Open Call for Photography Expanded: Heat
Nadia Bseiso
This year’s Photography Expanded Fellowship will support projects on the topic of heat and climate crisis that reimagine what a critical and ecological photographic practice might look like. Magnum Foundation is seeking proposals from photographers from all regions of the world who are producing work that responds to our theme and are excited to contribute to a creative community of fellows. Up to twelve selected participants will receive a grant of $10,000, take part in two workshops, and connect with collaborative partners and networks. Applications are due July 6, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET.
About the fellowship
Photography Expanded provides fellowships and mentorship for photographers who seek to expand the parameters of documentary photography and develop experimental strategies for engaging audiences. Through experimenting with new approaches to image making and distribution, fellows explore creative models for narrative change in the context of various global practices of photography.
This program includes mentorship, facilitated co-learning among the fellows, and connections to the extended Magnum Foundation community of past grantees and partners. Fellows will participate in shaping the content of the discussions and convenings that will happen throughout the program. The metric for success is in how much participants are able to reflect, slow down, reconsider the bases of the form and function of their work. Photography Expanded fellows will be active members of a creative community fostering interdisciplinary exploration and collaboration.
Each year, the program will have a specific thematic focus, and will partner with alumni from past Magnum Foundation programs to locally produce workshops in rotating locations that are relevant to each year’s theme. This year’s workshops will take place in Amman, Jordan and are produced in partnership with Darkroom Amman and MMAG Foundation.
About this year’s theme
We will support photography that expands the discourse around visuality, heat, and the climate crisis; and reimagines what a critical and ecological photographic practice might look like. With a priority to support photographers living and working in their own communities, we will center projects that are based on equitable relationships and interdependence among individuals, communities, and non-humans.
Some projects we support may explore heat through the lens of climate-based migration, environmental justice movements, pollution-driven health disparities, or “natural” disasters rising from oppressive social structures; while others may consider heat as a metaphor for a motivating force that drives us toward action or the warmth of touch, and connection both within and beyond the human realm.
In the context of rising global temperatures, this year’s theme will explore the effects of the climate crisis and the frictions between existing systems and assumptions of economic growth on one hand, and possibilities of ecological regeneration and repair on the other. Heat, like a fever, can be a symptom of a more systemic problem; the program will delve into root causes of threats to our planet, as well as potential pathways toward a paradigm of recovery.
Program details
Fellowship will run from November 2023 to June 2024. Fellows will receive a $10,000 grant. Up to twelve fellows will be selected.
The fellowship will include two in-person workshops in Amman, Jordan (November 2023 and May 2024) and regular virtual meetings with mentors throughout the duration of the program. The workshops will include community building among the participants and mentors, connection with artistic communities in Amman, and thematically-related site visits in Jordan. There will also be goal-oriented project development and opportunities to experiment with new modes for circulation of photography and creative engagement strategies.
Magnum Foundation will cover all travel expenses related to the in-person workshop and ensure participants have reliable internet connection for the virtual meetings.
We are committed to making this an accessible program, including but not limited to making accommodations for disability, caretaking responsibilities, and visa status. In the event that travel to the in-person workshop is a barrier to a fellow’s participation in the program, we will work with the fellow to create an alternative option. If you have any questions related to accessibility, we encourage you to email us at submissions@magnumfoundation.org.
Application requirements
All are welcome to apply. We especially encourage applications from individuals whose authorship has historically been undersupported or underrepresented within the field of documentary photography, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian individuals; individuals who are part of racial, ethnic, economic, or religious minority groups; women; gender non-conforming individuals; LGBTQI+ individuals; disabled people; and others.
There is no required training, educational degree, or level of experience to apply, and we encourage applications from self-taught photographers and artists who have not had access to formal training. Current students are welcome to apply.
If the project has multiple partners involved, one individual should apply and describe their project partners in the application. One member of the project team will be able to attend the workshops. Additional members may attend the virtual elements of the program when appropriate.
Applicants should be photographers who are currently working on a project related to this theme and have a vision for expanding and completing it during the project period.
Applicants should be committed to participating in all aspects of the fellowship program and contributing to its creative community.
Proficiency in spoken English is required. All fellowship convenings will be conducted in English. Applications must be submitted in English.
APPLICATION TIMELINE:
Application Q&A Session: June 21, 11am - 12pm, ET – see below for a recording of the session!
Applications Due: July 6, 2023
Grantees Notified: August, 2023
Application Process
Fellows will be selected via both a nomination and open call process. We are doing this because nominations will help us reach beyond the range of our immediate network and introduce us to artists and photographers who would not normally receive news about our grant opportunities or see themselves as potential grantees of the Magnum Foundation.
A shortlist of applicants will be invited to interview with the selection committee.
Fellows will be selected by an external selection committee.
Up to 25 applicants who are not selected to receive grants will be invited to a virtual meeting with a member of the Magnum Foundation team to discuss their work.
Questions? Email submissions@magnumfoundation.org.
There will be a virtual Q&A session about the initiative and the application process, on June 21, 11am - 12pm, ET – see below for a recording of the session!
This initiative is developed by the Magnum Foundation, a non-profit organization that expands creativity and diversity in documentary practice. This initiative is supported by the Rosenthal Family Foundation and the Genevieve McMillan-Reba Stewart Foundation.