twenty third Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition Opens on the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts

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.