Deadline: April 30, 2021
Applications are open for the Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP) 2021. The ADPP is a program jointly funded by the Arab Fund for Art and Culture (AFAC) and the Prince Claus Fund (PCF), targeting creative documentary photographers in the Arab region.
Context
Documentary photography sheds light on important neglected and unknown narratives. However, in the Arab world it remains an under-developed genre. With most current visual production going to journalistic mass-media outlets, there is little opportunity for documentary photographers to explore creative, personal, long-term, and analytical approaches to their work. Additionally, there is little access to the needed resources and adequate professional support to initiate and complete compelling documentary photography projects.
The focus of the Arab Documentary Photography Program is to support compelling non-stereotypical and unconventional visual documentation of important social issues and narratives relevant to the Arab region. In recognition to the image’s power to document, educate and advocate, the ADPP will also explore ways by which documentary photography can reach out to wider audiences and engage with them in a compelling and impactful ways. Photographers may propose to work in a range of non-fiction narrative styles, from classic documentary photography to more experimental visual storytelling, and may propose to include audio and video elements.
Benefits
- Selected grantees receive production support in the amount of $5,000 USD to produce long-term creative projects within an eight-month mentorship program with Randa Shaath, Eric Gottesman, Tanya Habjouqa, and Peter van Agtmael.
- Over the course of their project development, grantees come together for two intensive workshops in Beirut, where they have the opportunity to connect in person with each other and their mentors to edit and consider avenues for distribution.
Eligibility
- Open to Arab applicants mainly those living and working in the Arab region, irrespective of age, years of experience, ethnicity, gender or religion. Exceptions are made for Arab applicants who had to flee their home countries during the past nine years (since 2012) due to political unrest. Their projects must however be related to the region.
- 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 be comfortable using English for all communication and in person discussions. The workshops and communication will be conducted in English. Translation can be provided during the workshops.
- Applicants must be independent, i.e. not currently working under any “work for hire” agreements, and should have full copyright ownership of the work they produce.
Application
All applications must include:
- 10 – 20 images from the initial stages of the proposed project.
- Images from any single body of work that demonstrates the applicant’s ability as a photographer and a visual storyteller.
- Captions should be included in the metadata of each image file. A numbered caption sheet is requested in the supporting material zip file.
- Images should be JPGs, 72 dpi, and longest edge 1,000 pixels.
Additional media as supplement to the still photographs are accepted. Applicant needs to include the corresponding links in the supporting material zip file. - Applications lacking in supporting material will not be considered for evaluation nor will the applicant be contacted to send the missing material.
- Supporting files/samples of current submitted project and/or previous work smaller than 10 MB can be uploaded directly to the application.
- Supporting files/samples of current submitted project and/or previous work between 10 MB and 300 MB should be included as links to files on sharing websites (such as Dropbox, Vimeo, YouTube…).
For more information, visit ADPP.
