Deadline & Fees
• 2022 Launch : Tuesday 28 June
• Final Deadline: Tuesday 08 November (€ 35.00 for 24 pictures).
Winners result announcement in February 2023Comming Soon
About The Gomma Grant Photography Grant
The acclaimed photography grant contest from Gomma. The 9th year in the making: high international exposure, funding and support.
The Gomma Photography Grant is a grant contest tailored to fund and support photographers working in various genre. Begun in 2014, the Gomma Grant has quickly acquired a reputation for being ethical and quality-focused, with an eye for spotting fresh talent and encouraging those already in the spotlight. Photographers that are recognized through the Gomma Grant are known to have grown their career to a higher level, both professionally and artistically. The Gomma Grant is open to everyone: any nationality, any background, and working with different medium (black & white or colour, analogue or digital). Gomma's juror and editors are looking for consistency, personality, and courage.
A bit of history...
Gomma has come a long way since the first Gomma Magazine came out in 2004. Throughout the years, Gomma has been actively promoting photographers and their work. Gomma worked with internationally renowned artists, such as Roger Ballen, Anders Petersen, Michael Ackerman, Momo Okabe, Keizo Kitajima, Araki and Daido Moriyama. And helped kick-start the career of emerging talents such as Marco Marzocchi, Theo Elias, Harit Srikhao, Igor Pisuk, Marie Tomanova and Isik Kaya to name just a few.
Gomma Magazine Issue 3
from Gomma®
Gomma Magazine
Issue 3
MONO
Volume Two
MONO
Volume Two
Gomma Grant 2020
Press Release
Gomma Grant 2021
Press Release
Meet our 2022 Jurors
Diane Smyth
British Journal of Photography/ independent.
Diane Smyth
British Journal of Photography/ independent.
Diane Smyth is a freelance journalist who contributes to publications such as The Guardian, The Observer, The FT Weekend Magazine, Creative Review, The Calvert Journal, Aperture, FOAM, IMA, Aesthetica and Apollo Magazine. Prior to going freelance, she wrote and edited at British Journal of Photography for 15 years. She has also curated exhibitions for institutions such as The Photographers Gallery and Lianzhou Foto Festival.
Linda Zhengova
Discarded magazine
Linda Zhengova
Discarded magazine
Linda Zhengova is a Czech photographer and writer who currently lives and studies in the Netherlands. She finished her BA at Leiden University in 2018 and in 2019 she graduated from MA in Media Studies (specialization in Film and Photographic Studies) at Leiden University with distinction (cum laude). In addition recently, she graduated with a Photography BA at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. She contributes regularly to GUP Magazine, EEP Berlin, and Discarded Magazine. She is also the curator of XXX: a new publishing project by Discarded Magazine showcasing the vision of contemporary erotic photography.
Russell Joslin
Skeleton Key Press
Russell Joslin
Skeleton Key Press
Russell Joslin is the founder of Skeleton Key Press, an independent publisher of photography and art books established in 2018 and based in Oslo, Norway. Russell Joslin has worked primarily in photography since the early 90s, and additionally as a publisher and editor since 2000. His photographs have been internationally published and exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Prior of Skeleton Key Press he run for 17 years as the sole Owner, Editor & Publisher of the independent photography journal SHOTS. He has also authored two acclaimed books as editor: Black Forest (Candela Books, 2014) and Series of Dreams (SKP, 2018). He lives and works in Oslo, Norway.
Chiara Ruberti
Photolux Festival
Chiara Ruberti
Photolux Festival
Chiara Ruberti is the co-director and coordinator of the Photolux Festival taking place in Lucca, Italy. After graduating in History of Medieval Art, she worked for six years at the Alinari Foundation (Florence), first as an assistant for the scientific director, and afterwards as a coordinator of the editorial projects. In 2014 she attended the Course for curators of the contemporary image at Fondazione Fotografia (Modena). She collaborated and worked for independent projects and also for institutions and galleries such as the Fondazione Fotografia (Modena), the �Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci' (Prato), Dryphoto arte contemporanea (Prato) and Fondazione Studio Marangoni (Florence).
