eidolon is delighted to announce that the eidolon Grant 2025, eidolon’s international grant programme for projects which explore, promote and conserve vernacular photography is open.

The deadline for submission is August 31, and applications can be made under two categories, with a total of 25.000 eur to be distributed.  

The eidolon Grant is an international programme that is presented annually to artists, academics, professionals, researchers, collectors and vernacular photography enthusiasts whose past work and proposed project is centred around the image heritage of everyday photography.  

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The eidolon Grant aims to identify phenomena, collections, histories, practices, and trends within vernacular photography with the aim of offering new interpretations and analyses. Thematising both photographic heritages and contemporary photographic practices is eidolon’s mission and we invite you to join us in this important exploration.

Each chosen project will contribute to the enrichment of our institution's program in the coming year.

 Jury

Nathan Jurgenson

 Nathan Jurgenson is a social media theorist and author of “The Social Photo: On photography and social media” (Verso Books, 2019). Much of this work centres on a critique of “digital dualism”, a phrase he coined to describe the false belief that the internet is a separate virtual sphere or cyber space. Instead, Nathan approaches digitality as embodied, material, and real. Nathan lives in Los Angeles, California.

Barbara Levine & Paige Ramey

Barbara Levine and Paige Ramey are collectors, artists, and curators specializing in vernacular photography. Their photography collection, known as PhotoMania, was recently acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and their first collection of vintage photograph albums was acquired by the International Center of Photography in New York. They run Project B, an archive and collaborative curatorial venture.

Lev Manovich

Lev Manovich a Presidential Professor at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, an artist, and one of the most influential theorists of digital culture and art in the world. He has played a key role in creating a number four new research fields: new media and digital culture, software studies, cultural analytics, and AI aesthetics. Manovich is the author of 17 books, and his digital art projects have been exhibited at many prestigious institutions, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art (London), the Centre Pompidou, and the Shanghai Biennale.

Marcel Top

Marcel Top is a visual artist living and working between Belgium and London. He researches the topics of mass surveillance, privacy, and data collection. In his practice, he layers a traditional approach to documentary research with a more experimental use of new technologies (such as facial recognition, movement analysis, and deepfakes). He uses these technologies to visualise and examine scenarios in which people can protect themselves and their rights by gaining knowledge and reclaiming control of surveillance tools.

Róza Tekla Szilágyi 

Róza Tekla Szilágyi is the director of Eidolon Centre for Everyday Photography. She lives and works in Budapest. Her main interest is the fact that everyday photography's cultural importance is often overlooked though it represents the larger part of our image heritage from the last 200 years.

Suggested mediums and formats

Long-form essays and article series published on the eidolon journal

English translations of significant publications on everyday imaging in other languages published on the eidolon journal

Original books *

Workshops or workshop series

Short documentaries and video essays

Talk events or event series

Masterclasses or research groups

* Please note that we are interested in books that have photographic illustrations but currently we are not seeking photobook proposals.

Family albums, past and present

Collective histories and memories through the lens of vernacular photography

The questions of archiving past and present vernacular imagery

The aesthetic quality and social or psychological significance of photography in the age of social media

The networked attributes of online images

Contemporary amateur photographic practices

The representation of marginalised groups through vernacular photography

Vernacular photography appropriation and collection building as contemporary art

The development of the photographic apparatus and its significance in everyday culture

* Please note that we are interested in books that have photographic illustrations but currently we are not seeking photobook proposals.

Our goal is to equally represent the vast range of past everyday photographic practices while also raising awareness of the significance of contemporary image culture. We aim to highlight how historical photographic traditions continue to shape society and visual communication today, while exploring the impact of emerging digital and social media practices on current visual trends and societal narratives.

This year, the two categories of the eidolon Grant reflect this commitment.

Category 1 —

Contemporary everyday photographic cultures

Category 2 —

Everyday photographs of the past

In Category 1, the eidolon Grant invites projects that critically engage with the evolving phenomena of digital images, social media platforms, networked image cultures, and their social, political, historical, and aesthetic implications in the 21st century.

We seek thoughtful, in-depth projects that examine the impact of these mediums on contemporary visual communication, identity, and social interaction. Proposals should offer innovative and fresh perspectives or explore underrepresented aspects of these topics, providing nuanced insights into how digital image practices shape and are shaped by recent cultural and technological shifts.

In Category 2, the eidolon Grant seeks projects that engage with the significance of 19th and 20th-century everyday photography, through both private and public archives, whether hidden or well-known, and explore collective histories and memories. 

We want to give previously unhighlighted photographs the opportunity to shine through various interpretive gestures. Analogue vernacular photography is being lost to our heritage because, as yet, we have no systemic means of their preservation. Eidolon represents an opportunity to interpret everyday images of the past at a moment when the question of what is significant about contemporary social imaging arises. We believe that the past is interpreted through the image practices of the present.

We invite proposals that critically examine the history of safekeeping these images, considering their evolution and relevance in both historical and contemporary contexts. Furthermore, projects focused on the development of the photographic apparatus and its impact on everyday culture are encouraged.

Category 1 —

Contemporary everyday photographic cultures

In Category 1, the eidolon Grant invites projects that critically engage with the evolving phenomena of digital images, social media platforms, networked image cultures, and their social, political, historical, and aesthetic implications in the 21st century.

