Amateur photographers asked to capture what community means across the North East.
Aberdeen Arts Centre spent much of 2025 asking people to care about its future. The independent venue began a three-year fundraising drive in May, aiming to raise £660,000, and thousands of people responded. Now, with over £150,000 in the pot, there’s a photography competition that takes community as its subject.
This year’s theme is “Entering the Spotlight,” drawn from the Save Aberdeen Arts Centre campaign slogan. The competition asks you to photograph communities across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, interpreting “spotlight” however you like.
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Open to interpretation
The guidance offers a few starting points: people or groups who deserve recognition, small acts of connection, or creative uses of light. Steve Smith, photography lecturer at NESCol and this year’s judge, says the openness is deliberate. “We’re looking for new perspectives that highlight what it really means to be a part of a community.”
What counts as community is up to you. Last year’s competition attracted over 150 entries from photographers around the world, though the focus was different then. This time, north-east subjects only.
Three categories, one new
Three categories are open: adults (18+), young people (under 18), and NESCol students. The student category is new for 2026, building on the college’s involvement in judging last year’s competition.
Top three in each category get exhibited at the venue. First place winners also receive family tickets to this year’s panto, The Snow Queen. Entries close at 11.59pm on Sunday 1 February. Submit at the Aberdeen Arts Centre website, where you’ll also find the full terms and conditions.
The poer of community
Sharon Catchpole, interim executive director, frames the competition as a gesture of thanks. “The last few months have shown us the power of community, as thousands have rallied around the Arts Centre to help us keep our doors open. It seems only fitting to put the community in the spotlight.”
The brief is loose enough to do something genuinely interesting with, and having your work exhibited at a venue with this much local history is worth the effort. If you’ve got a perspective on what community looks like in the north-east, this is a decent excuse to capture it with a photograph.
