inspired by The subversive eye
About the Contest:
The Dalí’s special exhibit, The Subversive Eye: Surrealist and Experimental Photography from the David Raymond Collection, explores photography’s vital role as a Surrealist medium. For Surrealists and the experimental photographers they inspired, the camera became more than just a tool—it was a way to unlock visual poetry and see the world through an entirely new lens. Surrealism encouraged the discovery of unexpected and dreamlike moments, urging artists to find the “surreal” in everyday life.
In the spirit of surrealism, we invite you to participate in our contest by capturing the “surprisingly surreal.” Surrealism exists all around us, and we encourage you to find moments that feel dreamlike or otherworldly—an interesting twist of light, a new perspective, an unexpected pairing and beyond—and share them with us.
Debuting in relation to the Surrealist movement’s (Paris,1920s) literary production, photography came to define a range of avant-garde practices worldwide. With a dizzying array of tactics, including multiple exposure, unusual perspectives, cropping, photocollage and solarization, Surrealists rapidly made the medium their own, and their procedures radiated throughout Western and Eastern Europe, the Americas and Japan. Notable artists include Eileen Agar, Hans Bellmer, Brassaï, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Robert Capa, Georges Hugnet, Clarence John Laughlin, Dora Maar, Lee Miller, Lucia Moholy, Osamu Shiihara, Man Ray and Wols.
The exhibition explores themes of transformation, urban mysteries, the visible woman, the enigma of the ordinary, automatic sculptures and poetic objects—key elements that define surrealist experimental photography. For The Dalí’s Surprisingly Surreal Photography Contest, we invite you to push the boundaries of the expected and discover the surreal in your own surroundings.
How it works:
- Create an original photograph inspired by surreal experimental photography. Accepted materials are digital print, gelatin silver print, photocollage and poem collage.
- Upload your original photograph and description below by Jan 13, 2025. Please submit files as jpgs (2MB or less). One submission per person is accepted.
- All entries will be juried by a panel of Dalí Museum staff members, narrowing the submissions to three (3) finalists, and posted on TheDali.org by January 27, 2024.
- Public voting will run January 27 – February 24, 2025 on TheDali.org.
- Winners will be contacted and announced by March 17, 2025. The first-place winner will receive the grand prize (including Museum admission tickets and merchandise from The Dalí Museum Store). The second and third place winners will receive individual prizes of merchandise from The Dalí Museum Store.
- Following the contest, a selection of submissions will be included in an online exhibition on TheDali.org.
Entry Requirements & Judging Criteria
The photography submitted must be original, created by the submitter. Art will be judged on the following criteria: originality, skill/technique, composition, concept and lighting.
Eligibility Requirements
The contest is open to residents of the 50 United States and its territories, as well as international entries, who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. All entries must be original, created by the entrant and cannot have been previously published, won another competition or contest or been used for advertising or promotional purposes. Each entrant may submit only one (1) artwork and must be submitted as a digital image in the following format: jpg (2MB or less) by Monday, January 13, 2025. By entering this contest, you grant The Dalí the right to use and share submitted photo(s) on our social media platforms and website. We will credit the photographer when sharing the photo, but participants should be aware that their entries may be featured publicly. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. The contest has no affiliation with Facebook, Instagram or any other third-party platform. We reserve the right to change these rules at any time.
Image Banner: Jaroslv Rössler (Czech, 1902-1990). Multiple Exposure of a Woman, Early 1930s, Gelatin silver print, Collection of David Raymond & Kim Manocherian.