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Opportunities and Open Calls for Photographers: August Edition
Alison Zavos
August 07, 2023
Opportunities and Open Calls for Photographers: August Edition
Every month, we curate a collection of dozens of the best opportunities for photographers and photo industry professionals happening worldwide, from international festivals and career-launching grant funding to job openings at top magazines.
This August, we turned our attention to a £10,000 grant supporting the work of a young photojournalist, a $5,000 cash prize for a photographer telling an environmental story, plus a $10,000 photobook award, to name just a few.
Elsewhere, one photographer will receive $5,000 for creating the best image of 2023, as selected by a panel of esteemed jurors, and another artist will have the opportunity to publish a book.
Created in honor of the Sunday Times journalist Ian Parry, this grant is given annually to a photographer age 24 or under or enrolled in a full-time photographic course. “One recipient will receive The Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant with The Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence being awarded at the judges’ discretion,” the team shares. Both grants are worth £10,000.
They’re looking for projects addressing important and urgent issues related to the human condition (e.g. social change, humanitarian concern, climate change, armed conflict, and beyond). The call for entries is open through August 31st.
Now in its 16th edition, Environmental Photographer of the Year (EPOTY) welcomes submissions from professional and amateur photographers of all ages. The winner of the Environmental Photography of the Year title will receive a £5,000 cash prize, an interview CIWEM’s Environment Magazine, a profile on WaterBear’s website, and a feature on Nikon Europe’s website.
Additional prizes will also be awarded to the winners of Young Environmental Photographer of the Year, MPB Vision of the Future, Recovering Nature, Keeping 1.5 Alive, and Adapting for Tomorrow. Submissions are open through August 30th.
Now in its eighth edition, the Australian Photography Awards (APA) welcomes photographs made anywhere in the world, as long as they were created by photographers residing in Australia or Australian citizens living overseas. The prize pool, which includes cash prizes and equipment, is valued at more than $40,000. The awards will culminate in an exhibition in Naarm/Melbourne. Submissions are due by August 21st.
This year, American Photography’s prestigious juried competition, which has run for three decades, has partnered with Vital Impacts, an organization supporting wildlife, habitats, and people. The Open Grand Prize winner will receive $5,000 plus lots of prizes, including gear, prints, consultations, and more. There are plenty of additional titles and prizes available as well. The deadline for submissions is August 31st.
Aperture and Paris Photo present the latest edition of their annual awards, with categories for First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalog of the Year. The winner of the First PhotoBook Prize receives $10,000, and the 35 shortlisted books across all three categories will be exhibited as part of Paris Photo and other festivals around the world. Submissions are due by September 8th.
Open to emerging artists in Britain (including but not limited to photographers), the theme for the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award this year is The Journey of Self-Actualization: Exploring the Illusion of Greener Grass and the Pursuit of the Dream. Ten shortlisted artists will have their work exhibited at Saatchi Gallery in London. The First Prize winner receives £10,000, with £5,000 going to the Second Prize winner. Entries are due by September 3rd.
“We are excited to announce that the 2023 Global Contest has turned its lens towards climate justice,” the team at Photography 4 Humanity explains. “We believe climate change is a human rights issue, so we are looking for images that show people impacted by the escalating climate crisis.” The Global Prize Recipient will receive $5,000 and, along with the top ten finalists and top ten honorable mentions, will be exhibited globally on UN.org. Submit by August 31st.
Action Against Hunger presents this multimedia grant for humanitarian imagery.” A shortlist of ten projects will be submitted to an international, multidisciplinary, diverse jury, which will choose the winner,” the team shares. “The successful candidate will receive a grant worth €10,000 to carry out their project, which will be displayed in an exhibition [in] October 2024.” Applications are due by August 31st.
As part of their Emerging Talent Awards, LensCulture will recognize twenty-five early-career photographers. The top awards include an exhibition in New York, cash grants of $12,000, features in international photo festivals, and more. The deadline is August 23rd.
