Community Grant Shortlist
We received hundreds of applicants for the grant and have managed to whittle it down to just 5 for yo to vote on.
Please ensure that you read all of the submissions before casting your vote for your favourite.
Susnata Karmakar - Homeless - a series Inspired by Suella Braverman
Suella Braverman's comments regarding homelessness have ignited a fire within me. I come from India and have a deep interest in exploring social issues through a critical lens. My cultural background shapes my perspective, particularly when it comes to the portrayal of poverty. Western photographers documenting poverty in India have often left me questioning their real intentions and feeling a sense of shame.
This has fueled my desire to create a series on homelessness in the UK that is both artistic and socially conscious. I believe art serves a vital purpose in questioning dominant narratives, particularly those that simplify complex societal problems. My ambition is to transcend aesthetics and venture into the realms of advocacy and critique. This series aims to challenge the narrative that simplifies homelessness into a matter of "lifestyle choices." Through powerful imagery captured on film, I will strive to humanize the experience of homelessness and foster empathy within the viewer. I hope this series will spark important conversations about homelessness, challenging the audience to confront their own preconceptions. By fostering empathy and understanding, my goal is to contribute to positive change in how homelessness is perceived and addressed.
Karim Khourrou - Kan ya Makan (Once upon a time....)
My project is a tribute to migrants who bravely risked everything in search of a better future. I am the son of Moroccan migrants in Spain, which makes me half Spanish and half Moroccan. This work honors the roots I have almost lost touch with, having been born in a different country than my parents. Through this proposal, I explore the role of Moroccan tea as a symbol of mourning and its significance in the lives of migrants.
Alana Garces Punset - Japan Legacy
In the depths of Japanese culture lies an intangible treasure, woven with the mastery and ingenuity of past generations: craftsmanship. Like threads interwoven in an ancestral tapestry, these practices have shaped the identity of the country, weaving stories into each stitch, infusing life into every creation. However, in the loom of time, the thread of tradition often finds itself entangled in the warp of change. Industrialization and globalization threaten to unravel this unique cultural heritage, risking the irreparable loss of collective memory and the very essence of Japanese identity.
It is in this crucible of challenges and hopes that the pressing need to preserve the legacy of Japanese craftsmanship arises. This is not only an act of preservation but a commitment to the very essence of what it means to be Japanese. It is a tribute to the artisans who have dedicated their lives to perfecting their craft, a recognition of their role as guardians of an invaluable heritage.
Thus, we embark on a journey of reverence and respect, guided by the Japanese philosophy that values the past as much as the present. This is a slow and meticulous process, a delicate dance between past and present, where each image captured in the ethereal embrace of 120 photographic film becomes a beacon of hope.
For in each image lies the promise to keep alive the flame of Japanese craftsmanship, to transmit its beauty and depth to future generations. For the loss of this legacy would not only mean the disappearance of precious objects but the erosion of cultural memory, the fading of the very identity of a people.
May our cameras be instruments of love and devotion, capturing the essence of a legacy that transcends time, uniting pasts, presents, and futures in an unbreakable tapestry of history and tradition.
Marjona Blasco - ePhemeral
As the Cambridge Dictionary says 'ePhemeral' makes reference to those things that last only a short time. Dance is an ephemeral art because a dancer would never dance twice the same choreography in the same way, and won't be stepped into a position into the same way. If we capture those moments, we make them eternal, they last forever in time. This project is based in portraying this fleeing mood of dance and preserving it forever through photography. It is even more special when doing it through these eternal technologies that are analogue cameras.
Reed Mattison - Jackson Nights, Walking
"Jackson Nights, Walking" is an homage to Robert Adams' seminal work "Summer Nights." With the support of Ilford I hope to document the nocturnal scenes of my home in Jackson, Wyoming thats' true to the style and approach Adams took in his home of Longmont, Colorado.
Earlier awards
The first 2024 grant was awarded to Lucho Davila for Fanesca which studies how immigration alters traditional folklore
We shipped his prize earlier in the year and can't wait to share details on the progress that he is making with this project.
Other projects shortlisted this time were:-
Mountains: The Inner Path - Eduardo Almeida
Our Kids - Portraits of people with LGBTQ+ parents.- Paula Smith
The Places I (Long To) Go - Megan Sinclair
I am not an embarrasment - Xoliswa Ngwenya
The Q3 2023 Grant was awarded to Anni Kay and her project Hulme Loonies.
Other shortlisted project were:-
Gary Dougherty - Lifesavers
Alan J Kent - The Afghan Street Camera
Emillio Daniel. - Hikayat Kain (Tale of Cloth)
Mia Kraitsowits - Loved Skins
The Q2 2023 Community Grant was awarded to Federico Pestilli for his project Extinct
Read more about how his project is going in our online magazine
The other projects shortlisted for this award were:-
Jack Moyse - What it's like (being me)
Megan Henderson - Locos Non Profit
Yang Zhou - Mapping J. R. R. Tolkien's England
D. M. Terblanche - I Should Have Burnt More Cars
Our Q1 2023 Winner was India Mae Alby with her project on the London Rollerskating Scene.
We shipped her prize in April. We'll catch up with her at the end of the year to find out how winning this award has helped bring her project to life.
The other projects shortlisted for this award were:-
Asian Representation in Hollywood - Marcus Ubungen
Black Women Rising UK - Noam Friedman
The Woman: Veiled - Jason and Amanda Ray
Don't Touch My... (DTM) - Zai
Our Q4 2022 Winner was SAM BATLEY with his project 'One Day at a time boys'.
His prize shipped in January and he updated us at the end of 2023 about his project working with a community of men from a recovery centre in Liverpool.
The other projects that you voted on for the 2nd award were:-
Dogs from Darkness - Ted Smith
Cost of Living Crisis - Kieran Doherty
Queering Rural Spaces - Sarah Stellino
The resistance of native corn in rural Mexico City - Diego Hernadez
Untie the Knot - Clare Park
Our Q3 2022 Winner was ANDILE BHALA with his project 'Related to the Pavement'.
We shipped his prize to him in November. You can read more about his project capturing faces of Soweto/JOZI in our magazine and check out some of his work on his Instagram
The other projects that you voted on for the 1st award were:-
Tragically beautiful - Anna Melnykova
f.64 - Savannah McCauley
Accessible Landscapes - John Emery
Just Sitting - Kasia Murfet
A Role Model for Me - Molly Kate