photoILKLEY is back this year for its second edition and with it comes the return of its Young Photographer Competition and Your Ilkley is proud to be the official media partner.
The event is possible thanks to funding from Ilkley Town Council.
The Young Photographer Competition is open to everyone aged 19 and under, and invites children and young people to share their own way of seeing the world through photography and to be part of a grassroots festival that celebrates creativity, curiosity and visual storytelling.
This year’s theme is HUMAN:NATURE. It is deliberately open, giving young photographers plenty of room to respond in their own way. Images might explore people in nature, nature in the city, wildlife, outdoor spaces, emotion, community, solitude, or the marks people leave on the environment. The theme can also be read as “human nature”, opening up ideas around behaviour, instinct, connection and everyday human life.
Each participant may submit up to three photographs, and entries can be made across the following categories: Portrait, Wildlife, Architecture, Landscape, and Other. This gives young photographers plenty of scope to respond to the theme in a way that feels personal to them, whether they are drawn to people, places, animals, built environments or something harder to define.
Andreea Chițan, Founder and Artistic Director of photoILKLEY, said:
“We are really pleased to be bringing the Young Photographer Competition back for the second edition of the festival. It matters to us that young people feel they have a place within photoILKLEY, not as an add-on, but as part of the life of the festival itself.”
“Photography often begins with paying attention, to people, to place, to mood, to small details others might miss. What is exciting about this competition is that it gives young people a chance to trust their own eye and share something honest about how they see the world.”
Selected photographs will be featured as part of photoILKLEY 2026 at venues around town 3-19 July, giving young photographers the chance to have their work seen as part of the festival. Entries are open now, and the deadline for submissions is 3 June 2026.
To enter, participants need to complete the entry form available on the photoILKLEY website and send it to contact@photoilkley.com. Full guidance and competition rules are available online.
Now in its second year, photoILKLEY continues to build on its ambition to bring photography into the heart of the town through exhibitions, events and opportunities for participation. The Young Photographer Competition forms part of that wider effort, making space for new voices and encouraging younger generations to engage with photography as a way of looking, thinking and responding to the world around them. This year’s competition sits within a festival that is rooted in creativity, curiosity and visual storytelling.
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