Erik Vroons
GUP magazine
Erik Vroons
GUP magazine
Erik Vroons is the Chief Editor for GUP, the international platform for creative contemporary photography, and the printed edition: GUP Magazine. Since 2012, he has been closely involved with the production of, and the selection procedure for, the annual catalog GUP New (previously titled New Dutch Photography Talent) and its European version, Fresh Eyes since 2019. In addition, in recent years, he has curated exhibitions with emerging artists based in The Netherlands, in the form of group shows at festivals and galleries around the world (e.g. Artsalon Taipei/2017; BredaPhoto/ 2018 and Paraty em Foco, Brazil/2018). As a freelance writer/critic Erik has also contributed texts to several other international print magazines (e.g. British Journal of Photography, 1000Words, Archivo).
Michael Itkoff
Daylight magazine/ Daylight Book
Michael Itkoff
Daylight magazine/ Daylight Book
Michael Itkoff is an artist, publisher, creative consultant and former Chief Content Officer at Britelite Immersive. He Cofounded the internationally-celebrated art book publishing house, Daylight as well as content experience platform, Fabl. Along the way, Michael has written for the NYTimes Lens blog, Art Asia Pacific, Nueva Luz, Conscientious blog and the Forward. Michael's photographic and video work is in public and private collections in the United States and his work has appeared on the covers of Orion, Katalog, Next City and Philadelphia Weekly. Michael was the recipient of the Howard Chapnick Grant for the Advancement of Photojournalism (2006), a Creative Artists Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Arts Council (2007), and a Puffin Foundation Grant (2008). Michael's monograph Street Portraits was published by Charta Editions in 2009
Gianluca Gamberini
L'Artiere.
Gianluca Gamberini
L'Artiere.
Gianluca Gamberini is the co-founder of the Italian renowned publishing house L'Artiere. He studied Communication Media Science in Bologna and graduated in Cinema Studies at the Cinecitta' University in Rome. He studied Photography at the Sp�os School in Paris and in 2012 he founded L'Artiere together with his brother Gianmarco. L'Artiere is specialised in the production of collectible and highly qualitative photo art books. L'Artiere Edizioni strongly believes in the concept of quality and attention to every detail of the finished product, devoting itself to the creation of volumes that are aesthetically pleasing and made to last, not only aimed at expert photographers or collectors, but also at fans or people who simply want to catch up with the world of contemporary photography.
Luca Desienna
Curator of XXX Discarded Magazine, contributor at GUP Magazine and EEP Berlin
Luca Desienna
Art Director Gomma/ Gomma Grant.
Luca is the founder of Gomma and the art director of Gomma Photography Grant. He is an award-winning photographer, widely published and featured in international magazines. His photographs have been used in advertising campaigns by the likes of Diesel and Pepe Jeans. In addition he is the mastermind behind Gomma Books, Gomma Magazine MONO Trilogy and the Radical Matter training sessions. He graduated in Italy in Photography and Graphic Design and he is accredited as a Teacher of Arts.
Guidelines
The 2022 Gomma Grant contest comes with a few novelties...
We listened to the submitters' feedback and have implemented the following: the possibility to add Titles and Captions to the images
and without rising the submission fees (now for the last consecutive five editions), we have added the possibility to submit additional images.
- 6 to 24 images at 72 dpi (JPGs - sRGB/ RGB)
- minimum 1500 pixels on the longest size.
- Please name your images as follow: Name-Surname-imageNumber.jpg - example: Eugene-Smith-01.Jpg, Eugene-Smith-02.Jpg ...
All technical guidelines are published in the submission form.
- Final Deadline: Tuesday 08 November (€ 35.00 for 24 pictures).
Winners result announcement in February 2023
We like to reward photographers that do not follow the trends and are not copycats of any kind.
We are looking for photographers with a fresh eye, courage, and a distinct personality. Someone that has no fear to show their own soul throughout the work.
Artists have the curiosity to investigate the common and capture the everyday.
Gomma constantly donate to charities battling global crisis.
