Deadline: September 20, 2020
Entry Fee: Free
Prizes: £1,000 cash prize, £500 voucher, tuition scholarship
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Although hugely diverse, the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are often represented in an outdated manner which negates the rich culture and variety of creative output from these nations.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. In its two previous editions, the prize has received over 1,700 entries from 25 New East countries.
Alongside the prizes, all finalists for the prize will enjoy international exposure through The Calvert Journal and other media partners.
The New East Photo Prize is a project of Calvert 22 Foundation, supported by its online award-winning magazine, The Calvert Journal.
Conditions
- 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.
- For each project you may submit between ten and fifteen images. Series will be judged as a whole.
- Each entrant can submit one project only, i.e. a series of up to 15 images.
Judges
- Joanna Ruck
Joanna is deputy head of photography at the Guardian, mainly working on live news. She has worked on some of the biggest news stories of recent times including conflicts, humanitarian crises, countless elections and of course Brexit. - Iaroslav Volovod
Iaroslav is a curator at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and a member of the Board of Experts of the VII Moscow International Biennale for Young Art. He graduated from the Oriental Faculty of St Petersburg State University. - Elena Anosova
Elena is a visual artist and curator based between Irkutsk and Moscow. Elena’s curatorial activity is aimed at the discovery and promotion of young artists. Elena Anosova works with documentary photo, video, installations, archive and book projects. - Ekow Eshun
Ekow is Creative Director of Calvert 22 Foundation. He is the Chair of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, overseeing London’s most significant public art project and the former director of the ICA, London. - Magdalena Herrera
Magdalena is a photographer born to a family of artists in Havana. She left Cuba as a child to settle in Paris, where she studied fine art and art history at the Sorbonne before starting her career as a graphic designer and art director. She is a World Press photographer. - Bertan Selim
Bertan Selim is an editor, curator, and consultant in the arts. He is currently the head of Grants and Collaborations at the Prince Claus Fund - Davide Monteleone
Davide Monteleone is an award-winning photographer, researcher, and National Geographic Fellow. He is engaged with educational activities, regularly giving lectures and workshops around the world.
Prizes
- Cash Prize
Alongside the opportunity to have work featured online on The Calvert journal and partner publications, gaining 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. - Voucher for Photography Equipment
In order to support emerging photographers, this prize will give the recipient a £500 voucher to spend at a retailer of their choice. - Mentorship Award
The winner of the Mentorship Award will get a full tuition scholarship offered by Spazio Labo’ Photography to attend the Tutorship in Visual Storytelling training course organised by Davide Monteleone and Spazio Labo’, specifically designed for visual storytellers in their early career. Held between January and June 2021, the tutorship will offer individual coaching, six interactive group seminars, and four one-to-one meetings with prominent lecturers.
Exhibition (TBC)
Our plan was to hold an exhibition in Europe in Autumn 2020 exhibiting the shortlisted finalists in a group show. In light of recent events, it’s now unclear whether it will be safe to hold the exhibition as planned. We will monitor the situation and keep you updated.
