Call for Entry: twenty third Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition Opens on the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
Theme: I Know Why the Mockingbird Sings
Exhibition Dates: February 6 – May 2, 2026
Submission Deadline: November 20, 2025
BOONE, N.C.
— The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (TCVA) at Appalachian State University
invitations photographers to submit work for the twenty third Appalachian Mountain Photography
Competition (AMPC), opening February 6, 2026. This 12 months’s theme,
“I Know Why the
Mockingbird Sings,
” was chosen by juror Ty Murray, artivist and Director of Art &
Communications at The Bottom, a nonprofit cultural group in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Murray describes the inspiration behind the theme:
“Joy is on the coronary heart of my inventive apply. My gears had been turning for a theme that
may convey the liberty that pleasure embodies—like the sensation of an uncaged chicken
chickening out. A title with a twist on Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings got here shortly after.
In Appalachia, the place recollections transfer by means of mountains and tales echo by means of
hollers, pleasure may be an act of devotion or defiance. This 12 months’s theme invitations
photographers to tune into the moments that heal, harmonize, uplift, and unburden.
”
Photographers are inspired to discover the place pleasure takes root—whether or not present in solitude,
group, nature, or inventive apply—and share that imaginative and prescient by means of their lenses.
Submissions
The AMPC continues to supply two entry choices:●
Single-Image Submission: Artists could submit 1–5 standalone pictures for a $15 entry
payment.
●
Series Submission: Artists could submit 6–12 pictures from a single physique of labor for a
$20 entry payment. Selected artists will exhibit six pictures chosen by the juror.
Deadline for submissions: November 20, 2025, at 5:00pm EST.
Artists shall be notified of acceptance by December 12, 2025, and should ship art work to the
Turchin Center by January 16, 2026. Complimentary return transport by way of FedEx shall be offered.
Submit your work:
●
Single-image submissions:
●
Series submissions:
Exhibition & Programming
The exhibition opens Friday, February 6, 2026, with a public reception that includes an ARTtalk,
awards, and DJ session with juror Ty Murray / DJ Soularia.
Public programming all through the exhibition will embody:
●
A collaborative call-and-response Write It Out workshop in partnership with The Bottom
(Knoxville, TN)
●
A community-curated playlist impressed by the exhibition theme
●
People’s Choice voting, held in-person on the gallery, with awards introduced on the
exhibition closing
The exhibition will stay on view by means of May 2, 2026.
About the Juror: Ty Murray
A multidisciplinary artist rooted within the Appalachian South, Ty Murray identifies as a storyteller
whose inventive apply bridges artwork, activism, and group. Her work—spanning images,
ceramics, DJing, and curation—celebrates the intersections of identification, land, and pleasure. As Art &Communications Director for The Bottom, Murray curates sensory experiences that honor the
previous whereas envisioning liberated futures.
About the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition
Now in its twenty third 12 months, the AMPC celebrates the individuals, locations, and pure fantastic thing about
Appalachia. The competitors is offered by the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in
partnership with Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Programs.
The Turchin Center extends its gratitude to final 12 months’s sponsors whose beneficiant assist helped
make the AMPC potential: Mast General Store, Appalachian Voices, Bistro Roca, Footsloggers
Outfitters, Peabody’s, and Stickboy Bread Company.
Important Dates
Event Date
Online Submission System Opens September 26, 2025
Deadline for Entries November 20, 2025 @ 5 PM EST
Notifications Emailed December 12, 2025
Artwork Delivery January 12–16, 2026
Exhibition Opens February 6, 2026
Exhibition Closes May 2, 2026
ARTtalk, Awards Reception, & DJ Set February 6, 2026
For full submission pointers and particulars, go to tinyurl.com/23rdampc or contact:
Shauna Caldwell
Associate Curator for Academic Engagement
Email: This e-mail deal with is being protected against spambots. You want JavaScript enabled to view it.