Gomma does donate regularly to charities and organization around the world battling with current international and ongoing issues.
Gomma Grant past winners
For the complete list of past winners please choose from the upper menu
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Hyunmin Ryu
First Prize Winner - Gomma Photography Grant 2021 -
Emilie Arfeuil
- Gomma Photography Grant 2021 -
Jonas Larsson Folkeson
- Gomma Photography Grant 2021
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Isik Kaya
First Prize Winner - Gomma Photography Grant 2020 -
Antone Dolezal
- Gomma Photography Grant 2020 -
Salah Benacer
- Gomma Photography Grant 2020
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Rafael Heygster
First Prize Winner - Gomma Photography Grant 2019 -
Toby Binder
- Gomma Photography Grant 2019 -
Miguel Brusch
- Gomma Photography Grant 2019
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Tabitha Barnard
First Prize Winner - Gomma Photography Grant 2018 -
Vladimir Vasilev
- Gomma Photography Grant 2018 -
Fatima Abreu Ferreira
- Gomma Photography Grant 2018
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Marco Marzocchi
First Prize Winner - Gomma Photography Grant 2017 -
Vladimir Vasilev
- Gomma Photography Grant 2017 -
Theo Elias
- Gomma Photography Grant 2017
-
Esa Ylijaasko
First Prize Winner - Gomma Photography Grant 2016 -
Harit Srikhao
- Gomma Photography Grant 2016 -
Arko Datto
- Gomma Photography Grant 2016
Wanna be part of Gomma Grant 2022 ?
Gomma Grant 2022 Prizes
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· € 1000 cash prize.Â
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· € 300 cash prize.Â
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· € 200 cash prize.Â
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· € 500 cash prize.Â
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
· International exposure through Gomma social network and media partners.
· Proposition to esteemed international galleries and curators.
· Own personalized post on Gomma Facebook page and Instagram.
Image by © Daniele Vita
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I add captions to my images?
- Yes, with the latest edition you can add Titles and Captions.
- Why should I submit to photo contests?
-
In photography, like in many other creative industries, exposure means jobs. It can open doors to a new collaboration, publishing, and commissions. Photo contests are still a very useful and successful way to get your work known across a wide international audience.
Many photographers probably feel sick and tired of photo competitions, there are simply way too many. Every day we see new photo contests springing up, and it is difficult to decide whether one is more ethical and reliable than another. - Who are the jurors for this year's grant?
-
The Gomma Grant 2022 Jury:
Diane Smyth (British Journal of Photography/independent), Linda Zhengova (Discarded magazine), Russell Joslin (Skeleton Key Press), Chiara Ruberti (Photolux Festival), Erik Vroons (GUP magazine), Michael Itkoff (Daylight magazine) and Gianluca Gamberini (L'Artiere). - How should I choose a photo contest?
-
We have compiled a brief set of points below. We suggest you follow these points as you question yourself about the photo contest you are thinking of applying to:
a) The year it was established. Find out when the contest started. The older the better. If it's a new contest, investigate the company/organization behind it.
c) The submission fees. Are the fees reasonable? If not, ask yourself why the fees are so high. Are those high fees justifiable?
d) The dimension. If the contest is huge and receives thousands of entries your chances of winning or being shortlisted is, obviously, less than if you take part in a smaller photo competition.
So be very critical about the work you are submitting and about the contest itself. - Why should I submit to Gomma Grant?
- If photo contests were shops, imagine the Gomma Grant like a bijou, quality-focused, collectables shop compared to the Walmart kind of supermarket of the major photo competitions. It depends on what you are looking for and how you would like your work to be judged.
- Your first Gomma Grant was free, why do you charge now?
- Please remember that running a contest for a grant like this one comes with substantial costs - from the submittable.com platform fees, to web hosting/web developing & graphic design costs, to the time-consuming selection process (which can take months), marketing and advertising expenses, etc.
- How long does the selection process take?
- The jury begins their assessment on 11th November 2022 and it ends on February 2023.
- Copyrights and Rights Usage information?
