9 Reasons To Apply To The PHmuseum 2020 Women Photographers Grant

Still wondering if applying? Check the main reasons for which our open call is worth entry and the many ways you can benefit from it.

Still wondering if applying? Check the main reasons for which our open call is worth entry and the many ways you can benefit from it.

Every year we see plenty of new open calls that promise career-changing opportunities. Yet how many do really care about promoting photographers with tangible opportunities? We are working on it since 2012 and these are the main reasons for which it is worth to present your work to the PHmuseum 2020 Women Photographers Grant.

I. JOIN THE CONVERSATION / We start from this point every year because it's likely the most relevant. The PHmuseum Women Photographers Grant is not just about the individual prizes. It's about joining a collective conversation and giving your contribution in sharing what female and non-binary contemporary gaze are to an industry historically dominated by the male professionals and their point of view. Every year our open call represents an occasion to showcase women's works and publish related contents to stimulate and renew the debate. We are living a historical transition and every single application matters to support change.

II. PROMOTE YOUR WORK / Our open call represents a great vehicle to get noticed and get your projects a good press. If the main prize winners get extensive press on international media, many more applicants benefit from having applied. Every year our team reviews or publishes the work of 120 photographers in our News section, and invite more than 60 artists to present their projects in our online exhibitions. We also feature more than 500 photographers on our Instagram and Facebook accounts. With 600,000 visitors annually and around 140,000 people who follow us on social media, we constantly give exposure to the photographers who are part of PHmuseum and support them in sharing their work with our international audience. Our platform is meant to grant visibility and help you in building an international audience for your work. Our grants program is the main channel through which we discover new projects and same goes for the many curators, photo editors, gallerists and publisher who follow our platform.

III. FINANCE YOUR WORK / Is exposure useful? Yes. Does it pay bills? Nope. This is why our open calls are not only meant to support you with exhibitions, press and educational opportunities but offer a solid cash prizes that you can invest in the way you consider more proper: from completing or starting a new projects to publishing it in a photobook or purchasing a new camera the current $12,000 of cash prizes will give you a good hand.

IV. REPUTATION / For which we refer both to our reputation and your reputation. Over the past 8 years we have worked hard to stand out among the many photo grants and awards by striving to understand how photographers can benefit from this kind of opportunities. Year after year we have improved our offering and the network of people and industry leaders who follow our platform, which is now considered of the most respected on the international scene. When you apply, you can not only trust our grants program but also know that your reputation will strongly benefit from winning a prestigious open call in case your work will be recognised by our independent jury.

© Giorgia Zaffanelli PHmuseum 2019 Women Photographers Grant Awardee

V. CONNECT WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS / This year independent jury comprises professional who work for MoMA, GEO France, MFON and Open Eye Gallery. Alessia Glaviano and her team at Vogue Italia will also review all the submissions to assign their prizes. World Press Photo, Fotografia Europea, Fotografas Latam, GirlGaze, Foto-Feminas, YET Magazine, Firecracker, and Femgrafia are the many outstanding supporters. All these industry leaders will have their eyes on the open call and applying represents a straight gateway to get their attention.

VI. EXHIBIT AT THE PHMUSEUM LAB / We have a brand new space and we are more than excited to review all the submissions and select the next show to exhibit! After Caimi & Piccinni's Güle Güle (September 2020) and the coming 2020 Mobile Photography Prize collective exhibition (January) a photographer from the open call will exhibit at the PHmuseum Lab in Bologna, Italy with travel expenses on us. The show will be a great opportunity to discover our gallery, meet our team and most importantly connect with the public while adding an important milestone for your CV.

VII. SUPPORT PHMUSEUM / Yes, we also need support! Our young independent team runs an extensive series of free online curated contents such as online exhibitions, articles, and social media features. We also offer cool free resources such as the awards list, the festivals guide, and the stories archive, and we are working for more! PHmuseum is the results of a collective effort and when you apply to our open call you don't only open up a new range of possibilities for your work, but also tell us we are on the right path and show support to the work that we are doing.

VIII. WORK ON YOUR WORK, LEARN AND BE SELF-CRITICAL / Presenting the work to our grant is a great opportunity to take a break from your routine and see where you are with your work. Is it at an early stage? Think about it, maybe it’s worth to keep working on it and apply to future calls. Are you in the middle of it? It might be a good moment to work on a first edit, get feedback, and try to secure some funds to bring it ahead. Is it ready to go? Well, just go for it. Applying represents an effective way to follow the grant from the beginning to the end, review the shortlisted and awarded projects, read the judges motivations. It's a good occasion to stimulate yourself, get inspiration and learn from other applicants' projects. It's a good occasion to be self-critical with your work, learn, and improve as a photographer.

IX. YOU HAVE TO TRY / At PHmuseum we film documentaries, and we are in your shoes at the moment of submitting to film festivals: the competition is harsh, the entry fees are very high and almost always there is not even a cash prize! So why apply? Because being selected at a prestigious film festival can open many doors in terms of recognition, network, and opportunities to eventually film a new movie. The same applies to photography grants. If you don't give it a try, you will hardly take advantage of their benefits.

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The PHmuseum Women Photographers Grant, now in its 4th edition, aims to empower the work and careers of female and non-binary professionals of all ages and from all countries working in diverse areas of photography. Learn more and apply before 8 October at phmuseum.com/w20.

© Kata Geibl, PHmuseum 2019 Women Photographers Grant Awardee
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© Kata Geibl, PHmuseum 2019 Women Photographers Grant Awardee

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