A Guide To February 2023 Photo Awards & Opportunities

  • Published
    31 Jan 2023
  • Author
  • Topics Awards

The PhMuseum 2023 Photography Grant, Images Vevey's Grand Prix and Book Award, San José Foto, OpenWalls Arles, PHOTO 2024 Open Call, Magnum Foundation Fellowship and BUP Book Award are among the many opportunities you should not miss this month.

PhMuseum 2023 Photography Grant

Deadline 16 February / Entry fee €35

Now in its 11th edition, the PhMuseum Photography Grant is offering career-boosting opportunities to contemporary photographers, recognizing and supporting the value of visual storytelling practices across all kinds of different approaches.

Viewed by judges Jason Fulford, Federica Chiocchetti, Vasantha Yogananthan, and Max Siedentopf among others, your work could be considered for the four cash prizes awarding a total of €10,000, as well as solo exhibition opportunities at Getxophoto, PhEST, and Fonderia 20.9, a six-weeks residency bursary at Landskrona Foto, and tutoring support through PhMuseum Education. Besides this, up to 40 shortlisted artists will have their work projected at international photography festivals, and benefit from PhMuseum channels’ promotions.

You have time until the 16th of February to apply (entry fee €35). Find out more on the dedicated website page.

Images Vevey Grand Prix and Book Award 

Deadline 17 February / Entry fee €30-50

Home of the most notable visual arts biennale in Switzerland, every year Images Vevey allocates several development opportunities bursting innovation and uniqueness within contemporary photography. A list of former awarded projects comprising names such as Lebohang KganyePeter PuklusCarmen Winant and Laia Abril among many others is highlighting the impressive level of photographic quality and conceptual depth fostered by the Vevey foundation's prizes.

One of the largest European photographic grants, Images Vevey Grand Prix awards a 40,000 CHF (€39,800 approx.) grant aimed at the development of one original photographic project over a year time. With no thematic or genre restrictions, the winning body of work will be premiered at Vevey’s Biennale in 2024. You can submit your project proposal and selection of representative photographs by the 17th of February (entry fee €50).

The concomitant Images Vevey’s Book Award is a production grant oriented towards the realisation of one editorial project. Searching for already developed pieces of work showing a sophisticated balance between photographic content and the book format, the Award is assigning one 10,000 CHF prize (€9,965 approx.) encouraging its recipient to experiment and take risks. The deadline to apply is the 17th of February (entry fee €30). 

To discover more about both prizes, see the dedicated page on Images Vevey’s website.

San José Foto 

Deadline 28 February / Entry fee €13

Aiming at the contamination of international photography, the national photographic community of Uruguay, and the unique architecture of San José as an exhibition space, San José Foto’s Open Call is looking for compelling projects to be part of its main show. Open to different photographic and artistic approaches, the theme of this fourth edition, “Territory”, is a call to explore the multidimensional dynamics connecting humanity to natural elements. Other than granting the chance to exhibit in the festival, an international jury comprising Bolivian-Brazilian curator Maíra Gamarra, Verzasca Photo Festival director Alfio Tommasini, PhMuseum’s curator Rocco Venezia and San José Foto festival director María Mercedes Aldaz will select one international artist for an award of $2000 partnered with PhMuseum and one Uruguayan author for the $1000 national award. You can apply until February 28th (entry fee $15, approximately €13). Find more on their website.

Magnum Foundation Fellowship 

Deadline 22 February / No entry fee

Adding to the more than 250 grants made to visual storytellers to date, Magnum Foundation is offering early-career documentary photographers and photojournalists the chance to develop a New York City-based photography project. Following the Foundation's goal of expanding creativity and diversity across documentary practices, the awarded project should address social issues while engaging with local communities. Fellows will be awarded a $5,000 production grant to work in NYC for 12 weeks, other than a $25 hourly fee to work as an integral part of Magnum’s team on day-to-day activities covering platform and multimedia exploration, event production, and more.

Applications are due February 22, with no entry fee being charged. Discover more on Magnum’s website.

OpenWalls Arles 

Deadline 21 February / Entry fee €22

Partnering Galerie Huit Arles and the British Journal of Photography, OpenWalls Arles award is coming to its fourth edition offering emerging and established photographers the opportunity to exhibit alongside Les Rencontres d’Arles, the prominent French photography festival. Applicants are invited to respond to this year’s theme Truth, considering how its meaning is informing visions of the world as well as contemporary photographic approaches.