- For Copyrights and Rights Usage information: https://www.gommagrant.com/copyright2022.html
- Are multiple entries allowed?
- Yes, you are allowed to submit more than one entry, as long as the images are from different bodies of work.
- I started this 'ongoing' project a long time ago, can I still submit it?
- Yes, it does not matter when you started this work.
- Is it possible to edit submissions?
- Editing submissions will be possible upon request.
- Do you accept submission from two photographers?
- Yes, if you create a work with another photographer you can submit jointly.
Latest News Recent achievements by Gomma Grant shortlisted and winners.
Tuesday 18, October 2022
David Cossini, the receiver of the 2021 Gomma Grant GNF Award, is the winner of the Percival Photographic Portrait Prize - Acquisitive Prize, $10,000. Congratulations to this very talented and daring photographer:
Thursday 30, June 2022
Hyunmin Ryu, the winner of the 2021 Gomma Grant, has received two LENSCULTURE Critics’ Choice Awards, respectively from Elizabeth Renstrom The New Yorker
and Claartje Van Dijk FOAM.
Friday 10, June 2022
Gomma Grant 2020 Işık Kaya publishes together with  Thomas Georg Blank her first book: Second Nature. Published the renowned Kehrer Verlag. Softcover with open spine in slipcase 24 x 33 cm 112 pages and texts by: Amy Clarke and Ziad Mahayni.
Prix Levallois, France | 10 April 2021
Isik Kaya, the First Prize winner of the 2020 Gomma Grant, won the Audience Award
at the renowned Prix Levallois.
New Book | Out soon
Salah Benacer, whom received the Third Prize at the 2020 Gomma Grant, is about to publish his new photobook: "I am a Berika".
Firs Prize award | 2021
Aaaron Yeandle, shortlisted Gomma Grant 2020, received first place, in the open theme category, for the Fine Art Photography Awards.
Foam Talent, Berlin | 20 October 2020
Simone Sapienza, Best Rising Talent at Gomma Grant 2018, selected to exhibit at FOAM Talent 2020 ✨
In collaboration with the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and C/O Berlin.
New article | Out now
Camillo Pasquarelli, Best Rising talent at Gomma Photography Grant 2019, is featured in the renowned "il Reportage" magazine.
New Book | Out Now
SELECTED AS ONE OF THE BEST DUTCH BOOK DESIGNS 2019, Margaret Lansink new book '
The Kindness of One' is now available for purchase.
New Book | Out Now
Awarded at PHOTO-EYE BEST BOOKS 2019 – Favorite Book of the Year chosen by Dewi Lewis
BOOK PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR ...
New book | Out now
Marie Tomanova, Best Rising talent at Gomma Photography Grant 2018, has signed with Paradigm Publishing.
Marigold Warner | 14 April 2020
The winner of the Gomma Grant 2019, Rafael Heygster, is interviewed and featured in the renowned British Journal of Photography...
Why submitting to Gomma Grant?
We're Ethical
Gomma Grant rewards the work, not the name, and not the curriculum vitae. We award photographers regardless of their past success or network. We look at the works with fresh minds and eyes freed from any dogma or modus operandi.
We're Longstanding
Gomma started almost 20 years ago, in 2004 from a south London basement-flat. We are established but still young because we don't want our many years of experience to steal our freshness and our beginners' minds.
We have Magic
There is something magical and awkward and stylish at the same time about Gomma. We are pretty unique with a constant out-of-the-box attitude. We don't believe the hype and don't follow any trends. We are the trend makers.
We love Simplicity
We don't like articulated slogans and sophisticated vocabulary. We believe that the arts should be for everyone. And this is why from this year we have made it simpler to submit your work for the grant.
We're not money-driven
Gomma is run by a few artists that have their own means of economic nourishment from other jobs. So we don't know too much about profits and business. That is why from this year, due to the recent dramatic circumstances we have decided to donate all our net profits to charities.
We're Supportive
We do not just award cash prizes because we also push both the winning and shortlisted works. Photographers that are recognized through the Gomma Grant are known to have grown their career to a higher level, both professionally and artistically.
Media Partners