Eyeshot, the independent Italian publishing house with a focus on street and documentary photography, presents this competition. The theme is The Human Being. Prizes include €1,750 in cash prizes, editorial contracts valued at €45,000, an international exhibition in Naples, and more. There are categories for Single images as well as Series. The extended deadline is August 14th.
© Jennifer Hadley/CWPA, courtesy Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards promotes conservation through humor. This year, the winner of the top prize will receive a Kenyan Safari courtesy of Alex Walker's Serian. As always, it’s free to enter. Submissions are open through August 23rd.
“The Baron Prize is a biannual award which recognises artists, photographers, and filmmakers who have created projects investigating gender, sex, sexuality, and identity politics,” the team at Baron Books, the photography and art book publisher, shares. “The fifth edition is open to artists, filmmakers, and photographers working in any medium and from anywhere in the world, over the age of 18.
“The winner will be announced in November 2023 and the winner’s prize is a £2,000 cash prize plus a £1,000 Baron gift box containing Baron Books and merch.” The deadline for submissions is September 30th.
Now in its sixth year, 212 Photography Istanbul is an international festival that’s brought together more than 150,000 photography enthusiasts for a program of exhibitions, workshops, talks, screenings, performances, and more. The winner of this year’s 212 Photography Competition will receive €5,000 and the chance to be published in 212 Magazine. Ten shortlisted photographers will be exhibited during the festival.
Lara, January 2021, New Waves series. © Raphaël Neal / Agence VU (New Waves is a collection of portraits of teenagers paired with landscapes and inspired by global warming issues.)
“Portrait of Britain is a celebration of identity; an opportunity to rejoice in the diversity of a changing nation,” shares the team at 1854, who publish British Journal of Photography. As part of the awards, 100 winning images will be exhibited across the country as part of a monthlong digital screen display, and 200 shortlisted portraits will be published in the Portrait of Britain book. The deadline is September 6th.
Amateur Photographer of the Year 2023 by Amateur Photographer magazine and MPB presents Round 7 of their annual competition. They’re offering £11,000 worth of prizes, with ten monthly rounds available to enter. The theme for this month is street photography. The deadline is August 21st.
The Sanctuary Nature Foundation is seeking wildlife, nature, and environmental photography that falls under this year’s theme: Call of the Wild. They’re looking for images made on the Asian continent by photographers of any nationality. Cash prizes will be awarded, with Rs. 1,50,000 (approx. $1,815) going to the First Prize winner. Submissions are open until September 1st.
The main prize for this award from Aesthetica Magazine will include £10,000, editorial coverage in the magazine, and more. Additionally, the winner of the Emerging Prize will receive £1,000, vouchers, and more. All winning and shortlisted artists will be part of a group exhibition at a major public gallery. The regular deadline is August 31st, and late entries will be accepted from September 1st to 8th.
Print Center New York hosts this annual open call program, giving six to eight artists based in the US the chance to present their work and develop their careers through a group exhibition, artist-led public programming, conversation, community-building, and individualized resources. Applications are open through September 8th.
Teen Vogue is looking for an Associate Visuals Editor to “assist with curating and producing innovative visual content across platforms (including social, video, digital, print, experiential) that meets brand integrity and production quality standards, while remaining on schedule and on budget.” Two to three years of work experience in photo/visual production or a related field in preferred.
Exposure is an international photo festival taking place in the City of Calgary and throughout Alberta. “Exposure welcomes diverse and innovative submissions from photographers and visual artists around the world who incorporate, celebrate or challenge the photographic medium within their practice,” the team shares.
This year’s open call will be juried by the curator and writer Lillian O'Brien Davis. The selected photographers will be part of an exhibition at Contemporary Calgary and be invited to show selected works on billboards throughout the city. They will also receive a $161 artist fee and $150 production expense allocation. The deadline is September 1st.
