Bird in Flight Prize ¦
¬ international ¤ award for innovative approach to telling a story through a phÞtograph

The concept of the Bird in Flight Prize is to support photographers who think outside the box of traditional artistic standards. Our contest is not about photoprojects that cater to the existing general demand. It’s about discovering new ways to tell a story using the means and tools of photography. We encourage artistic freedom and diversity therefore we don’t impose time constraints upon our participants. We do not limit them in their choices of subjects and creativity methods. We also allow image editing as well as the usage of other images [as long as the copyrights are being observed].

The jury of the Bird in Flight Prize ‘20 includes curators, photographers, artists, and photo editors from the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and Sweden.

First prize is €2000

The jury selects one winner out of the ten participating photographers from the shortlist.

Nomination Samsung Readers’ Choice Award

This nomination will consist of 30 photoseries selected by the editorial board of Bird in Flight. A winner will be chosen by open voting through the contest website.

The prize is a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphone.

Portfolio review

Twenty five participants will receive reviews of their works by the jury board members [online].

Jury

Ari Versluis

artist, professor [The Netherlands]

Redefining realness in the context of social identity and fashion is the foundation of his work. Co-author of Exactitudes project — a visual record of more than three thousand social types documented over the last twenty years. Professor of photography at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague (KABK). Works with Gucci, Helmut Lang New York, Nike, Hugo Boss, etc.

Arianna Rinaldo

curator, photo editor [Spain]

A freelance professional working with photography, interested in contemporary documentary and original storytelling. Worked as Archive Director at Magnum Photos, NY; picture editor for Colors Magazine in Italy and the director of OjodePez, the documentary photo magazine published in Spain. Artistic director of Cortona On The Move, the international festival of visual narrative and curator of photography for PhEST, a festival on contemporary photography and art.

Emma Bowkett

Director of Photography at Financial Times FT Weekend Magazine, curator [The UK]

A visiting university lecturer at the University of the Arts London (LCC), and regularly participates at international portfolio reviews, festivals, art fairs, and awards, including Unseen, Foam Paul Huf, and the Kraszner-Krausz Foundation Book Award. Has been a Master at both Foam and Fabrica Masterclasses and is part of Magnum Photos Professional Practice, which supports young and emerging photographers.

Agnieszka Olszewska

Head of the Dissemination Department of the Museum of Photography in Krakow [Poland]

Had been a director of Krakow Photomonth Festival for five years and was the President of the Board of Foundation for Visual Arts, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of the visual arts in Poland, with an emphasis on photography.

Misha Pedan

photographer, curator [Ukraine / Sweden]

A representative of Kharkiv photo school. Works in mixed techniques from hand-colored black and white photos to conceptual investigations. Since 1990 living in Sweden. Has been working as a head teacher at the photo school Kulturama in Stockholm for the past 15 years. Founder and coordinator of the Ukrainian Photography Alternative [UPHA]. Has been the curator of numerous international photographic projects.

Colin Pantall

writer, photographer [The UK]

His photographic work focuses on his immediate domestic environment. Writes for a range of publications including World Press Photo, The British Journal of Photography, Photomonitor, and Source Magazine. Also runs an online series of lectures through the RPS linking contemporary photography to global, historical, and theoretical perspectives.

Shadman Shahid

Photographer, Bird in Flight Prize ‘19 winner [Bangladesh / The Netherlands]

Born and raised in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, currently based in the Netherlands. His work is about the precarity of the corporeal and the spiritual human conditions in contemporary society. His photographic methodology walks the line between documentary and fiction. He relies heavily on magic-realism as a storytelling method. Accolades also include World Press Photo’s Joop Swart Masterclass, British Journal of Photography, Burn Emerging Photographer of the Year.

pre-selection board

Lyolya Goldstein
Bird in Flight photo editor, curator

Anton Shebetko
artist, Bird in Flight editor

Valentine Bo
photographer

Nadiia Bernard-Kovalchuk
curator at Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography

Participation requirements

• We only accept photoseries of 5-12 photographs. If needed, authors may choose to Upload any other media file [Up to 40 megabytes each].

• Photographers from all over the world are welcome to participate.

• All are welcome to apply more than once or as many times as you’d like.

• We accept applications in English only.

• Technical requirements: we accept images of up to 5 megabytes in size, formatted as .jpg or .png.

• Photos, collages and all other images must be copyrighted by the applicant [or a copyright should be duly acquired in a legal manner].

• Application fee is 15 euros.

• Submission for the portfolio review selection costs extra 10 euros.

• To apply, please sign up and fill out the form.

Program

The winner will be announced online on the 30th of October, 2020.

Online lectures and a portfolio review featuring jury members Emma Bowkett, Colin Pantall, Ari Versluis, Arianna Rinaldo, Misha Pedan, Shadman Shahid, and Agnieszka Olszewska are also on the roster.

Partners

Primary partner of the prize is Samsung.

FAQ

• The rules state that the choice of theme is unrestricted. Does this imply an absolute thematic freedom?
  
  Yes. The goal of the award is not just to highlight a certain topic of your choice. First and foremost, the jury will be focusing on the form which a photographer utilizes to emphasize the content.

• According to what principles will the judges evaluate the pieces?
  
  According to the principles of their personal choosing.

• Is it okay for a participant to apply more than once, with various photoseries?
  
  Absolutely. There will be a fee of 15 euros for each application.

• The contest rules say that participants grant Bird in Flight rights to use photographs. What does it mean?
  
  Bird in Flight will get rights to publish projects on its website and other online platforms, use works in promo materials [e.g. banners, posters, videos], exhibitions that may take place on locations with paid entrance, and printed catalogs that may be distributed on a paid basis. All images submitted to the contest will remain the property of an author, Bird in Flight will get no right to sell them.

• How will the authors be informed about making it to the shortlist?
  
  Official letter will be mailed to the email given by the applicant on the initial application. Also, an informational roster about the finalists and winners will be posted on the website and the Facebook page of Bird in Flight.

• Who will take part in the portfolio review?
  
  Twenty five Applicants whose projects will be selected by the editorial board of Bird in Flight.

• I still have questions. Who should I contact?
  
  Feel free to email any questions about the contest to prize@birdinflight.com.

Bird in Flight doesn’t edit project descriptions and is not responsible for the content. 

Previous Bird in Flight Prize

Bird in Flight Prize has been held annually since 2018.

The winner of the Bird in Flight Prize ‘19 is Shadman Shahid with “No Quarter” project.

SHORTLIST 2019

The winner of the Bird in Flight Prize ‘18 is Valentine Bo with “Your next step would be to do the Transmission” project.

Shortlist 2018

Organizers

The Award is organized by Birg in Flight, magazine about photography and visual culture.