Photo Collective

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Photo Collective

Photo Collective grew out of the Fox Darkroom & Gallery which operated as an exhibition and educational space in Melbourne’s inner west.

Photo collective represents photographers, advocates, educators and curators working towards the collective goal of celebrating and contributing to the changing ecology of Australian photography. Beginning as a grass-roots, community orientated organisation, Fox evolved to become an important outpost for the public to engage with photographic work. As an organisation we have a rich history of maki

ng photography accessible to the public. Our team has curated and facilitated numerous exhibitions, book launches, artist talks, award nights and specialty workshops with highly regarded Australian and international photographic artists. Photo Collective connects photographers, writers, curators and artists from all around Australia, forming long standing collaborations and opportunities as we go. We share photography based content on a daily basis, engaging over 150,000 people per year through our website platforms. Through our partnership with Momento Pro, we release multiple publications celebrating Australian photography each year. With a focus on beautiful design and meaningful content, our publications have become a record of our current times and represent a diverse range of voices within Australian photography.

17/06/2026

Huge thanks to everyone who has entered APA 2026! It has been another incredible year of submissions and we can't wait to start looking through all of your beautiful work.

Due to feedback we had about our entry system this year, we've decided to extend the deadline by one week. This isn't a decision we make lightly, but we want to ensure photographers have every opportunity to present their strongest work for consideration this year.

The new deadline is midnight Sunday June 21st. Don't miss out in taking part in this huge celebration of Australian photography!

Image by

14/06/2026

THIS IS IT! FINAL CHANCE TO ENTER APA 2026!!

📸 Hilary Wardhaugh

Thanks to our incredible major partners Nikon Australia and Collarts . Thanks to our sponsors Tecart , Lowensteins and The BrownbillEffect . And to our incredible exhibition partners HC Pro and Spices . We can’t thank these organisations enough for supporting the arts and what we are doing.

11/06/2026

IT IS THE FINAL WEEKEND TO ENTER APA 2026!!!

To inspire everyone over this final weekend, here is a flash back to some of the APA 2022 shortlist and finalists entries -

Trent Mitchell
Christine Ward .c.w
Jorge Serra .co
Kris Anderson
EJ Hassan
John Jason Moore
Bernard Singleton
Matt Palmer
Mikaela Martin
Su Cassiano
Michael Gilbert
Matthew Bagley .art
Gaetano Gargiulo
Minami Ivory
Stuart Miller

Looking forward to seeing what 2026 brings in our 10th year of the award.

Thanks to our incredible major partners Nikon Australia and Collarts . Thanks to our sponsors Tecart , Lowensteins and The BrownbillEffect . And to our incredible exhibition partners HC Pro and Spices . We can’t thank these organisations enough for supporting the arts and what we are doing.

08/06/2026

LAST CHANCE TO SUBMIT TO APA 2026

For some incredible inspiration here are some of the 2023 shortlisted and finalist images, and the wonderful people who created them.

John Laurie
Lilli Waters
Dick Sweeney
Eddie Jim
Alex Kydd
Rae begley
Sarah Black
Hannah Nikkelson
Carly Burns @ carlyburns
Naomi Mackie @ naomimackie
Chris Round
Claire Letitia Reynolds
Amy Woodard
Bec Griffith
Darrian Traynor
Matthew Newton
Annette Ruzicka

The length and breadth of creativity never ceases to amaze us at APA. The truth and honesty that people share with us of how they see the world around them is an honour to observe. We can’t wait to see what the incredible photographers out there show us this year.

We can’t thank our wonderful partners enough for supporting APA and the Australian photography and art collmmunity. To our incredible major partners Nikon Australia and Collarts . Our sponsors Tecart , Lowensteins and The BrownbillEffect . And to our incredible exhibition partners HC Pro, Abbotsford Convent and Spices alongside Hahnemuehle . We can’t thank these organisations enough for supporting the arts and what we are doing.

05/06/2026

Announcing the APA 20206 Event and exhibition at Abbotsford Convent !  
We’re pleased to announce a new partnership with Abbotsford Convent for the 2026 Australian Photography Awards.

All finalists will have their work exhibited in print at the Convent’s iconic The Store gallery throughout August 2026, providing an opportunity to showcase their work to a broad public audience in one of Melbourne’s most significant cultural precincts.

The exhibition will open on 1 August 2026, with the award winners announced live at a special opening event attended by photographers, industry professionals, partners and supporters of Australian photography. 
Thanks to the generous support of HC Pro and Spicers Australia in partnership with Hahnemühle all exhibition printing and presentation costs for finalists will be fully covered by Photo Collective and partners. This means selected photographers will be exhibited professionally, with no additional exhibition costs required. 
If you’ve been considering entering the 2026 Australian Photography Awards, the time is now as entries are closing soon! Submit your work and be part of the 10th edition of the Australian Photography Awards.

