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PORTRAITS - Hellerau Photography Award 2026

PORTRAITS - Hellerau Photography Award is a Germany-based international portraiture competition held at the Festspielhaus Hellerau (Dresden). The 2026 cycle is themed 'ESCAPISM.' Prizes total EUR 8,000 across first, second, and third places. AI-generated works are explicitly excluded - one of the cleaner blanket bans among German-language portraiture awards.

AI banned

Deadline: —
Entry fee: EUR 50 for a series of up to 20 images; EUR 30 for a single image; 50% discount for students

Official site Read full rules

Authenticity policy

AI policy

Works created using AI ('Artificial Intelligence') are not eligible for the competition.
Source: https://www.portraits-hellerau.com/en/terms-and-conditions/

RAW files

Not specified

Editing rules

The 2026 motto is 'ESCAPISM.' Entries can be single portraits or series of up to 20 photographs. AI-generated work is fully ineligible (no carve-out for AI-assisted editing surfaces in the rules text). Prize recipients are announced at an Autumn 2026 vernissage in Hellerau (Dresden).

Verified on June 12, 2026