We seek thoughtful, in-depth projects that examine the impact of these mediums on contemporary visual communication, identity, and social interaction. Proposals should offer innovative and fresh perspectives or explore underrepresented aspects of these topics, providing nuanced insights into how digital image practices shape and are shaped by recent cultural and technological shifts.

Category 2 —

Everyday photographs of the past

In Category 2, the eidolon Grant seeks projects that engage with the significance of 19th and 20th-century everyday photography, through both private and public archives, whether hidden or well-known, and explore collective histories and memories. 

We want to give previously unhighlighted photographs the opportunity to shine through various interpretive gestures. Analogue vernacular photography is being lost to our heritage because, as yet, we have no systemic means of their preservation. Eidolon represents an opportunity to interpret everyday images of the past at a moment when the question of what is significant about contemporary social imaging arises. We believe that the past is interpreted through the image practices of the present.

We invite proposals that critically examine the history of safekeeping these images, considering their evolution and relevance in both historical and contemporary contexts. Furthermore, projects focused on the development of the photographic apparatus and its impact on everyday culture are encouraged.

Amount to be distributed in the two categories combined

How to apply

E-mail us until August 31, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. at info@everydayphotography.org with the following information.

The email's subject must specify the category for which one is applying. Please use the following format:
eidolon Grant application – category 1/2

1.

Please send us an abstract no longer than 10.000 characters highlighting the focus and main narrative of the idea in question, a brief argument about the significance of the chosen topic, and a draft timeline of the realisation process.

2.

Submitting specific images or visual materials used in the project or serving as inspiration is not a must, but it can strongly influence the jury’s decision and is firmly recommended.

3.

The Grant can be used to fully or partially finance projects and ideas – in case of applying for partial funding please disclose the short, but detailed and adequate budget of the project you are proposing besides stating the amount of funding you are applying for with the Grant. This is a really important element for the jury to make decisions about the granted amount of funding.
The total amount available is 25.000 EUR, but applicants are not required to request the full amount. Apply for the exact and actually required budget needed to realise your project, up to 25.000 EUR.

4.

Please attach a short CV and a summary of your previously realised projects.

5.

If you apply with an idea for a long-form essay/article series/original book idea, please send us a short selection of your previously written material. 

If you apply with an idea for the English translations of significant publications on everyday imaging, please send us a short description of the text you wish to translate to English.

6.

If you intend to work with a third party (an archive, collection or institution) please include their declaration of consent in your application.

1.

Please send us an abstract no longer than 10.000 characters highlighting the focus and main narrative of the idea in question, a brief argument about the significance of the chosen topic, and a draft timeline of the realisation process.

2.

Submitting specific images or visual materials used in the project or serving as inspiration is not a must, but it can strongly influence the jury’s decision and is firmly recommended.

3.

The Grant can be used to fully or partially finance projects and ideas – in case of applying for partial funding please disclose the short, but detailed and adequate budget of the project you are proposing besides stating the amount of funding you are applying for with the Grant. This is a really important element for the jury to make decisions about the granted amount of funding.
The total amount available is 25.000 EUR, but applicants are not required to request the full amount. Apply for the exact and actually required budget needed to realise your project, up to 25.000 EUR.

4.

Please attach a short CV and a summary of your previously realised projects.

5.

If you apply with an idea for a long-form essay/article series/original book idea, please send us a short selection of your previously written material. 

If you apply with an idea for the English translations of significant publications on everyday imaging, please send us a short description of the text you wish to translate to English.

6.

If you intend to work with a third party (an archive, collection or institution) please include their declaration of consent in your application.

Disbursement of the eidolon Grant

 Announcement of the grant winners and their awarded Grant amount will be published in October, 2025 – the decision will be made by the Eidolon team and an international jury.

 We will reach out to the winners right after the announcement to finalise the paperwork necessary for receiving the grant. Winners will receive payment in three or four installments, based on the volume and timeline of their project. The Eidolon team will coordinate this with the winners before the grantcontract is finalised.

The Grant disbursement stages outlined above are also feedback opportunities for the Eidolon team on the material in development.

Rules & 
important information

No entry fee.

We welcome individual and group applications.

We choose the number of the Grant winners based on the applications received.

The amount of the grant can be freely spent on the implementers' fees, travel expenses, preparation and production costs, and the payment of the involved partners.

Any incomplete application, or any received after the deadline, will not be taken into consideration. By submitting your application, you agree to share its content with the members of the jury and, in the case of a winning application, to use its visual elements in the announcement of the results and in subsequent social media posts.

We would like to draw the applicants' attention to the fact that it is not possible to apply for the digitization and maintenance of an already existing collection.

Based in Budapest, Eidolon Centre for Everyday Photography is still searching for its final physical home. In case of a grant given to facilitate the preparation of an exhibition or talk event, the winner agrees that Eidolon has the right for a year to realise the exhibition or event in their own future space or find the right international partner to host the event. 

For additional inquiries regarding the Eidolon Grant, please reach out to us at info@everydayphotography.org. (Please, use the subject EIDOLON GRANT INQUIRY.)

For inspiration and ideas, since its launch, eidolon journal has featured numerous articles and interviews with academics, artists, and other professionals who are actively working on these topics.

Call for entries open

Februar 13,
2025

Submission deadline

August 31, 2025,
at 11:59 p.m.

Winners' announcement

October 10,
2025