September's Grants and Awards

The PHmuseum 2018 Women Photographers Grant, FotoEvidence Book Award with World Press Photo, Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award, and PHOTO IS:RAEL Meitar Award open for entries this September. Learn all about them and how they can help support the production and dissemination of your work.

The PHmuseum 2018 Women Photographers Grant, FotoEvidence Book Award with World Press Photo, Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award, and PHOTO IS:RAEL Meitar Award open for entries this September. Learn all about them and how they can help support the production and dissemination of your work.

PHmuseum 2018 Women Photographers Grant / Early Bird Deadline: 27 September; Regular Deadline: 17 October / Entry fee: £18 - £27

Moving into its second edition, the PHmuseum Women Photographers Grant 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. Its mission is to support the growth of the new generations and promote stories narrated from a female perspective, while responding to the need to work for gender equality in the industry.

The prizes this year include £10,000 in cash, projections at the 2018 Photo Vogue Festival, and a nomination for World Press Photo’s Joop Swart Masterclass. Alfio Tommasini, the Artistic Director of Verzasca FOTO, will also grant one project a solo show to be exhibited at the festival in 2019, and Vogue Italia Photo Editors, Alessia Glaviano, Chiara Bardelli Nonino and Francesca Marani will each select one work to be published on Vogue Italia. All prize-winning projects and several Honorable Mentions will also be promoted on the PHmuseum channels throughout the year.

Applications will be reviewed by an independent jury featuring Pamela Chen (Creative Lead, Instagram), Aïda Muluneh (Photographer, Filmmaker and Curator), Alessandra Sanguinetti (Photographer, member of Magnum Photos) and Karen McQuaid (Senior Curator, The Photographers’ Gallery). Photographers can take advantage of a £18 early bird submission fee during the first two weeks of the application window, set to open on Wednesday, 12 September. The final deadline is 17 October. Learn more at phmuseum.com/grant.

FotoEvidence Book Award with World Press Photo / Deadline: 15 October / Entry fee: US$50

Open to professionals, amateurs, and photographer’s collectives, the annual FotoEvidence Book Award with World Press Photo looks to recognise a documentary photographer whose work demonstrates courage and commitment in highlighting a violation of human rights, a significant social injustice, or an assault on human dignity. The winning project will be published as part of the FotoEvidence photobook series that is dedicated to showcasing the work of long-form storytelling in the humanistic tradition.

One winner and two finalists will present their selected stories at the 2019 World Press Photo Exhibition in conjunction with the book launch in Amsterdam. Applicants are required to submit up to 15 photographs with titles and captions and a statement of no more than 250 words about the work. Submissions must be received by midnight (EST) on 15 October. US$50 entry fee. Further information can be found at fotoevidence.com.

Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award / Deadline: 19 October / No entry fee

Established back in 2016 to support early-to-mid-career photographers in the UK, the Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award offers a bursary of £2,000 to help a professional photographer with the production and promotion of brand new work or projects in the early stages of development. The award seeks to fund storytelling that places an emphasis on people and communities; projects that expose stories that are often forgotten and bring to light the everyday. The goal is to provide a platform for emerging talents to showcase their work that subsequently gives voice to untold human stories.

In addition to the monetary award, the winner will also receive 20 premier prints of the work from Metro Imaging plus a lab tour and portfolio review with creative director, Steve McLeod; support from the Rebecca Vassie Trust throughout the project and promotion through their online channels; travel expenses (within the UK) for project meetings in London with the Trust and Metro Imaging; and membership with Shutter Hub. Applications are initially reviewed by trustees who form a longlist to be passed to this year’s judging panel comprised of Melanie Hough (curator at Getty Images), Jennifer Thatcher (critic and curator), Matthew Tucker (BBC News), Ben Bird (photographer and trustee), Kelly Vassie (trustee), and Janet Vassie (trustee). The bursary is open to photographers across a range of disciplines, from editorial to fine art. The deadline for applications is 19 October. Find out more by visiting rebeccavassietrust.org.

PHOTO IS:RAEL Meitar Award / Deadline: 16 October / Entry fee: US$54

An initiative of PHOTO IS:RAEL, the Meitar Award is an international prize awarded for excellence in the field of photography. 20 shortlisted photographers will have their work exhibited as part of a group exhibition at the Israel Photography Festival in November 2018, and also at the Head On Photography Festival in Sydney, Australia, in May 2019. One overall winner will receive a grant of US$14,000 as well as a year-long collaboration with a professional curator and the production of a solo exhibition at the 2019 edition of the Israel Photography Festival.

