Contact Us
Box Office: Monday–Friday, 11:00 to 4:00, and one hour before performances.
Seeing America in Scale: A Humongous Photography ExhibitionCall for Entries Open Now!
Photo: Mads Ernst (CAS/SOC ‘27), American Gaze, 2025.
American University’s Art Department is pleased to announce a call for entries for a photography exhibition in the Katzen Arts Center’s Kreeger Lobby in fall 2026.
Seeing America in Scale is a large-format photography exhibition celebrating diverse perspectives on American life, culture, and community through visual storytelling. Photographers are invited to submit high-resolution images suitable for 44 x 60 inch prints, capturing moments, experiences, and narratives that reflect the richness and complexity of contemporary America.
By enlarging each image to massive proportions, the exhibition amplifies stories that might otherwise go unnoticed, giving them presence and significance. Each photograph should tell a personal, communal, or historical story, allowing audiences to connect deeply with the subject. A jury of three professionals will select up to 9–12 photographs for display, creating an immersive environment where scale underscores the importance of each narrative.
Please review all details in the call for entries below before submitting. For questions, contact Naoco Wowsugi at art@american.edu. Please use the subject line “Humongous Photo Exhibition."
Call for Entries
Deadline: April 30, 2026
Submit Now
Who can submit? Anyone can submit, although submissions from the AU community—students, alumni, staff, faculty, neighbors—are highly encouraged.
Important Note About Images: Before submitting your 1MB preview via the submission form, please ensure you have a high-resolution version of the photo that meets the print specifications listed below. We are unable to upscale low-resolution images for the final exhibition. Please note that each applicant is permitted one image per submission.
Step 1: Your Initial Entry (Review Copy)
To help our jury review all entries efficiently, please generate and upload a preview image first.
-
File Size: Must be under 1MB.
-
Format: JPEG.
-
Tip: A resolution of 72 dpi (roughly 1500–2000 pixels on the long side) is perfect for screen viewing.
Step 2: If Your Work is Selected (Print Copy)
If your work is chosen for the exhibition, we will contact you for the high-resolution file. AU will be responsible for printing the selected images. We need your file to be "gallery-ready" for a large 44 × 60 inch format.
Selected works must meet the following requirements:
-
File Type: JPEG, TIFF, or PNG.
-
Resolution: At least 300 dpi so your image prints clearly at 44x60 inches (roughly 13,000 × 9,000 pixels).
-
File Size: 10–50MB recommended for best quality
Timeline
- Jury Review and Selection: May 4-29, 2026
- Artists Notified: June 15, 2026
Exhibition Details
- Opening reception: Saturday, September 5, 2026, 6–9 p.m.
- Exhibition on view: September 5 – December 6, 2026
Seeing America in Scale Is Part of AU’s 250+ Initiative
The 250+ at American initiative offers a year of multidisciplinary programs that invite our community to reflect on the nation’s past, engage in the present, and imagine the future. Together, we will confront our complex history, draw on our diverse perspectives, and apply our collective expertise to the challenges facing our city, country, and world—ensuring a future defined by civic pluralism and a thriving democracy.