“Guest Room is a monthly online exhibition with open submissions curated in real-time by personalities from the international photography scene,” the team at Der Grief shares. This time around, they’ll welcome Varun Gupta, Director of the Chennai Photo Biennale in India, and one of his mentors, Arpan Mukherjee, to curate.
The theme is Metamorphosis: “Submissions that embrace the ever-changing nature of materials, processes, and concepts and offer a unique lens to examine the digital representation of analogue images are encouraged.” Submissions are open until August 24th.
As part of their annual photography contest, Neutral Density (ND) will offer two grand prizes, with $3,500 going to the ND Photographer of the Year (professional) and $2,400 going to the recipient of the ND Discovery of the Year title (non-professional). Additionally, the category winners will receive $500 for professionals and $400 for non-professionals. The final deadline is September 17th.
As part of their monthly series of competitions, Life Framer presents an open theme for August. The judge will be Helen, the Head of Pictures at the Financial Times. As always, the monthly cash prize is $2,000 for the winner, plus exhibition opportunities. The deadline is August 31st.
Gallery 253 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has launched this call for abstract art, open to artists based in the United States. Photography is among the numerous eligible media/genres. The exhibition will take place in the fall. Submissions are open through August 27th.
Soho Photo Gallery in Manhattan has announced their 19th International Alternative Processes Competition, which will culminate in an exhibition at the gallery in the fall. The independent curator Elizabeth Avedon will be the juror. The First Place winner will receive $300, with $200 and $100 going to the Second and Third Place winners, respectively. The deadline for submissions is September 7th.
As part of their Travel Award, The Independent Photographer is offering $2,000 in cash prizes (including $1,000 for the First Prize Winner), international exhibition opportunities, and inclusion in their photobook. The award will be judged by Steve McCurry. The deadline is August 31st.
Recognizing professional photographers from Australia and New Zealand working across six genres, The Capture Awards includes a prize pool worth more than $26,000. The top ten entries for the still-image categories will be featured in an issue of Capture magazine, and the top ten in the video and film category will be shown online. Entries close on September 10th.
The theme for this Open Call from Preus Museum in Horten, Norway, is DNA: Democracy – Nature – AI*: “How can democracy, nature and AI tell us something about evolution, diversity and manipulation? How can this be expressed through photography?” The call will culminate in an exhibition at the Oslo Negativ photo festival, with cash prizes going to the First, Second, and Third Place winners. Additionally, there’s an opportunity to be included in the collection at Preus Museum. Submit by September 5th to be considered.
“The Charta Award is open to artists who incorporate the photographic medium in their artistic practice and have produced a project that could be printed in the book format,” the organizers of the Charta photo book festival explain. “The theme of the award is open.” The winning project will be published as a book by Yogurt Editions, in an edition of 500 copies. Submissions are due by August 25th.
Innovate Grants provides $1,800 quarterly to one artist and one photographer. The summer 2023 deadline is September 14th.
BBA gallery in Berlin has announced the latest edition of their One Shot Award, which culminates in an exhibition of fifty selected photographs one a large digital display at Kühlhaus Berlin. The winner will receive €500. Applications are open through September 18th.
“Since 2022, we have been witnessing the unprovoked, violent attacks on Ukraine and the tragic loss of innocent lives,” the team at Adobe shares. “As we see this tragedy unfold, we believe we have a responsibility to support creators during the growing humanitarian crisis and refugee situation in the region. We are currently focusing our Community Fund efforts on providing support to those creators who have been directly impacted by the unjustified invasion of Ukraine.” Applications for the program are ongoing.
PH21 Gallery in Budapest presents this open call for a curated group show devoted to monochrome photography, taking place in the fall. The early bird deadline for submissions is August 14th, and the final deadline is August 21st.
All About Photo (AAP) Magazine has announced this call for entries in anticipation of their September 2023 online juried solo exhibition. All genres are eligible, but you should send in a cohesive body of work. Submissions are due by August 22nd.
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