DEADLINE: April 8, 2022
The Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award is a bursary award for emerging photographers in the UK, worth more than £2,500. The 2022 award is open for submissions, with a deadline of April 8, 2022.
Previous winners have explored an Islamic minority in Israel, social deprivation in Glasgow and the role of therapy in post-genocide Rwanda, and shining a fresh light on Britain’s oldest generation.
The award comprises a cash bursary of £2,000, plus £500-worth of credit at Metro Imaging as well as mentorship. It funds a professional photographer to undertake a narrative photography project – one that focuses on human stories within a social or political context. The trust supports the project throughout, and works with the winner to help maximise public engagement with the resulting work.
Longlisted applicants (generally up to 12 each year) join our Development Network, gaining access to further opportunities including seed funding for projects.
The winner receives:
- £2,000 to cover all costs (including personal fee) for the project
- Mentorship and £500 print credit (excludes self service, film sales, framing, retouch) from the wonderful Metro Imaging
- Support from the Trust throughout the project, and promotion of your work through our online channels
- Membership of Shutter Hub
Submission deadline: Friday, 8 April 2022. Application is through an online form – click here to open it.
Who can apply?
The award is open to photographers who are either (i) UK citizens or (ii) currently resident in the UK.
The award is for photographers at early-to-mid career stage. By this we mean a working professional photographer, probably trained, with some experience, but who does not yet earn a full living wage from their preferred style of photographic work.
There is no age limitation, and no requirement for art school or university education.
We warmly encourage photographers from culturally diverse backgrounds, those whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex, and those with disabilities.
Please note that we do not fund current undergraduates, or full-time students on any course. We also do not fund work that forms part of a postgraduate degree.
What are we looking for?
We will fund a stills photography project that is either brand new, or in its earliest stages, and which you can undertake within 12 months of receiving the award (i.e. by June 2023 latest). The Trust must be the primary funder of the project and we will not fund projects that are already well underway. Therefore, you should apply with a project of suitable size for a £2,000 bursary.
We’ve used the word ‘narrative’ to describe the kind of photography we want to fund. This is because what’s most important to us is to tell human stories within a social or political context. While this is often approached through documentary photography or photojournalism, we are also open to photographers who work across genres such as fine art or portraiture.
THE CURATOR SHIP 