
Contest Closed
View the 2025 Winner’s Gallery or subscribe to be the first to hear when the Art of Storytelling Contest relaunches, as well as to receive news and updates about other contests.
Art of Storytelling Contest
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About the
Global Community:
8k+
Photographers
$28,000
Total Prize Money Awarded
115+
Countries
Awards & Benefits
Winners of the 1839 Awards enjoy more than prizes; honorees will be actively promoted and celebrated throughout the year and beyond.
Prizes are designed to meet your needs as a photographer, wherever they are in their careers.
Contest Judges
The panel of judges selected for this contest represent the most important institutions and tastemakers in the art and photography world.
Judges include world-renowned photographers, curators, directors, and industry professionals who were chosen based on their respected positions within the global photography world.
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Testimonials
“I believe the credibility of the 1839 Awards recognition helped draw more attention to my work from curators and galleries.”
"After receiving the award last year, I shared the news on Instagram and updated my personal website to include the recognition. Around that time, I noticed that both Temple Gallery and SVA Flatiron Gallery had open calls with themes that aligned closely with my awarded project, Portrait of a Family. I submitted my work along with the news about the 1839 Awards, and shortly after, both curatorial teams selected pieces from the series to be included in their exhibitions."
Shaohan Fang
United States
“The interview and presentation elevated my visibility.”
“The interview and presentation elevated my visibility, and I believe it directly contributed to fotoforum — one of Germany’s top photo magazines — publishing a feature on one of my images in 2025. That kind of recognition makes a real impact.”
Hans-Martin Dölz
Germany
“The award gave people a reason to take a closer look at my work.”
“The award gave people a reason to take a closer look at my work, and I immediately saw an uptick in Instagram followers. Being able to say ‘award-winning photographer’ or ‘featured in Forbes’ is priceless. It also encouraged me to keep pursuing my vision.”
Trina O’Hara
Italy
“It was the validation I needed to keep going.”
“Winning this award gave me a huge boost in confidence at a time when I was questioning my path—it was the validation I needed to keep going. Sharing the news sparked meaningful conversations with friends, colleagues, and even collectors, leading to deeper engagement with my work. While it didn’t result in immediate sales, it showed me that the work was being seen and appreciated in new ways.”
Jay Tang
Netherlands
“I received many compliments and even sold a photograph.”
“Sharing my award-winning series Caravaggesque Lights brought wonderful feedback — I received many compliments and even sold a photograph. In short, it was a deeply satisfying experience.”
Laura Malaterra
Italy
“...Seeing my work reach audiences around the world.”
“One of the most rewarding parts of this recognition has been seeing my work reach audiences around the world. The award helped expand its visibility through international publications, showing how a personal project can connect with people across cultures and continents.”
Jaime Travezan
Peru
“I believe the credibility of the 1839 Awards recognition helped draw more attention to my work from curators and galleries.”
"After receiving the award last year, I shared the news on Instagram and updated my personal website to include the recognition. Around that time, I noticed that both Temple Gallery and SVA Flatiron Gallery had open calls with themes that aligned closely with my awarded project, Portrait of a Family. I submitted my work along with the news about the 1839 Awards, and shortly after, both curatorial teams selected pieces from the series to be included in their exhibitions."
Shaohan Fang
United States
“The interview and presentation elevated my visibility.”
“The interview and presentation elevated my visibility, and I believe it directly contributed to fotoforum — one of Germany’s top photo magazines — publishing a feature on one of my images in 2025. That kind of recognition makes a real impact.”
Hans-Martin Dölz
Germany
“The award gave people a reason to take a closer look at my work.”
“The award gave people a reason to take a closer look at my work, and I immediately saw an uptick in Instagram followers. Being able to say ‘award-winning photographer’ or ‘featured in Forbes’ is priceless. It also encouraged me to keep pursuing my vision.”
Trina O’Hara
Italy
“It was the validation I needed to keep going.”
“Winning this award gave me a huge boost in confidence at a time when I was questioning my path—it was the validation I needed to keep going. Sharing the news sparked meaningful conversations with friends, colleagues, and even collectors, leading to deeper engagement with my work. While it didn’t result in immediate sales, it showed me that the work was being seen and appreciated in new ways.”
Jay Tang
Netherlands
“I received many compliments and even sold a photograph.”
“Sharing my award-winning series Caravaggesque Lights brought wonderful feedback — I received many compliments and even sold a photograph. In short, it was a deeply satisfying experience.”
Laura Malaterra
Italy
“...Seeing my work reach audiences around the world.”
“One of the most rewarding parts of this recognition has been seeing my work reach audiences around the world. The award helped expand its visibility through international publications, showing how a personal project can connect with people across cultures and continents.”
Jaime Travezan
Peru
“I believe the credibility of the 1839 Awards recognition helped draw more attention to my work from curators and galleries.”
"After receiving the award last year, I shared the news on Instagram and updated my personal website to include the recognition. Around that time, I noticed that both Temple Gallery and SVA Flatiron Gallery had open calls with themes that aligned closely with my awarded project, Portrait of a Family. I submitted my work along with the news about the 1839 Awards, and shortly after, both curatorial teams selected pieces from the series to be included in their exhibitions."
Shaohan Fang
United States
“The interview and presentation elevated my visibility.”
“The interview and presentation elevated my visibility, and I believe it directly contributed to fotoforum — one of Germany’s top photo magazines — publishing a feature on one of my images in 2025. That kind of recognition makes a real impact.”
Hans-Martin Dölz
Germany
“The award gave people a reason to take a closer look at my work.”
“The award gave people a reason to take a closer look at my work, and I immediately saw an uptick in Instagram followers. Being able to say ‘award-winning photographer’ or ‘featured in Forbes’ is priceless. It also encouraged me to keep pursuing my vision.”
