Oh! Chicago!
Call For Entry
Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago imagined a utopian metropolis: efficient, beautiful, harmonious, and accessible to all. Grand boulevards, sweeping lakefront parks, and integrated green space still echo that ambitious vision. Yet today, the shimmering facades of glass and steel serve as both beacons of progress and cold monuments to capitalism and exclusion.
The Chicago that exists now reveals the tension between ideal and reality: a city of grandeur and grit, privilege and inequity, bold design and quiet disillusionment. Towering skylines impose anonymity; winding neighborhood streets offer intimacy and resilience. This city simultaneously welcomes and estranges.
For our inaugural issue, No-Type Magazine invites lens-based artists and photographers to investigate this complex landscape. We seek work that reflects the emotional and psychological experience of navigating Chicago—its beauty, banality, contradictions, and forgotten corners.
All photographic genres are welcome: street, documentary, conceptual, architectural, portraiture, experimental, archival, or hybrid forms. We want images that challenge, complicate, and illuminate the visual language of Chicago.
About tHE EDITOR
This issue will be curated by Dylan Yarbrough, founder and editor of No-Type Magazine. Yarbrough is a Chicago-based artist, designer, and educator who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work is held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Joan Flasch Archive, and the Center for Creative Photography.
Submission Guidelines
This call is open to all artists worldwide. You do not need to live in Chicago to participate, but your work must focus on the city in some way. All submissions must be lens-based or photographic in nature. No AI-generated work or non-photographic mediums will be accepted. The entry fee is $20 per artist, which allows for up to five image submissions. You may submit fewer than five images, but no more than five images per entry. Multiple entries are not permitted. The deadline to submit is July 15, 2025, at 11:59 PM CST.
Image Formatting
All images must be saved as JPG files at 72 dpi resolution and sized to 2000 pixels on the longest side. Files must be named using the following format: lastname_firstname_imagetitle.jpg (example: smith_john_citygrid.jpg). Images must be uploaded directly through the submission form below. Please ensure that individual file sizes do not exceed 10 MB per image. Files that do not meet these requirements may be disqualified.
Image Rights & Usage
Artists retain full copyright to their work. By submitting, you grant No-Type Magazine non-exclusive rights to publish the selected images in print, digital, and promotional materials related to the magazine and this issue. Full credit will be given wherever images are used. Your work will never be sold or used beyond the scope of this publication without your written consent.
Selected Artists
Selected artists will be featured in No-Type Magazine, Issue No. 01 | “Oh! Chicago!” — launching in Fall 2025. Each selected artist will receive one complimentary copy of the magazine and be featured on our website and social platforms. Selected artists will also have early access to pre-order additional copies at a discounted rate. Please note this is a curated publication and not all submitted works will be selected.
SUBMISSION TIMELINE
July 15 | Submission Deadline | All submissions must be received by 11:59 PM CST.
August 15 | Artists Notified | Selected artists will be contacted via email.
August 22 | Deadline for selected artists to deliver print ready files, artists statement, & image list.
September 15 | Pre-Orders Open | Pre-order sales begin for the print edition of Issue No. 01.
November 15 | Magazine Launch + Release | Official release in print and digital formats.
SUBMISSION Form
Please complete the submission form in full. After submitting your form, you will be automatically redirected to the payment page to finalize your entry. Form submissions without completed payment will be disqualified from the selection process. If you experience any technical issues during submission or payment, please contact us for assistance. Please sign up for news & updates to receive announcements on future calls for entry and opportunities.