ANPCE – The Allegany Arts Council

Allegany National Photography Competition & Exhibition

About ANPCE

History

The Allegany National Photography Competition & Exhibition (ANPCE) is one of the Allegany Arts Council’s signature events, now entering its twelfth year. Established in 2015, it began as a way to showcase photography talent in the region, but quickly grew into a nationally-recognized competition, and since has invited photographers from across the country, as well as an illustrious group of jurors, to take part.

Through its lifespan, the competition has drawn photographers from nearly every state, and has served as a model for other organizations seeking to develop programs of their own. It has raised the profile of a small Appalachian community and brought with it members from across the country, who support terrific art programs regardless of where they live.

The competition has always featured three categories, black and white (monochrome), color, and a third which has continued to evolve. In 2024, we introduced Photography as a 3-D Art Form and are excited to see what creative photographers do with additional dimension.

In 2024, for our 10th anniversary, we published a commemorative book featuring photos from our ten year history, recollections of our esteemed jurors, and information about our dedicated volunteers, copies of which remain available.

In 2026, the contest will offer $6,500 in cash prizes to winning photographers and the exhibition will take place at the Allegany Museum, located in Cumberland, Maryland.

Call For Entry

The 2026 Call For Entry is now closed.

Prize Information

The 2026 program will offer the following prizes to winning photographers:

Best in Show:
$1500

Color:
First Place: $1000
Second Place: $500
Third Place: $250

Monochrome:
First Place: $1000
Second Place: $500
Third Place: $250

Photography as a 3-D Art Form:
First Place: $1000

People’s Choice:
$500

Meet The 2026 Juror

Michael O. Snyder, President & Filmmaker at Interdependent Pictures, Syracuse, NY

Michael O. Snyder (b. 1981) is a photographer and filmmaker documenting the climate crisis and related social-environmental issues. In addition to creating visual stories, he is deeply interested in how our narratives can help drive social impact.

His work has been featured by outlets such as National Geographic, The Guardian, and The Washington Post. He’s been honored by awards such as the Portrait of Humanity Award (Winner), the Decade of Change Award (Winner), The Welcome Prize for Photography (Shortlist), the LensCulture Portrait Awards (Finalist), and the Visualizing Climate Change Award (Winner). Snyder is a Pulitzer Grantee, a Climate Journalism Fellow at the Bertha Foundation, a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and an Assistant Professor of Visual Communication at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School in New York.

Through his production company, Interdependent Pictures, he has directed films in the Arctic, the Amazon, the Himalaya, and East Africa. His films have been selected to over 60 festivals, have taken home numerous awards, have been sponsored by companies such as Sony and GoPro, and have been distributed by outlets such as New Day Films and Films for Change. Michael often lectures on visual storytelling and its potential as a tool for social impact. He has been a featured speaker at the United Nations Climate Conference and has lectured at universities such as Yale, Columbia, and the Alfred Wegener Institute. In 2022, the University of Edinburgh named him one of its most “influential alumni making a significant contribution to climate science and justice.”

2026 Vision & Verse

The Vision and Verse competition, sponsored by the Allegany Arts Council, seeks to explore the intersection between image and text: photography and poetry.

Submissions must be based on photographs exhibited at the 12th annual Allegany National Photography Competition and Exhibition (ANPCE) show, which opens Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the Allegany Museum in Cumberland, Maryland.

The ANPCE Digital Gallery will be made available on April, 8, 2026 so that writers may begin their work.

Rules and Guidelines:

Each participant may select one to three photographs and reflect on or respond to them in a poem. Limit of 3 entries per person. Poems can be about the same image or about up to three different images.
Submissions must be original poems, written in response to the selected photograph. All poetic forms are welcome (e.g., free verse, sonnet, haiku, etc.).
Indicate the selected photograph title and artist name (in addition to your own name and contact information).
Poems must be fewer than 50 lines.
Poems must be the original work of the poet and not previously published.
Language should be appropriate for all audiences. Offensive or discriminatory content will be disqualified.

Submission Process:

Submissions must be in .docx or .pdf format.
Submit via the online portal provided by the Allegany Arts Council by midnight Tuesday, April 21.

Judging Criteria:

Poems will be evaluated on distinctiveness, craft, and alignment with the ekphrastic prompt.

Cash prizes:

1st Place, $100; 2nd Place, $50; and 3rd Place, $25.
Winners will be invited to read their work at the show’s Closing Reception, Saturday, April 25, at the Allegany Museum in Cumberland.

Rights and Permissions:

By submitting your poem, you grant the Allegany Arts Council the right to publish your work in social media and on our website, with appropriate attribution.

2026 ANPCE Committee

Committees & volunteers are crucial to the success of all of our events & programs. The AAC would like to extend a very special thanks to the team behind ANPCE: