A Guide To March 2023 Photo Awards & Opportunities

Gibellina Photoroad Open Calls, CENTERS Calls for Entry, Innovate Grant, and Kranj Foto Fest Open Call are among the several calls we selected this month.

Gibellina Photoroad Call For Projects & Open Air Installation

Deadline 26 March / Entry fee 25 €

Each year, Gibellina Photoroad presents high-level photography in the unique and immersive context of the southern Italian town, away from urban chaos. The two different opportunities offered by the festival follow this year’s theme “Alterations” which, borrowing from music theory, aims at celebrating photography as an art of experimentation, where breaking the rules sets a space for freedom. Juried by international curators, museum and festival directors, both Open Calls are looking for projects to be part of the next two years' festival programs. Through the Call For Projects, photographers will be offered a ten days residency resulting in a personal and group exhibition at the 2025 festival edition, while the Call For An Open-Air Installation grants the production of one site-specific piece to be installed in the heart of Gibellina during the 2024 edition. Both calls offer the possibility to enter Fondazione Orestiadi’s permanent collection, and a collective screening during Format festival, Derby (UK).

You have time until the 26th of March to apply (entry fee 25 € for each call). Read more on their website.

CENTER Calls For Entry 

Deadline 15 March / Entry fee starting from 33 €

The not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is launching ten different grants, awards, exhibition and professional development opportunities, oriented towards the support and recognition of socially and environmentally engaged work. A total of $16,000 (1516 € approx.) is offered throughout the several calls, funding in-progress and completed work (the two $5,000 Project Grants), supporting the inclusion of female, non-binary, transgender+ 40 years of age and over photographers (the $1,000 Me&Eve Grant juried by Lucy Lippard), and the commitment of one photography educator (the $5,000 Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award). These and all the other calls are granting exhibitions at CCA Santa Fe, other than magazine features, seminars, and attendance to the prestigious Review Santa Fe, CENTER’s yearly Symposium for artists seeking discussion, connection, and growth in their practice. Entry fees vary depending on the chosen call(s), ranging from $35 to $255 with the all-inclusive package (from 33 € to 242 € approximately). Lower fees apply to CENTER Members.

Submissions are open until the 15th of March, and all information about the different opportunities is to be found on CENTER’s website.

Kranj Foto Fest

Deadline 30 March / No entry fee

At its third edition, Kranj Foto Fest transforms the Slovenian old town of Kranj into an open-air photography museum, bringing together compelling international work both in urban and natural areas. This year, photographers are invited to respond to the theme “Human–nature”: the festival’s exhibitions will explore the relationship between human beings and the environment, ranging from documentary to conceptual and imaginative photographic languages. One winner will be awarded a solo exhibition in the central festival location, plus a 1,000 € cash prize, while all shortlisted photographers will be featured in group exhibitions, and offered lodging during the festival days.

With no entry fee, applications are open until the 30th of March. For further information, visit the Festival’s website.

Innovate Grant

Deadline 23 March / Entry fee from 33 €

With its quarterly monetary prizes, Innovate Grant is offering a continuous support opportunity to young and emerging artists, fostering experimentation within the contemporary photographic and visual arts scene. Two $1800 prizes are being offered, one dedicated to a photographer and one to a visual artist, with 3 honourable mentions being assigned per category. Not much else is to be added, coherently with Innovate Grant’s desire for smooth and less time-consuming application processes, leaving time for artists to focus on their practice. To apply, it is enough to submit three to twelve images in the chosen category, and contribute with an entry fee ranging from $35 to $50 (from 33 € to 47 € approximately).

The deadline is on the 23 of March. Find out more information on the grant’s website.

Artphilein Photobook Contest

Deadline 31 March / No entry fee

Artphilein Foundation is a non-profit organization disseminating contemporary art and photography through its publishing house, public library, and two exhibition spaces in Lugano, Switzerland. Juried by Federica Chiocchetti, Caterina De Pietri, Délio Jasse and Davide Monteleone, the foundation is for the second time launching an open call aimed at the curation, production, and publication of one photobook by Artphilein Editions. Photographers are encouraged to reflect on the theme of “Regeneration”, presenting projects that highlight a process of renewal allowing a person, a community, an urban space, or an ecosystem to recover from a traumatic event, and start anew. The winning work will also be awarded one exhibition at one of the De Pietri Artphilein spaces in Lugano and Lenzburg, in partnership with Fotofestival Lenzburg 2024.

Applications are open until the 31st of March, and free of charge. Discover more on Artphilein Foundation’s website.

Eye Artist & Scholar-in-residence Open Call

Deadline 10 March / No entry fee

For the first time launching an open call, the renowned Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam is offering a residency for one artist and one scholar to freely engage with the Eye Collection Centre’s vast collection of negatives, photographs, posters, books, and other archival material related to cinematic heritage. Making use of the Centre’s expertise in preservation, restoration and research, the artist and scholar-in-residence will develop one project during a period of three to six months of stay in The Netherlands, with a fee of 5,700 €. The residency will be concluded with a public screening or exhibition presenting the final work.

You can still apply until the 10th of March. More details are to be found on Eye Filmmuseum’s website.

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OTHER DEADLINES

Queer Festival Heidelberg 2023: Bodily Autonomies

Deadline 12 March / No Entry Fee

Celebrating the role of photography in representing queer bodies, Queer Festival Heidelberg is looking for images rooted in queer love, hurt, and joy, in the expressed belief that there can be queerness stored and found in everything. As every year, the German Festival will feature a photographic exhibition with projects issued from the open call, which is open until the 12th of March and free of charge. People experiencing marginalization are particularly encouraged to apply. Find out more on their website.

Nida Art Colony

Deadline March 5 / No Entry Fee

Nida Art Colony is a residency program in Nida, Lithuania, home of the international photography symposium Nida Meeting Photography. Looking for artists able to work critically, reflect on their production tools, and show a strong socio-political mindset, the residency offers one month of stay during May, aimed at working on the site-specific ecosystem. The resident will be granted a 600 € fee plus housing and travel costs, and will be invited to Nida’s Symposium in September, whose previous lecturers comprise names such as Adam Broomberg, Mathieu Asselin, and Sharon Yaari. Applications close on the 5th of March. More information is to be found on their website.

Centrale Festival Open Call

Deadline April 2 / No Entry Fee

At its 14th edition, the contemporary image festival in Fano, Italy invites artists of all nationalities born in 1993 or after to submit their projects and be considered to be part of this year’s program. All members of a jury guided by Luca Panaro and Marcello Sparaventi will select one or more authors, and propose a specific curatorial project. With no topic restriction, special regard will be accorded to projects providing non-traditional display solutions. Applications close on April 2, and are free of charge. Find more details on Centrale Festival’s website.

Foto Forum Santa Fe Photography Award

Deadline 15 March / Entry fee 42 €

Juried by Ed and Deanna Templeton, the annual competition Foto Forum Santa Fe Photography Award offers one two-month solo exhibition in the Santa Fe Gallery, plus $2,500 in cash. A second prize winner will be awarded an online exhibition and a $500 photographic gift certificate. You can apply by the 15th of March, and find out more information on their website.

Sirmione Photo Residency

Deadline 31 March / No entry fee

Started in 2022, Sirmione Photo Residency invites one artist to engage in a photographic project during a two-week stay in the Garda Lake town with the guidance of two Magnum Photos professionals, Andréa Holzherr and Ludovica Pellegatta. The residency provides a 2.500 € allowance plus housing and travel expenses, other than the possibility for the produced work to evolve into a publication. Applications are open until the 31st of March, and all information can be found on Sirmione Photo Residency’s website.

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