Trina O’Hara
Italy
“It was the validation I needed to keep going.”
“Winning this award gave me a huge boost in confidence at a time when I was questioning my path—it was the validation I needed to keep going. Sharing the news sparked meaningful conversations with friends, colleagues, and even collectors, leading to deeper engagement with my work. While it didn’t result in immediate sales, it showed me that the work was being seen and appreciated in new ways.”
Jay Tang
Netherlands
“I received many compliments and even sold a photograph.”
“Sharing my award-winning series Caravaggesque Lights brought wonderful feedback — I received many compliments and even sold a photograph. In short, it was a deeply satisfying experience.”
Laura Malaterra
Italy
“...Seeing my work reach audiences around the world.”
“One of the most rewarding parts of this recognition has been seeing my work reach audiences around the world. The award helped expand its visibility through international publications, showing how a personal project can connect with people across cultures and continents.”
Jaime Travezan
Peru
Winner Coverage
We're thrilled to have helped the winners of our contests receive the attention their work deserves in global media placements.
The 1839 Trophy
Our custom metal trophy, signifying that the recipient is among the most exceptional photographers out there, is reserved for contest and category winners at the 1839 Awards. Each trophy comes personalized with the award won and the name of the honoree.
*Winner's titles and award distribution may vary depending on the contest.
Contest Categories
Natural World
Conceptual/Abstract
Humanity
Moments of Connection
Cultures and Traditions
Portrait of a Place
Documentary
Character Studies
Other
Urban
Travel
Hope
Youth
Macro
Natural World
Conceptual/Abstract
Humanity
Moments of Connection
Cultures and Traditions
Portrait of a Place
Documentary
Character Studies
Other
Urban
Travel
Hope
Youth
Macro
Entry Info & Pricing
2025 Art of Storytelling Contest
Contest Closed
View the 2025 Winner’s Gallery or subscribe to be the first to hear when the Art of Storytelling Contest relaunches, as well as to receive news and updates about other contests.
























If you use your camera as a medium of expression to honor and explore the art of photography, we want to see your images.
- Step 1: Create and verify your account with 1839 and fill out your profile. Click here to get started.
Step 2: Complete your entry by uploading images and descriptions, if desired.
Step 3: Pay for your entry. You will receive confirmation of your submission and payment via email. Your submission will also be added to your artist profile.
We define professional photographers as those who sell or publish their work regularly or earn or have earned the majority of their income from their photography. A photographer who does not meet the definition of professional may submit their work as a non-professional.
This contest accepts single image entries and there is no limit on how many single image entries you may submit. We recommend that, for any images that cross categories, you consider entering them into multiple categories. If the same image is entered into multiple categories, each image will be judged as a separate entry and will be considered based on its merits in those individual categories.
Early Bird Deadlines: September 8th - September 8th
Regular Entry Deadlines: September 8th - November 7th
Extended Entry Deadline: November 7th - December 19th
Do not watermark or add a logo to your images.
Image size/type: Jpegs or PNG files with a minimum dimension of 1500 pixels on the longest edge and less than 10 MB file size.
If you need to resize your images, you can do so in Adobe Photoshop. However, there are services, such as tinypng.com that are readily available.
We accept images created on film, digital camera or your mobile phone, in any orientation such as square, portrait, or landscape.
You are not required to name your image files in any particular manner prior to uploading.
Sepia photos are acceptable for entry in the Black and White Photo Competition or in any black and white category.
Black and white images are not accepted for entry in any Color Photo Contest.
We occasionally use submissions to administer and promote the competitions. If we are to use your image, anytime we display your entry, we will credit you as the owner of that image.
AI-generated images are only admissible in a designated category as specified in any 1839 Awards contest.
Format and Sizing Requirements for Entries
Do not watermark or add a logo to your images.
Image size/ type: Jpegs or PNG files with a minimum dimension of 1500 pixels on the longest edge and less than 10 MB file size.
If you need to resize your images, you can do so in Adobe Photoshop. However, there are services, such as tinypng.com that are readily available.
We accept images created on film, digital camera or your mobile phone, in any orientation such as square, portrait, or landscape.
You are not required to name your image files in any particular manner prior to uploading.
Sepia photos are acceptable for entry in the Black and White Photo Competition or in any black and white category.
Black and white images are not accepted for entry in any Color Photo Contest.
You can submit your images to as many 1839 Awards contests as you’d like regardless of whether they have previously been awarded or submitted. 1839 Awards also does not require images to be exclusively entered into our contests.
We do not have any restrictions on where your submitted images may have also appeared. Images that are on your website, have been featured in a publication, or have won other awards are welcome.
Eligibility is not dependent upon having created the artwork during a specific time period.
AI-generated images are not admissible in any 1839 Awards contest. We reserve the right to request proof of the image not being generated by AI as well as for proof of ownership of the original files.
During the entry process, you will have an opportunity to add some brief information about your work such as a title or description. While a title is required for each entry, the description field is optional and you will not be penalized for leaving these fields blank. However, if you feel that text may add value to your image(s) for the sake of the judges, please be sure to add it.
Certain contests accept 2-5 images as a series. Images submitted as a series should all work within a single concept, idea, or framework that binds them together, even if their subject matter or other elements within the images vary.
Text Limitations for All Entries
Title: (maximum 40 characters per image)
Description: (maximum 300 characters per image)
No priority is given to either series or single image entries, regardless of the contest.
Judging is done blindly in a two-step process in which a select number of entries are nominated for awards in each category via a preliminary round.
In subsequent judging rounds, each judge's rankings are aggregated to determine the category and overall contest winners.
Contacting or lobbying judges is strictly prohibited and may lead to disqualification. Any associated entries belonging to a participant who contacted or lobbied judges will be disqualified.
Image Credits
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