Rapid City, SD — The Rapid City Arts Council (RCAC) invites photographers to explore the relationship between photography and memory in Afterimage, a juried exhibition examining what lingers after a moment has passed. The exhibition asks photographers to consider how people, places, emotions, and experiences stay with us, and how a photograph can preserve, distort, or even create memories of its own. Photographers are invited to submit work through the Dahl Arts Center website by January 8 for the opportunity to be exhibited in spring 2027. The juried exhibition will offer cash prizes across categories while creating an opportunity for photographers to share their perspectives and connect with the broader community.
Afterimage welcomes a wide range of photographic approaches, including documentary, portraiture, landscape, still life, conceptual, staged, abstract, and alternative photographic processes. Rather than simply capturing a beautiful image, photographers are encouraged to explore the emotional and psychological experiences a photograph can bring forward.
Photographers may consider questions such as:
What can a photograph preserve that memory cannot?
What happens when a photograph and our memory of a moment tell different stories?
What remains when a person, place, or moment is gone?
Can absence, loss, or forgetting be photographed?
How are memories shaped by the places, objects and people around us?
Can a photograph capture something that never actually happened?
What happens when a memory begins to disappear?
Photographers of all skill levels, from hobbyists to professionals, are encouraged to submit work that offers a unique interpretation of memory and what remains after an experience has passed. Afterimage seeks photographs that invite viewers to pause, remember, question, and feel.
Photographers are invited to submit their work in three distinct categories: Youth (18 and under), Adult Amateur/Hobbyist (over 18), and Adult Experienced/Professional (over 18). Prizes for each category are as follows:
- Youth Category: 1st Place: $75; 2nd Place: $50; 3rd Place: $25
- Adult Amateur/Hobbyist Category: 1st Place: $75; 2nd Place: $50; 3rd Place: $25
- Adult Experienced/Professional Category: 1st Place: $100; 2nd Place: $75; 3rd Place: $50
Additional honors include a Best of Show Award with a $125 prize and a People’s Choice Award, which comes with a $100 prize.
Submission Information:
- Deadline for Entries: Friday, January 8, 2027
- Entry Fees: $10 per photo for adults; FREE for youth
- How to Enter: Submit entries online at thedahl.org/photoshow
Important Dates:
- Exhibition Dates: February 19 – April 3, 2027
- Opening Reception: February 19 from 5-7pm at the Dahl Arts Center
- Awards 6pm
“This annual photography competition and exhibition has grown tremendously over the past few years.This theme opens up so many possibilities of exploring memory, emotion and moments that stay with us.” said Jeannie Larson, Gallery Director & Curator, “I am looking forward to seeing the different stories and perspectives our photographers bring to the exhibition.
The reception and awards for the Afterimage exhibition will be held on February 19 from 5-7pm. All exhibition openings at the Dahl are free and open for the community to attend. Sponsorship opportunities are available through January 31, 2027.
For additional details, please visit thedahl.org/photoshow.
