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Event History
The Vincent van Gogh Photo Award 2027 is an international photography competition for photographers from all over the world. Inspired by the artistic legacy of Vincent van Gogh, this edition invites photographers to explore the theme “Spirit of Light.” Photography begins with light. It can reveal, transform, soften, dramatize or completely change the way we see the world. Light can be natural or artificial, visible or suggested, powerful or subtle. It can shape a landscape, define a portrait, create emotion, tell a story or turn an ordinary moment into something extraordinary. Selected and nominated photographs will be exhibited in the public park in the center of Nuenen, the Netherlands, from 3 September to 24 September 2027. The winners will be announced on 3 September 2027.
What Makes this event different?
The Vincent van Gogh Photo Award is more than a competition. It is an opportunity to present your work to an international audience, receive recognition from a professional jury and become part of a photographic event connected to Nuenen, the village where Vincent van Gogh lived and worked.
Copyright Policy
No. You retain the copyright to your image(s) and they will not be sold by us. All entries will be placed on our website so that visitors can view all entries online. Winning entries may be used to promote the Award.
Vincent van Gogh Photo Award 2027 – Spirit of Light
The Vincent van Gogh Photo Award is an international photography competition inspired by the life, work and artistic spirit of Vincent van Gogh. From the village of Nuenen in the Netherlands, where Van Gogh lived and created some of his most meaningful early work, this award invites photographers from all over the world to share their own visual interpretation of a powerful and universal theme.
For the 2027 edition, the theme is “Spirit of Light.”
Light is at the heart of photography. It is the beginning of every image, but it is also much more than a technical element. Light can reveal, transform, soften, dramatize and give meaning. It can create atmosphere, emotion, mystery, contrast, hope or silence. It can turn an ordinary moment into something unforgettable.
With the theme Spirit of Light, photographers are invited to look beyond the obvious. We are looking for images in which light plays a meaningful role — not only as illumination, but as a source of feeling, storytelling and imagination. This can be natural light, artificial light, shadow, reflection, color, darkness, movement, contrast or a symbolic interpretation of light itself.
The competition is open to photographers worldwide: amateurs, professionals and students. We welcome a wide range of photographic styles, including fine art, portrait, landscape, documentary, street photography, travel, nature, architecture, conceptual photography, abstract work and experimental imagery. What matters most is not the genre, but the strength of the image, the originality of the vision and the way the photograph connects to the theme.
The Vincent van Gogh Photo Award offers photographers the opportunity to present their work to an international audience and to be part of a respected cultural photography event. Selected and nominated works will be exhibited in Nuenen, the village closely connected to Vincent van Gogh’s artistic development. In this way, the award brings together contemporary photography, cultural heritage and creative expression.
We encourage photographers to interpret the theme freely and personally. Your image may show the beauty of light in nature, the emotional power of a portrait, the poetry of shadow, the glow of a city, the stillness of a room, the strength of hope, or the invisible light that can be felt in a human story. The theme is broad, but the challenge is clear: show us an image that speaks through light.
Vincent van Gogh used color, contrast and movement to express what he felt, not only what he saw. In that same spirit, this competition invites photographers to create and submit images that go beyond registration and become expression. We are looking for photographs that touch, surprise, inspire or stay in the mind of the viewer.
Participating in the Vincent van Gogh Photo Award is more than entering a competition. It is an opportunity to share your vision, to become part of an international photographic community and to connect your work to the legacy of one of the most influential artists in history.
Let the camera be your brush. Let light be your language.
Show us your Spirit of Light.