Thanks to our incredible major partners Nikon Australia and Collarts . Thanks to our sponsors Tecart , Lowensteins and The BrownbillEffect . And to our incredible exhibition partners HC Pro, Spices and Abbotsford Convent . We can’t thank these organisations enough for supporting the arts and what we are doing.

01/06/2026

As we are coming into the last two weeks of entries being open for APA 2026 we celebrate some of the incredible shortlisted entries we saw in APA 2024.

These images show the talent and beauty of how photographers residing within Australia see the world around them.

j.crook

Cheng Kang photography

APA 2026 is open for entires now! Be a part of our 10 year celebration of Australian photography.

Thanks to our incredible major partners Nikon Australia and Collarts . Thanks to our sponsors Tecart , Lowensteins and The BrownbillEffect . And to our incredible exhibition partners HC Pro and Spices . We can’t thank these organisations enough for supporting the arts and what we are doing.

29/05/2026

Finishing the week with some unbridled joy! This divine image from Luke Alexander .alexander.visuals stole our hearts in APA 2022 and continues to do so whenever it cross our paths again.

The softness of this moment and the care Luke must have taken to capture such an intimate moment in the wild, radiates through the image. When we look at this image, it feels like there is so much hope and beauty in the world.

APA 2026 is open for entires now! Be a part of our 10 year celebration of Australian photography.

Thanks to our incredible major partners Nikon Australia and Collarts . Thanks to our sponsors Tecart , Lowensteins and The BrownbillEffect . And to our incredible exhibition partners HC Pro and Spices . We can’t thank these organisations enough for supporting the arts and what we are doing.

25/05/2026

Flashing back to this incredible 2023 APA Finalist image from Eryca Green of Alice Edgeley .

The connection between the photographer and the sitter seems to break through the wall of the lens, as we the viewer see an honesty and intimacy that we strive to find in portraits. Two women in a conversation through photography.

At first I am drawn to the human looking at me in the picture, however it is the scene that keeps me here further, moving around the image, finding more clues as to who this person is, and who the photographer is in turn. Just stunning.

APA 2026 is open for entires now! Be a part of our 10 year celebration of Australian photography.

Thanks to our incredible major partners Nikon Australia and Collarts . Thanks to our sponsors Tecart , Lowensteins and The BrownbillEffect . And to our incredible exhibition partners HC Pro and Spices . We can’t thank these organisations enough for supporting the arts and what we are doing.

22/05/2026

We welcome Dr Ayooluwatomiwa “Ibukun” Oloruntoba to the APA 2026 Committee!

Ibukun is an emerging African-Australian analogue photographer and curator based in Melbourne. Alongside his creative practice, he is a medical doctor and researcher, holding a PhD in artificial intelligence in dermatology.

His photography is grounded in collaboration and community storytelling, with a focus on African-Australian communities and the spaces they create for care and belonging.

In 2025, he presented his solo exhibition ‘We Outside’ at the Immigration Museum , documenting young African-Australian event spaces, the organisations behind them, and the work required to sustain them.

In 2026, he co-curated ‘Through Our Eyes’ at Blak Dot Gallery , a group exhibition bringing together African-Australian photographers to explore love within their communities, while centering stories told from within rather than from outside the community.

We can’t wait to hear Ibukun’s thoughts on the work that comes through the awards this year. Entries close June 15th.

Thanks to our incredible major partners Nikon Australia and Collarts . Thanks to our sponsors Tecart , Lowensteins and The BrownbillEffect BrownbillEffect. And to our incredible exhibition partners HC Pro and Spices . We can’t thank these organisations enough for supporting the arts and what we are doing.

18/05/2026

In preparation for their Tier 2 intake (applications open now), we are flashing back to this wonderful collaboration we did with Collarts a couple of years ago. Watching it again reminded us of the beautiful things we’ve accomplished together in our partnership over the years.

Applications for Trimester 2 are open, so don’t miss your chance to be part of something creative. Applications close Friday 26 June, with classes kicking off Monday 8 June. Visit the Collarts website to find out more.

As always, it’s such a pleasure to collaborate with the students and faculty from to showcase this fantastic program, follow the link in our bio to watch in full!

Thanks for supporting us and what we are doing Collarts, it is an incredible experience having you as major partners for APA. Entires open now!

Film by .i

Featuring -

-Yu Siao

australianphotographyawards

Address

Melbourne, VIC

Website

https://www.photocollective.com.au/

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