Call for applications via Open Society Foundation’s website:

THE 2014 AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
Deadline: July 8, 2014 at 5p.m. EST

Who We Are
The Open Society Documentary Photography Project is uniquely positioned at the cross-section of international human rights, activism, media, and the arts. A distinguishing feature of our mission is to support individuals who strive to go beyond documenting a human rights or social justice issue to enacting change.

Audience Engagement: A Mode of Practice
Since its inception in 2004, the Audience Engagement Grant has come to promote a mode of practice for photographers seeking more concrete impact with their work. Through this grant we acknowledge how an individual’s actions and reach are strengthened through collaboration. We hope to encourage a wide range of ideas and approaches and seek the following:
– Documentary photographers, photo-based artists, and socially-engaged practitioners using photography who move target audiences beyond the act of looking, to directly participate in activities or processes that lead to change around an issue.
– Individuals who establish meaningful partnerships with others committed to realizing change and who bring a complementary set of skills and expertise to the work.
– Projects that use photography or photo-based art creatively and innovatively, but strategically in order to reach a unique audience.
– Projects with goals that are ambitious, yet realistic and achievable.

Audience Engagement: The Grant
We recognize that cultivating collaborations and effectively executing these projects requires significant effort, time, and strategic planning. In response, beginning in 2014, we will offer two tracks of grant support for individuals at different phases of their work.

TRACK ONE: PROJECT DEVELOPMENT. NEW! Grantees will receive funding to attend an OSF-organized retreat in December of 2014. This event will be designed in collaboration with Creative Capital’s Professional Development Program, whose nationally recognized workshops provide participants with essential practical tools and strategies to help them move their project and career goals forward. Attendees will also become part of a larger Audience Engagement Grant cohort, with opportunities to connect and network both during the retreat and after.

TRACK TWO: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION. Grantees will receive funding to execute (or continue executing) their projects as well as attend December’s retreat.

For more detailed information on eligibility and criteria, please visit our website’s Audience Engagement Grant Program page and download the complete guidelines for each track.