Open Society Foundation Photography competition, Win up to $3,500

Are you a photographer?

Then we have an opportunity for you! Approximately 10 cash stipends of $3,500 will be awarded by the Open Society Foundation to photographers to produce a photo essay on a current human rights or social issue in Pakistan. Grantees will participate in two master-level workshops on visual storytelling through photography and multimedia. The deadline for proposals is March 5, 2013. For more information, please visit:

http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/production-grants-individuals

Eligibility Criteria

• The competition is open to photographers from the following countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

• Applicants must currently reside in their home country. Exceptions will be made for applicants from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan living outside their home country.

• Applicants from other countries may also be eligible if they can demonstrate a long-term commitment to one of the designated countries (for example, by having lived and worked in one of the countries for many years).

• Professional and emerging photographers are eligible to apply. Photographers who have not specialized in documentary photography will be considered as long as the proposed work is documentary in nature.

• Technical familiarity with photography is required. Journalists or activists who have not had experience with photography are not eligible to apply.
  Applicants must speak English or Russian.

• Participants must be able to attend both workshops (in December 2013 and June 2014) and commit themselves to working and communicating consistently over the six months of the grant term. 

• Collaborative projects will be considered and applicants from different countries may apply together (in which case each photographer will receive a $3,500 grant).

Purpose and Priorities

The Open Society Documentary Photography Project created the grant in 2009 to support photographers from the region who contribute to civil society by critically exploring current social problems. The focus of the grant and training program is to encourage long-form documentary storytelling that explores issues in-depth and over time, rather than spot news photography. The program promotes personal and professional growth through guided and personalized feedback, project assistance, and professional education. We also recognize the lack of affordable, advanced training programs for photographers in the region. This grant program aims to help locally-based photographers compete in international markets.

We are also committed to furthering public dialogue around issues relevant to the work of the Open Society Foundations. As such, proposals will be carefully judged by Open Society Foundations staff and outside advisors to ensure that the issues are urgent and timely.
Guidelines

To apply, please go to docphoto.soros.org Download the complete guidelines at left for more information.