In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Route 66—America’s iconic “Mother Road”—The Open Road: Endless Horizons invites photographers to reflect on the enduring spirit of the road as a symbol of history, movement, and possibility.

Route 66 has long stood as a pathway of migration, ambition, and reinvention. It carried families westward in search of leisure and new opportunities, connected communities across vast distances, and gave rise to a distinct roadside culture that continues to shape the American imagination. Its legacy lives not only in the landscapes it traverses, but in the stories, memories, and visual language it inspired.

This competition draws from that legacy as a point of departure rather than a boundary. Photographers are encouraged to explore how the spirit of the open road—defined by wanderlust, resilience, and discovery—appears in their own environments and experiences, wherever they may be in the world.

Submissions may capture the traces of history embedded in roads and architecture, the evolving character of places shaped by travel, or the lives of those who move along and dwell beside these routes. From expansive horizons to intimate moments, the work should reflect on the ways journeys—past and present—continue to define who we are and how we connect