Heather Thatcher with Ninkie and Dusta by Dorothy Wilding, 1935
Yin Studying Jane Bown © Rita Long
Jessie Tarbox Beals
Open Call for Photographers Under 25
Chance to have your work exhibited in L’Atelier in the museum and for your pet to have their moment in the spotlight
From the earliest days of photography, people have loved taking pictures of their pets. Over 100 years ago, pioneering women photographers were photographing dogs, cats and other animal companions, sometimes posing them for portraits, sometimes catching them getting up to no good … Now it’s your turn!
We’re inviting young photographers to show us their pets through the lens. Whether your pet is furry, feathered, scaly or something altogether different, we want to see what makes them special. And if you don’t have a pet, why not find someone who does.
Will you capture their personality, their funniest expression, a favourite hiding place or an unexpected moment?
Take a look at how women photographers have photographed animals in the past, then get creative and send us your own pet portrait!
Cats by Jessie Tarbox Beals – from Schlesinger Library, RIAS, Harvard University
Dogs by Jessie Tarbox Beals – from Schlesinger Library, RIAS, Harvard University
Dogs by Toni Frissell – from the Library of Congress
And a few presidential pets by Frances Benjamin Johnston – from the Library of Congress
- January 5 closing date for submissions
- January 12 short-list announced
- February 5 best in show announced and exhibition opens
Prizes
- The winning images will be displayed in L’Atelier at the Hundred Heroines Museum
- Winners will receive a certificate and a commemorative framed portrait of themselves with their image
- The makers of our three favourite images will also receive a Hundred Heroines goody bag
- The best in show will receive a copy of Jane Bown’s A Singular Cat
The Small Print
- Upload up to three images (jpeg or png) maximum size 1Mb. Retain high-res files for printing
- There is no submission fee
- By entering, you agree that your work can be published on our website, social media channels, used in our promotional material and be displayed in the Hundred Heroines museum and the Art Garden in Nailsworth
- You will be credited as the author of the work
- You retain the copyright over your work at all times
- By taking part you acknowledge that you are under 25 on December 31 2026
