Call Out: Shetland Noir Photography

We’re looking for photographers to capture the haunting, mysterious, and atmospheric side of Shetland! In line with Shetland Noir, we want images that evoke intrigue, drama, and the island’s unique character.

For this call out, we invite locals to submit photos featuring Shetland in an eerie light, to complement our crime writing festival this summer, Shetland Noir. We are planning to exhibit up to 10 local photographs in Mareel’s Cafe Bar, between May – September 2026.

Shetland Noir welcomes many visitors from further afield, so this is a fantastic opportunity for local work to be showcased to visitors to the isles.

Successful applicants will be paid £100, which will give Shetland Arts license to showcase the image.

If you’re interested in applying, please note the following:

• The selected prints will be printed on Foamex and hung in the lower cafe bar
• Entrants are asked to provide uncompressed original files at the highest resolution possible
• Photographs should be taken in Shetland and be by local photographers

Entrants across a range of ages and abilities are welcomed – professional photographers to hobbyists, and of photographs from across Shetland.

There will be a panel that will assess the photographs – the successful applicants will be chosen based on how they have been captured creatively and how they will complement one another.

“We had a local photographer exhibition alongside Mayflies last year, which was really popular amongst exhibiting artists and the public alike. Shetland Noir felt like the perfect opportunity to replicate this, but with a different theme. It’s open to anyone in Shetland who thinks they have an interesting image that fits the brief. It’s such a pleasure to have the Shetland community exhibited in Mareel Cafe Bar.” – Kathryn Gordon, Creative Project Manager