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Cortona On The Move Award

© Valery Poshtarov

In partnership with

In first place Maria Abranches, with “MARIA”, who won the cash prize of €3,000 and the possibility of exhibiting her project at the next edition of Cortona On The Move. In second place Ingmar Nolting, with “An Anthology of Changing Climate”, a project that will be published on the LensCulture online platform together with third place, Julia Wimmerlin, with “Stolen Language”.

 

“MARIA” by Maria Abranches presents a sensitive and profound storytelling that illuminates the silent resilience and injustices faced by many women whose lives and work have long been overlooked by society.
In her project, Maria Abranches introduces us to the life of Ana Maria, a woman whose journey is marked by forced migration, domestic labor, and social injustice. Born in Angola and brought to Portugal under the false promise of an education that was never fulfilled, Ana Maria symbolizes the plight of many women who, like her, have left their homeland to serve in the households of foreign families, often under false pretenses and exploitative conditions.
The jury was deeply moved by Abranches’ ability to use photography not merely as a tool for documentation but as an instrument of resistance and memory recovery. Through a series of images and collages that combine photographs with archival documents, the artist creates not only a visually compelling and intimate work of art but also a powerful means to reclaim and affirm the memory of a woman whose story had been erased.
Abranches’ work courageously explores the implications of Portugal’s colonial past and highlights how modern social structures are still heavily influenced by this legacy. The visual narrative of “MARIA” invites the viewer to reflect on the role of migrant women as domestic workers and the dependent relationship between social classes, compelling us to confront the privilege and inequalities that pervade our society. It is a call to reflect and act for social change.
The jury recognizes in this project an artwork of extraordinary artistic and social relevance, capable of transforming an individual story into a powerful collective narrative of resistance and hope.

The Cortona On The Move Award is a free, open call for entries, created with the desire to support photographers in the development and production of their projects.

Now in its third edition, in partnership with LensCulture, the Award is part of the constant search for original and innovative narratives that has always characterised Cortona On The Move.

The open call for entries is thematically open and welcomes projects in development or unpublished, with the most varied photographic approaches to the contemporary: new perspectives and new visions.

In short

Start: 10 April 2024
End: 18 May 2024

Finalists announcement: 30 June 2024
Prize:
3.000€

Participation fee: free

How to participate?

 

From April 10 to May 18 2024 you can submit your project according to the criteria indicated. The 10 finalists will be presented during the opening of Cortona On The Move 2024. Among them, one author will receive the €3,000 prize and the opportunity to exhibit the project at the next edition of the festival, and two other selected authors will have their work published on the LensCulture website.

Eligibility criteria

 

The open call is open to both photographers and collectives, and proposals must include

  • Between 10 and 20 images related to the project. The images must be in .JPEG or .PNG format, with a minimum size of 1200 pixels on the longest side and a maximum size of 10 MB.
  • A project title
  • A presentation of the proposal in English (a short introductory text about your work not exceeding 4000 characters including spaces) and image captions if applicable.
  • A biography in English (a short biography, not a curriculum vitae).

You are invited to submit your proposals via the LensCulture platform using the following link:

Click Here

Participation is free!

Awards and recognition

 

Finalist projects will be announced and published on the Cortona On The Move and LensCulture websites on 30 June 2024, and screened in Cortona during the opening days of the festival.

Among them:

  •  1 project will receive a €3,000 prize and the opportunity to be exhibited at the next edition of Cortona On The Move.
  • 2 projects will be published on the LensCulture website during 2024.

The 3 selected works will be announced and published on the Cortona On The Move and LensCulture websites and social channels on 13 July 2024.

Selection Jury

 

A panel of industry experts will be responsible for selecting the proposed projects.
– Jim Casper, Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of LensCulture
– Federica Chiocchetti, Director Mbal – Musée des Beaux Arts de Locle
– Kublaiklan, photography curator Cortona On The Move
– Veronica Nicolardi, Director of Cortona On The Move
– Laura Sackett, Creative Director and Co-Founder of LensCulture
– Paolo Woods, Artistic Director of Cortona On The Move

All participants agree to:

  • guarantee the authorship of the execution and the originality of the works;
  • guarantee the peaceful enjoyment of the rights granted and ensure that the exhibition of the works does not infringe, in whole or in part, the rights of third parties;;
  • if selected, provide the high resolution images for projection;
  • if selected, provide the high resolution images for possible exhibition and publication in the catalog of the next edition of Cortona On The Move;
  • if selected, provide, within the date established by the organizing secretary, a selection of images complete with caption, copyright and any other permissions, within the deadline set by the Organising Secretary, for use in the press, on the website and in any communication/promotional support for the Cortona On The Move Award project and its future editions.

 

Rights of use of the works

 

Information on the processing of personal data and release of images
In accordance with EU Regulation 2016/679, with regard to the information requested, we inform you that these documents, which contain the personal data of the participant, will be processed exclusively for purposes related to the execution of the open call registration. The provision of the data is compulsory and failure to provide them may result in the impossibility or delay of carrying out the procedures concerning you.

By participating in the Cortona On The Move Award Open Call, all photographers grant Cortona On The Move the right to publish a selection of their work online and on social media for the purpose of promoting the Open Call and future activities related to it.

The entrant, in the event that he/she is the winner of the Open Call Cortona On The Move Award, hereby grants ONTHEMOVE Cultural Association temporary rights to the images sent during the registration process for the following purposes

  • Use for any press communication
  • Use for the Cortona On The Move website
  • Use for any communication/promotional support of the Cortona On The Move project.

 

Partnership with LensCulture

 

LensCulture is a global collective of photographers and industry professionals. Established as one of the world’s largest online communities for the discovery of contemporary photography, LensCulture also provides some of the best opportunities for global exposure, international recognition, lifelong learning and creative development. LensCulture is committed to inspiring and empowering its thriving community of over 2.5 million participants, in 145 countries and across 15 languages worldwide.
Cortona On The Move has partnered with LensCulture 4 years ago to facilitate access to this organization, which develops and promotes broad opportunities for creative and professional photographic career development. Thanks to this partnership, photographers, in addition to being able to submit their projects for exhibition at the Cortona On The Move international photography festival, can access many other opportunities to gain visibility, and gain recognition for their work through LensCulture.

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