New East Photo Prize 2018

New East
Photo Prize 2018


NOW CLOSED FOR ENTRIES
EXHIBITION OPEN 12 OCT – 2 DEC

The New East Photo Prize celebrates contemporary photography from Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Russia and Central Asia.

The New East Photo Prize champions artistic excellence in photography. The prize recognises practitioners offering representations of the social, cultural and physical landscape of the New East and other perspectives on that region.

Although hugely diverse, the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are often represented in an outdated manner which negates the rich culture and variety of creative output from these nations.

The prize seeks to broaden perceptions of the New East through the medium of photography. Its inaugural edition in 2016 received a total of 1,030 entries from 25 New East countries. You can find out more here.

The New East Photo Prize is a project of Calvert 22 Foundation, supported by its online award-winning magazine, The Calvert Journal.

Awards

Cash Prize

Alongside the opportunity to have work exhibited at Calvert 22 Space in London and gain international exposure as well as feedback from industry experts, the winner of the New East Photo Prize will be offered a cash prize of £1,000 to help develop a body of work further.

Fabrika Travel Photography Prize

This special prize is dedicated to the travel photography project that best documents the landscape, culture, people or history of a region or place. The winner will receive a five-day trip to Georgia, staying in Fabrika Tbilisi and Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, with tours of the capital and the mountains. This prize is supported by New East Photo Prize partner Fabrika, the hostel and urban hotspot in Tbilisi.

Metro Imaging Mentorship Award

New East Photo Prize partner Metro Imaging are delighted to offer their Mentorship Award to a selected entrant. The mentorship programme will be tailor-made to suit the needs of the artist, who will be fully supported over a 12 month period and receive £1,000 credit with Metro Imaging.

Exhibition

Shortlisted finalists will have their work shown in a two-month group exhibition at Calvert 22 Foundation’s space in London opening on Thursday 11 October 2018, when the winners will also be announced.

International exposure

Short and longlisted entrants to the prize will receive significant international coverage through the online and social media channels of The Calvert Journal and Calvert 22 Foundation, with a combined monthly reach of over 800,000 worldwide readers.

The winner and selected finalists will also have their work featured by New East Photo Prize regional and international partners.

Judges

Joanna Ruck

Joanna is the deputy head of photography at the Guardian and currently works on the live news desk of the website.  Joanna has worked on some of the biggest stories of the past fifteen years including international conflicts, terror attacks, natural disasters and numerous elections.

Tomasz Kulbowski

Tomasz is a documentary photographer and educator based in Lublin, Poland. Member of the Un-Posed photography collective. Originator and director of the ongoing Eastreet project, a bi-annual exhibition and publication dedicated to documentary photography from Eastern Europe.

Marina Paulenka

Marina is a photographer, a founder and artistic director of the Croatian festival Organ Vida—International Photography Festival, Zagreb and the Organ Vida Photography Organisation, the leading institution for contemporary photography in Croatia.

Ekow Eshun

Ekow is the Creative Director of Calvert 22 Foundation and the former Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, a position he held from 2005–10. He appears frequently on TV and radio programmes, including Radio 4’s Saturday Review and Front Row.

Steven Macleod

An award winning Creative Director, photographer and Master Printer based in London, Steve has been at the forefront of photographic imaging for over 25 years, collaborating with a vast network of clients and developing new and innovative photographic printing practices. He is a Director at Metro Imaging in London.

Markéta Kinterová

Markéta Kinterová is an independent artist working with photography as a tool of conceptual art. She is a Creative Director of Fotograf 07 z.s comprising Fotograf Gallery, Fotograf Festival and Fotograf Magazine, all based in Prague. She is the Head of Studio of Documentary Photography, FAMU (Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague).

Dermot Doorly

Previously a photo editor and art director at Getty Images, Dermot has spent the past seven years based in the city, in charge of photography at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Dermot divides his time between photo research, editing and photographing projects funded by the EBRD in its countries of operations.

Ana Svanidze

Ana currently manages Fabrika Hostel in Tbilisi, Georgia, a youth-oriented, communal-vibe, design hostel; a focal point where young travellers, adventure seekers and artists meet to socialise, work and live together. An adventurer and restless explorer herself, Ana’s other biggest passion is photography.  

