Ronan Guillou Grant 2026

The Ronan Guillou Grant awards €4,000 to European photographers and photographers from the southern shores of the Mediterranean for photographic projects exploring the relationship between humans and the sea.

Overview

The Ronan Guillou Grant, created by the non-profit organisation Eyes Wide Open, aims to explore the relationship between humans and the sea, in order to restore a shared meaning to our cultures and challenge the essential issues facing the ocean.

For its fourth edition, the grant is open to professional photographers from Europe and the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Projects should explore the challenges facing our future in relation to the sea and/or put forward a progressive, engaged or activist perspective capable of contributing to greater collective awareness. They may address issues related to ecology, human activities, transmission and heritage, economic and geopolitical challenges, or the relationship between the Occitanie region and other areas of the Mediterranean basin.

The selected photographer will receive a €4,000 grant (€3,000 in fees and €1,000 per diem) to carry out their project. The photographer will have a five-month period to develop the project, including up to two months on site. The work will be presented in September 2027 at the Musée de l'Étang de Thau in Bouzigues, as part of the second edition of the FLOW Biennial (18 September–31 October 2027).

Practical Info

The grant is open to professional photographers from Europe and the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Projects must explore the relationship between humans and the sea, addressing challenges such as ecology, human activities, transmission and heritage, economic and geopolitical issues, or the relationship between the Occitanie region and other areas of the Mediterranean basin.

The jury will meet at the end of November 2026, and the prize recipient will be announced in December 2026. Accommodation in Sète will take place over two months between 1 February and 30 June 2027. The exhibition will open in September 2027 as part of the FLOW Biennale at the Musée de l'Étang de Thau.

The fourth edition of the Ronan Guillou Grant is supported by Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée, M28 Terres de culture, the Musée de l'Étang de Thau, Hahnemühle and the Tomoe laboratory.

About The Eyes

The Eyes is a platform for contemporary photography that includes The Eyes journal, publishing activities, and The Eyes Lab. The Ronan Guillou Grant is created by Eyes Wide Open, a non-profit organisation associated with The Eyes.