Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award

What you will actually pay

Entry costs, explained.

2026: US$30 entry; any or all categories permitted within their image limits. No free route stated.

The rules give a single entry charge and permit participation across the categories. They do not publish a separate price per category. This is a historical price, not a quotation for a future edition. [1]

An award inside a wider photography week

Kolga is worth assessing through its programme, not simply the word international. Georgia Today’s 2026 reporting places the awards alongside exhibitions in Tbilisi and describes the festival’s twenty-fifth anniversary. That offers a plausible context for seeing and discussing photographs beyond an awards website. It should not be read as a promise that every shortlisted entrant receives a solo exhibition or that every festival visitor will see every submission. [3]

Independent criticism supports a real festival presence

A substantive Georgia Today review examined Guram Tikanadze’s Defeated Giants at TBC Concept Gallery within Kolga 2026. This is stronger evidence of an active cultural programme than a press release alone: the critic discusses a particular exhibition and its photographic argument. It establishes the festival context, not the commercial impact of the competition on a new entrant. [2]

The newspaper’s separate anniversary announcement reported nearly 600 participating photographers and an international jury. That article is framed around sponsor TBC, so its celebratory claims deserve less weight than the exhibition criticism. The practical conclusion is measured: Kolga has identifiable public activity and coverage, while the evidence does not quantify sales, commissions or audience conversion for winners. [3]

Five payments, not a US$6,000 individual prize

The US$6,000 fund divides into US$1,500 each for Documentary, Reportage and Conceptual series; US$1,000 for Single Shot; and US$500 for Mobile. Winners are paid by bank transfer. The jury named in the terms comprises Manfred Zollner, Tina Schelhorn, Carine Dolek, Filippo Venturi and James Whitlow Delano. [1]

For a series author, the relevant comparison is a US$30 speculative expense against a US$1,500 category award. The larger headline fund is not available to one category winner. Consider the published project archive as part of the possible benefit, while budgeting on receiving no money. [1]

Series, individual photographs and an explicit AI boundary

The 2026 rules admitted all ages worldwide. Each series category accepted one project of 6–12 photographs; Single Shot and Mobile each allowed up to ten. AI-created projects were restricted to Conceptual. Mobile required smartphone or tablet capture. The terms did not state a capture-date window. [1]

The editing task matters: a project with a clear opening, development and ending is easier to evaluate than twelve repetitions of its strongest frame. Separate work by photographic method and intent before choosing a category, particularly where conceptual construction could be mistaken for documentary observation. [1]

Copyright stays with the author; selected work enters the festival record

Selected photographs may appear in the annual online catalogue, Kolga advertising and printed media; shortlisted projects remain in the website archive. Copyright is retained. The wording gives no fixed end date. Entrants should therefore be comfortable with continuing festival visibility, rather than expecting selected images to disappear after prizegiving. [1]

Prepare the sequence and English text together

The 2026 window ran from 10 February to 15 March, with final winners scheduled for 1 May. General JPEGs needed a 3,500-pixel long edge; mobile files needed 1,500-pixel width. An autobiography was required, plus English series titles and concepts capped at 900 characters each. Payment was by credit card or PayPal. [1]

Write the concept after making a provisional edit, then check whether the pictures actually deliver its claim. Keep a copy of the final sequence and submission text. There is no verified new call to enter at the review date, so this review is useful for assessing the award and preparing work, not for treating the old deadline as open. [1]