Previous Winners

2016 New East Photo Prize Winner: Michał Siarek, Alexander

Michał Siarek saw his winning project, Alexander, published as a photo book produced by Calvert 22 Foundation. Find out more about the winning series here.

Bird In Flight Special Prize: Elena Subach, The Sacrifice

A £1,000 grant dedicated to unfinished documentary projects was awarded by 2016 New East Photo Prize partner Bird In Flight to Elena Subach to help complete The Sacrifice.

Metro Imaging Mentorship Award: Lana Stojićević, Black Hill

Metro Imaging awarded their 2016 Mentorship Award to Lana Stojićević for her project Black Hill. The mentorship was tailor-made to suit the needs of the artist, who was fully supported over a 12 month period and received £1,000 credit with Metro Imaging.

Now closed for entries

FAQ’s

How do I enter the New East Photo Prize?

Please enter through the dedicated submission form. You can submit a project made within the last two years in the New East countries. Each submission must be accompanied by a photographic statement of up to 600 words long and a short biographical note up to 200 words. Full Terms and Conditions here.

Am I eligible to enter?

The New East Photo Prize is open to nationals of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Russia and Central Asia. The eligible countries are: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

Entrants must be 18 years of age or older.

If I live outside the New East region, am I still eligible for entry?

Citizens of countries in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Central Asia or Russia resident anywhere in the world are eligible for entry. See the complete list of eligible countries above.

I am not a professional photographer. Does that matter?

No. Entries are welcome from anyone from the New East who works with photography. The prize is inclusive and selected work will be chosen based on the artistic merit of the submission rather than the status of the photographer.

What do you mean by a project?

This can be a body of images produced in the New East exploring a particular theme or topic. The subject matter is at the discretion of the photographer. Practitioners working in a range of photography fields such as portraiture, landscape, documentary, contemporary art and architecture are welcome.

How many images can I submit to the competition?

For each project you may submit up to fifteen images. Series will be judged as a whole.

Can I submit a moving image project?

Unfortunately, moving image works such as short films, slideshows etc are not accepted.

How should I digitally prepare my images for entry?

The image preparation specifications can be found here.

Each image should be 72 dpi and between 1MB and 3MB, RGB mode, JPEG format maximum quality.

What are the judges looking for?

The judges will select work based on artistic merit.

The New East Photo Prize recognises practitioners offering representations of the social, cultural and physical landscape of the New East and other perspectives on that region.

Can a submission be considered for both the main competition and the special prizes supported by New East Photo Prize partners?

Yes. Projects will be considered both for the main competition and the special prizes supported by Fabrika Tbilisi and Metro Imaging. The winning projects of the special prizes (a trip to Georgia  offered by Fabrika Tbilisi and the Metro Imaging Mentorship Award) will be selected by our partners rather than the judges of the New East Photo Prize.

Can I submit more projects to the New East Photo Prize main competition?

No, each entrant can submit one project only, i.e. a series of up to fifteen images.

I create work as part of a team or collective. Can we enter our work as a collective?

Yes, as long as you make that clear in the statement accompanying the submission.

What happens to work that is shortlisted?

Once an entrant has been shortlisted, that person will be contacted by Calvert 22 Foundation staff. Shortlisted works will be announced publicly on Monday 3 September 2018 and displayed in a two-month group exhibition at Calvert 22 Space in London, opening in October 2018.

Shortlisted entrants and the winner of the prize will receive significant international coverage through the online (e-newsletters) and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) of The Calvert Journal and Calvert 22 Foundation, with a combined monthly reach of over 800,000 worldwide readers interested in the New East region.

The winner and selected finalists will also have their work featured by New East Photo Prize partners and regional organisations.

The winner of the main Prize together with the winners of the special prizes supported by our partners will be announced in November 2018.

The winner of the New East Photo Prize will be offered a cash prize of £1,000 to support his / her work further.

If I am not shortlisted will I receive feedback and suggestions for my work?

Due to the large number of entries it is not possible to provide personalised feedback for entrants. Please follow us on our social media channels to find more information about folio review opportunities, including networking events and other competitions and awards.

What if I run out of time?

No exceptions will be made for late submissions. Please allow for enough time to complete your entry. The deadline is midnight (GMT) on Friday 15 June 2018.

I need more information. Who can I contact?

Please contact us at [email protected]. We will regularly update this page with relevant questions. You can find full Terms and Conditions here.

Submit your entry

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