, and perspectives from across the world. Through its competition, exhibitions, and publications, the biennial creates a space for contemporary photography that encourages reflection, dialogue, and a deeper engagement with the world around us.

At the heart of PHODAR is the photographic series. Working across multiple images allows photographers to develop an idea, reveal its complexity, and build connections that unfold through sequencing. The biennial welcomes distinctive personal visions and projects that combine a considered visual approach with depth of meaning.

The theme of this edition, “Traces Remain”, explores the marks left by time, human presence, and historical events. Borrowing its title from a novel by Bulgarian writer Pavel Vezhinov, it invites photographers to consider what survives, what disappears, and how photography shapes our understanding of both.

Traces can be found in altered landscapes, abandoned spaces, family archives, and the human body. They also exist in memories, relationships, and experiences that continue to influence our lives. What do we choose to preserve? What do we try to erase? And what can a photograph reveal about something that is no longer there?

The competition is open to professional and amateur photographers aged 18 and over, regardless of nationality. Entries should consist of a coherent series of 8 to 20 photographs from an ongoing or completed project. All photographic genres are welcome, provided the work responds to the theme.

With Grand Prize and Debut sections, alongside an Award for Humanistic Photography, PHODAR recognises both established voices and photographers at the beginning of their creative journey. Selected work reaches audiences through festival exhibitions, the biennial’s photobook, and its online platform.

Submit your series and share your interpretation of the traces that remain.