Tender Visions: A New Cross-Disciplinary Alternative for African Photographers and Writers
Tender Photographs has simply introduced an inspiring new program—Tender Visions—a cross-disciplinary commissioning alternative tailor-made for photographers and writers throughout the African continent. With beneficiant assist from the Open Society Basis, this initiative goals to carry compelling visible and literary storytelling to life, rooted in African realities and formed by African voices.
If you’re a photographer or author enthusiastic about group, tradition, and significant inquiry, that is your likelihood to participate in a richly collaborative and generously funded inventive program.
What’s the Imaginative and prescient?
Tender Visions will fee:
- 8 photographers to develop theme-based visible tasks of their native communities
- 16 writers to craft inventive or crucial written responses to these photographic works
By way of this pairing, photographers will obtain steering to create new, regionally grounded visible narratives, whereas writers will produce 3,000–4,000-word essays—starting from criticism to fiction or inventive nonfiction—that reply to those photographic collection.
Advantages of Tender Visions
For Photographers:
- Should be primarily based on the African continent
- Should suggest a fully new physique of labor (not an extension of earlier tasks)
- Will submit 40–50 photos, with 20–30 chosen for ultimate presentation
- Will obtain a £1,000 charge (consists of journey bills)
For Writers:
- Based mostly on the African continent or within the African diaspora
- Robust desire for residents in Africa as a consequence of restricted alternatives
- Should reveal confirmed expertise in inventive nonfiction, arts criticism, journalism, or fiction
- Might be paid £750 for his or her commissioned piece
- Could also be eligible for a journey stipend, assessed on a case-by-case foundation
In case you’re uncertain the way to talk your inventive imaginative and prescient or need assistance crafting a standout utility, discover these assertion of goal examples to information your proposal-writing course of. It’s necessary to speak your distinctive perspective clearly and convincingly.
Themes to Probe for Tender Visions
Tender Visions invitations proposals primarily based on one of many following themes (or a robust unique one in all your individual):
- Interior Lives – Exploring the intimacy and symbolism of inside areas
- The Aftermath – Visible reflections on the lingering impression of battle and trauma
- In Neighborhood – Celebrating advanced, dynamic African communities
- Faces – Rethinking portraiture and human id
- Normal – A wildcard for distinctive, well-argued visions past these themes
Key Dates to Bear in mind
- Utility Window: June 14 – July 15, 2025 (Deadline: 11:59 p.m. GMT)
- Digital Information Session: June 28, 2025 – Comply with @tender.picture on Instagram for particulars
- Notifications: August 20, 2025
- Mission Supply: August–October 2025
- Publication Begins: November 2025
Photographers, apply right here. Writers, apply right here.
Strengthen Your Submission
As you draft your proposal or start fascinated by how your work may reply to another person’s, you might profit from structured suggestions. Take into account in search of enter earlier than you submit your piece. This information on the way to get a writing critique affords sensible methods for elevating your utility by way of peer or mentor critiques.
Contact & Comply with-Up
Whether or not you’re photographing the nuances of post-conflict cities or writing in regards to the pulse of shared reminiscence and area, Tender Visions affords the assist, construction, and visibility you must create one thing highly effective.
Apply by July 15, 2025.
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