All the submitted works will be judged anonymously, according to their originality and quality, by an international jury including Raz Samira (Chief Photography Curator, The Tel-Aviv Museum of Art), Maya Benton (Consulting Curator, International Center of Photography), Micha Bar-Am (Photographer, Magnum Correspondent), Clement Saccomani (Photographer, Managing Director, NOOR, Netherlands), and Rivka Saker (Chairman of Sotheby's Israel, Founder and board chair of ARTIS). The final submission deadline is 5 October, while the entry fee is US$54. Go to photoisrael.org/meitar for further information.

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DEADLINE APPROACHING:

FORMAT International Photography Festival Open Call / Deadline: 6 September / Entry fee: €40

FORMAT International Photography Festival (United Kingdom) is calling for diverse and imaginative proposals from international photographers, curators, artists and collectives in response to the dual concept of FOREVER//NOW. A panel of recognised international experts and the FORMAT curators will review all submissions and select 35 projects to be exhibited at FORMAT19 in the spring of 2019. The jury includes Erik Kessels, Gwen Lee, Sarah Allen, Sebastian Arthur Hau, Yumi Goto, Huw Davies, Louise Fedotov-Clements, and Anna-Alix Koffi, among others.

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British Journal of Photography OpenWalls Award / Deadline: 13 September / No entry fee

1854 Media and British Journal of Photography are inviting both emerging and established photographers from all around the globe to submit their photographs for an exhibition at the internationally renowned Galerie Huit Arles, to coincide with Les Rencontres de la Photographie 2019, the world’s most established photo festival. From an initial shortlist of 50 images, 3 finalists will win return flights and accommodation to attend the opening event of the exhibition, where the overall winner will be chosen and announced.

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Paris Photo - Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards / Deadline: 14 September / Entry fee: $30 - $60

The Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards celebrate the photobook’s contribution to the evolving narrative of photography. Photographers, publishers, galleries, and institutions are invited to submit their photobooks into three different categories: The First PhotoBook Prize (for a first self-published / limited-edition book); The PhotoBook of the Year Prize (for a book in which the dominant content is photography); and The Photography Catalogue of the Year Prize (for the best exhibition catalogue or museum publication of the year). All shortlisted books will go on display at Paris Photo and feature in the fall 2018 issue of The PhotoBook Review.

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Burn Magazine Emerging Photographer Fund / Deadline: 30 September / Entry fee: $20

Burn Magazine’s Emerging Photographer Fund was created to recognise the finest emerging visual storytellers and provide funding to selected photographers to help support the continuation of personal projects. An international jury comprised of prominent industry figures will select the winners of the Main EPF and the FujiFilm/Young Talent Award, both of which come with monetary prizes of US$10,000. The latter is only open to those photographers 25 years of age or younger. Submitted bodies of work may be of either journalistic mission or purely personal artistic imperatives.

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The Carmignac Photojournalism Award / Deadline: 7 October / No entry fee

Founded back in 2009, the Carmignac Photojournalism Award looks to fund the production of an investigative photo reportage focusing on human rights violations in the world. The laureate will receive an endowment of €50,000, enabling them to them to realise an in-depth project on the ground, with the logistical support of Fondation Carmignac, who will further organise a travelling exhibition and the publication of a monograph once the work has been completed.

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Gomma Grant / Deadline: 3 November / Entry fee: €25

The Gomma Grant is an all-inclusive award aiming to support the production of photographers’ work through cash endowments and other relevant initiatives. For the 2018 edition, Gomma Grant winners will share between them 50% of all revenue generated from the submissions. In addition to the first, second, and third prizes, the judges will also grant a number of smaller awards including Best Colour Documentary Work, Best Black and White Documentary Work, Best Colour Picture, Best Black and White Picture, Best Daily Life Story, Rising Talent, and a Gomma Prix Award.

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Every month we curate a list of what is coming up in the world of photography awards. Aimed at early, mid-career, and professional photographers, this list offers details of the most exciting opportunities. To stay up to date, subscribe to our newsletter by registering your email address in the space at the bottom of this page.

© Raphaela Rosella, from the series You'll Know It When You Feel It (2017 winner)
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© Raphaela Rosella, from the series You'll Know It When You Feel It (2017 winner)

© Josué Rivas, from the series Standing Strong (2018 winner)
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© Josué Rivas, from the series Standing Strong (2018 winner)

© James Arthur Allen, from the series Adiga: Circassians in Israel (2016 winner)
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© James Arthur Allen, from the series Adiga: Circassians in Israel (2016 winner)

© Christian Werner, from the series 74. (2017 winner)
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© Christian Werner, from the series 74. (2017 winner)

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