A Guide to September 2023 Photo Awards & Open Calls

PhMuseum 2023 Women Photographers Grant, Carmignac Photojournalism Award, Premio Ponchielli, The Burtynsky Grant, Mufoco Open Call, Maribor Photobook Award and the Lucie Scholarship Program are among the opportunities we selected this month.

PhMuseum 2023 Women Photographers Grant

Deadline 12 October / Early bird fee  €24

At its seventh edition, the PhMuseum 2023 Women Photographers Grant seeks for gender equality within the industry of contemporary photography.

The award is open to female and non-binary professionals from all over the world, and welcomes all approaches to the medium. By submitting one or more projects related to a specific theme, narrative or subject, artists will have their work reviewed by judges Anna Goldwater Alexander (WIRED Director of Photography), Bindi Vora (Curator at Autograph), Holly Roussell (Curator at Ucca and Curiosa 22 Paris Photo) and (Taous Dahmani) Curator 2022 Discovery Award Rencontres Arles, Editor at The Eyes Publishing. 

The prizes consist of € 10.000 in four cash prizes, a solo exhibition at PhMuseum Lab, a featured interview on Vogue Italia, 6 Free Online Portfolio Reviews from PhMuseum Education, plus screenings for all awardees, including 9 Honorable Mentions and 40 Shortlisted Projects.

The call opens on September 5 and the deadline is October 12. Find out more on our website. 

Carmignac Photojournalism Award 2023

Deadline 6 October / No entry fee

Applications are open for the 14th edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award 2023. The aim is to support projects that reflect and document the reality of women’s and girls’ living conditions in Afghanistan. The winner will be selected by an international jury, and will receive a prize consisting of €50.000 for a 6-month field report which will take place from January to June 2024. Following this experience, the Fondation Carmignac will support a traveling exhibition and the publication of a monograph. Applications are open until October 6th and it’s free of charge. Find out more on their website. 

Premio Ponchielli 2023

Deadline 10 September / No entry fee

Dedicated to the first Italian photo editor Amilcare G. Ponchielli, the prize is open for entries from Italian or Italy-based photographers presenting projects designed for publication in a newspaper, a website or a book.

Judged by Paolo Woods, Roberta Valtorta, Andrea Comollo, Mariuccia Stiffoni Ponchielli, Marco Zanella and three members of GRIN, Premio Ponchielli will award a prize of €5,000 to one winner, and a WeWorld Special Mention to the best photographic project on the theme of women's rights and gender equality, which will be exhibited during the WeWorld Festival in Milan. 

A maximum of two unpublished or already published projects may be submitted. Participation is free of charge and the deadline is September 10th. Find out more on their website. 

The Burtynsky Grant 2023

Deadline 13 October / No entry fee

Founded by photographer Edward Burtynsky and CONTACT, the Burtynsky Grant is an annual opportunity supporting Canadian photo artists who are at the advanced stages of developing a cohesive, rigorous body of work presented in book form. One winner will be awarded a $5.000 grant aimed at supporting the production of their editorial project. Applicants should provide a vision for the publication, plus a rough outline of the use of the grant funding. 

Applications are open until October 13th and there is no entry fee. Find out more on their website.

Copenhagen Photo Festival - Call for Solo Artists 2024

Deadline 15 September / No entry fee

Copenhagen Photo Festival 2024 is welcoming submissions to participate in the next edition of the Nordic photography event. With the theme ‘Entanglement’, the festival encourages artists, photographers and emerging talents to think creatively across time, space and relations in all the ways we are co-dependently connected. The winners of the open call will get the opportunity to present a solo exhibition at Copenhagen Photo Festival 2024.

The deadline for applying to the call is September 15, with no entry fee. Find out more on their website. 

Mufoco Open Call 2023 - L'Italia è un Desiderio

Deadline 15 September / No entry fee

The Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity (DGCC) of the Ministry of Culture (MiC) and the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Mufoco) are promoting an Open Call for the selection of ten projects by Italy-based photographers and visual artists under 40 on the theme of the contemporary Italian landscape. The author of each of the winning projects will receive a financial contribution of €5,000, as consideration for the production and transfer of one or more works, which will become part of the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the institutional use of the images that make up the project by the promoting bodies (DGCC and Mufoco).

Applications are open until September 15th with no entry fee. Find out more on their website. 

near. prize 2023

Deadline 10 September / FREE for members of the Swiss association of contemporary photography

Launched by the omonimous swiss association for contemporary photography, near. prize is open for applications. With no specific theme, photographers who are members of the association can submit their work to be considered for exhibiting at Les Journées Photographiques the Bienne/Die Bieler Fototage 2024. One winner will be awarded the solo exhibition, 1000 CHF in cash to support their work, and one year free near. membership. This year’s jury panel comprises Joanna Kamm, Director of Liste Art Fair Basel and Sarah Girard, Director of the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography. 

The call is open until September 10 with and is free of charge. Find out more on their website. 

Revela'T - IDENTITY

Deadline 30 September / Entry fee is €10 for Revela’t Friends and €20 for the general public

The Spanish analogue photography festival Revela’T is launching their call for exhibits, this year themed Identity. The Festival will select three projects in the field of analog photography and processes to be produced (or transported) and exhibited at the next Revela't Festival in 2024. The first of the three winners will receive €1,500 for the production of the project, Support for travel to attend the festival during the Main Weekend, plus networking opportunities.

Applicants must submit their projects by September 30th, Entry fee is €10 for Revela’t Friends and €20 for the general public. Find out more on their website.

Maribor Photobook Award 2023

Deadline 10 October / No entry fee

The first edition of Maribor Photobook Award after the pandemic is open for applications. The award does not have a main theme, but more attention will be given to books that focus on life during the pandemic, and the evolutions in our relationships and habits since then.

All books published after January 1st 2020 are eligible. The first winner will receive 3000€ and the runner up will get 500€. Another price consisting of 1000€ will be awarded to the best photobook published in south eastern Europe.

The deadline is October 10th and the application is free of charge. Find out more on their website. 

2023 Lucie Scholarship Program

Deadline 15 September / Entry fee $15-25

The Lucie Foundation's mission is to support both experienced and upcoming individuals working with innovative, challenging concepts within photography. The program provides assistance for different photographic languages, spanning from Fine Art to Documentary and Photojournalism. The call is open to emerging photographers over 18 and from all over the world. The prizes are monetary and consist of  € 3,000 for the category 'fine art professional’, € 1,000 for 'fine art emerging’; € 3,000 for 'photojournalism/documentary professional', € 1,000 for 'photojournalism/documentary emerging'. Applications are open until September 15th, the entry fee is between 15 to 25 $. Find out more on their website. 

Dear Dave Fellowships

Deadline 15 September / Entry fee $18

Since 2007, Dear Dave magazine has been supporting the publication of photographers and writers, fostering theconversation about the medium through idiosyncratic, and underrepresented work. With a prestigious jury including David Campany and Alessia Glaviano among others, this open call awards one artist with a $1000 prize, plus the publication of their portfolio in Dear Dave. Two more portfolios will be selected and published in a forthcoming issue. 

The call is open until September 15th and the entry fee is $18. Find out more on their website. 

Other Opportunities

Der Greif - Guest Room: Daniel Boetker-Smith / Deadline 21 September / Entry fee €8

With Director of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Photography Daniel Boetker-Smith and writer Tanvi Mishra as jurors, this month’s edition of Der Greif - Guest Room is inviting artists to delve into the the theme of "(make) belief". Prizes include a 1,000 euro grant for the guest room and a digital exhibition on Der Greif's online platform. Applications are open until September 21st and the entry fee is €8. Find out more on their website.