The Tourism Information Centre (TIC) of the Marketing and Tourism Department of the Ventspils City Council Administration invites professional photographers, photo artists and photography enthusiasts to participate in the “Ventspils 2026 Photo Contest” by submitting their best works capturing Ventspils. The submission of photos in digital format is open until September 14, 2026.
The aim of the competition is to select technically and artistically high-quality, original and attractive photos that characterize Ventspils and will be used in the city's marketing activities, exhibitions, as well as to supplement the collection of the Ventspils Museum.
The leitmotif of this year's competition is "Light. Color. Ventspils", inviting authors to capture the city's special atmosphere, richness of colors and diversity. Contestants are invited to reflect Ventspils' everyday life, festivals and events, tourist attractions, architecture and landscape, people and city life in their photographs, as well as offer an abstract and artistic view of Ventspils. It is also possible to submit photos taken with a drone to the competition. Each participant can submit up to 30 photos to the competition.
The judging of the photos will take place in two rounds. In the first round, up to 300 of the best submitted works will be selected, while in the second round, the competition committee will select the 40 best photos from them, which will be included in the exhibition and also submitted for online voting.
The competition entries will be judged by a professional and diverse jury, representing the fields of advertising, design, architecture, photography and visual arts. The commission will include artist, director of advertising and design company SIA “AWA” Andris Norītis, chief architect of Ventspils Daiga Dzedone, photographer and head of Talsi Photo Club Uldis Balga, multi-artist and graphic designer Arnis Martinelli, designer and founder and head of SIA “TREMPEL” Aleksandrs Bobrovs, as well as deputy head of the Marketing and Tourism Department of the Ventspils City Council Administration for marketing and communication issues Dace Zērne.
A significant addition to this year's competition jury is artist and professor of the Latvian Academy of Arts Aleksejs Naumovs. He is one of Latvia's most prominent painters, whose works are distinguished by their vivid colors, sense of light, and expressive depiction of cities and landscapes around the world. Naumovs' professional experience and international vision will provide a special artistic dimension to the evaluation of the competition entries.
The competition winners will be determined in the categories “Advertising Photo”, “Art Photo” (color and black and white photo) and “Drone Photo”. The first three places will be determined in the advertising photo category, and one winner in each of the other categories. The winner of the online vote, or audience vote, will also be determined.
The opening of the competition exhibition and the awarding of the laureates is planned for October 1, 2026 at the Pārventa Library. The exhibition will feature the best photos selected by the competition jury, while the results of the competition and the winner of the online vote will be announced at the exhibition opening. Meanwhile, from November 2 to 30, the best Ventspils photos of 2026 will be on display at the National Library of Latvia in Riga. The Ventspils photo exhibition will continue to be exhibited in various Latvian cities, including shopping centers, cultural institutions and other publicly accessible places, popularizing Ventspils to a wider audience.
The application and photos can be submitted electronically until September 14, 2026 at 12:00 noon by sending an e-mail to [email protected], or in person at the Ventspils Tourism Information Centre, Akmeņu Street 5, on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. When submitting works electronically, the application form must be signed with a secure electronic signature, while the photos must be uploaded to the cloud services platform and an access link must be provided.
With the competition regulations and application forms (physical un legal persons) can be found on the Ventspils City Municipality website www.ventspils.lv, as well as in person at the Tourist Information Center at Akmeņu Street 5.
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