A jury of editors, curators, and directors from Leica Gallery LAAperture Magazine, and Lagos Photo Festival among others will feature 50 images and two bodies of work in a group exhibition at Galerie Huit Arles, other than granting online and press exposure through the British Journal of Photography's network. You can apply by the 21st of February (entry fee €22, free for photographers based in non-high income countries). Find out further information on the dedicated website page.

BUP Book Award 2023

Deadline 5 March / Entry fee €45 (Early Bird €35)

Highly refined design and relevant stories are what define contemporary photography publisher Blow Up Press, this year launching their Book Award's fourth edition. With the goal of promoting the photobook format as a way of digging into meaningful matters, the publishing house will award the production of one already developed project with no restrictions regarding topics or techniques. 

The winner will sign a professional publishing contract granting the editing, design, and publishing of their work in a 500-800 copies run. 

Submissions are welcome until the 5th of March (entry fee €35 before January 31st, and €45 after). Find more details on BUP’s website.

PHOTO 2024 Open Call 

Deadline 21 February / Entry fee €29

Now at its third edition, Photo Australia’s biennale has proved one of the most interesting Australian events related to image making. Selected by a jury comprising curators from MoMA in New York, The Photographers’ Gallery in London, and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne among relevant others, this year’s open call is oriented towards projects exploring possible and parallel futures that can untackle social, environmental, technological and indigenous perspectives.

Photographers at any career stage are encouraged to apply and take the chance to be exhibited in the festival’s Outdoor Program, an initiative fostering public art in the streets of central Melbourne which has, in previous editions, featured the work of artists such as Cindy Sherman, Mohamed Bourouissa, and Hoda Afshar. 

Send your proposal in by the 21st of February (entry fee €29). More information is to be found on PHOTO 2024’s website.

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OTHER DEADLINES

2023 NOOR Advanced Visual Storytelling Educational Programme 

Deadline 19 February / No entry fee

The NOOR Foundation is looking for Western African visual storytellers to join an educational programme aimed at creating ethical and cooperative narratives of Ivory Coast’s cocoa communities. A tuition-free 8-month training, composed of a 7-day workshop and online mentoring sessions, will focus on raising awareness of underrepresented voices while facilitating the participants’ journalistic, investigative and visual expertise. Free to entry, applications are open until the 19th of February. Visit their website for further information about the process.

Kraszna-Krausz Book Award 2023 

Deadline 3 March / No entry fee

The annual Kraszna-Krausz Book Award is recognizing original or lasting contributions in the field of photography books, focusing on their text and image content, as well as design and production quality. All published and self-published books released in 2022 are eligible for the £5,000 cash prize, which will be awarded to two different publications. With no entry fee, you can apply until the 3rd of march. More on the prize can be found on their website.

LensCulture Portrait Awards 

Deadline 15 February / Entry fee $32-42

Seeking compelling portraits, an international jury of professionals from The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Wired, and Rolling Stone among others will award 35 different artists with cash prizes and exhibiting opportunities. Six awards ranging from $3,500 to $500 will be granted to series and single image prize winners, whose work will be shown in a New York group exhibition. Winners, jurors’ picks, and finalists will all be featured in international festival projections and showcased through LensCulture’s online and press network. Applications are due on the 15th of February. Find out in-depth information on LensCulture’s website.

Photo Oxford Open Call 

Deadline 3 March / Entry fee € 23

In the framework of this year’s theme The Hidden Power of the Archive, Oxford’s photography festival open call is searching for images and stories that can show how tomorrow’s archives are being shaped today, looking at photographers’ personal perspectives on the big changes and issues we are up to today. With an entry fee of €23, submissions are open until March 3. Details on how to apply can be found on Photo Oxford’s website.

BigPicture Competition 

Deadline 1 March / Entry fee € 13-23

At its 10th edition, BigPicture Competition is looking for single images and stories that illustrate the diversity of life on Earth, inspiring its protection and conservation. The Competition is offering one Grand Prize of $5,000, as well as seven $1,000 awards divided into different thematic categories. Applicants can submit by March 1st, with an entry fee of $25 for up to 10 single images and $15 for photo stories. Read more on their website.

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Visit our awards page to get a complete view of the best photography opportunities that are currently open for entry.

© Lebohang Kganye
i

© Lebohang Kganye

© Delali Ayivi
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© Delali Ayivi

© Sarah Pabst
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© Sarah Pabst

© Ally Caple
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© Ally Caple

© Maria Lax
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© Maria Lax

© Antonio Rodriguez
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© Antonio Rodriguez

© Marton Perlaki
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© Marton Perlaki

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