The eidolon Grant is launching for the third time, building on the success of previous years and supporting a new round of forward-thinking projects!
eidolon centre for Everyday Photography is calling artists, academics, enthusiasts, and professionals, who have a passion and serious interest in vernacular photography and everyday imaging.
The eidolon Grant is launching for the third time, building on the success of previous years and supporting a new round of forward-thinking projects!
eidolon centre for Everyday Photography is calling artists, academics, enthusiasts, and professionals, who have a passion and serious interest in vernacular photography and everyday imaging.
eidolon is delighted to announce that the eidolon Grant 2026, eidolon’s international grant programme for projects which explore, promote and conserve vernacular photography is open.
The deadline for submission is September 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m., 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
Axel Danielson &
Maximilien Van Aertryck
Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck are Swedish documentary filmmakers who have been collaborating since 2013, with short films premiering at Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto. Their debut feature, And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine, traces humanity's relationship with the camera from its invention to the present day.
Catlin Langford
Catlin Langford is a curator, writer, and researcher specialising in photography. Her work focuses on women photographers, colour photography, and vernacular forms of photography – including snapshots and photobooth strips – and the intersections between these. She has held curatorial and educational positions at institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Centre for Contemporary Photography in Melbourne, and the Royal College of Art. Her debut publication Colour Mania: Photographing the World in Autochromes was released by Thames & Hudson and the V&A in 2022, and she recently edited Auto-Photo: A Life in Portraits (Perimeter/Centre for Contemporary Photography, 2024).
Sam Mercer
Sam Mercer is Curator of Photography & Technology at The Photographers’ Gallery, London, curating a number of projects for their galleries and on unthinking.photography. Sam co-curated Data / Set / Match, a programme that sought new ways to present, visualise and interrogate scientific image datasets. Exhibitions and projects include the Connection Established: Digital Folklore and Web Craft, All I Know Is What’s On The Internet and exhibitions by Aarati Akkapeddi, Planetary Portals and Felicity Hammond.
Alba Zari
Alba Zari is an Italian photographer, filmmaker, and visual artist. Her practice employs the photographic medium as a tool for investigation and self-analysis, exploring themes of memory, identity, and social issues. Her recent works include Fear of Mirrors, an investigation into the forms of representation women adopt to communicate in the age of digital and social media. Her work has been exhibited internationally at venues such as MAXXI in Rome, the London Art Fair, and the Athens Photo Festival.
Róza Tekla Szilágyi
Róza Tekla Szilágyi is the director and co-founder of Eidolon Centre for Everyday Photography. She lives and works in Budapest. Her main interest lies in everyday photography – a practice that represents the larger part of our visual heritage from the last 200 years, yet whose cultural importance remains largely overlooked.
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 *
Multimedia artworks, digital projects, and site-specific works
Workshops or workshop series
Short documentaries and video essays
Group or solo exhibitions
Talk events or event series
Masterclasses or research group
* Please note that we are interested in books that have photographic illustrations but currently we are not seeking photobook proposals.
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 *
Multimedia artworks, digital projects, and site-specific works
Workshops or workshop series
Short documentaries and video essays
Group or solo exhibitions
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.
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 for the grant
This year we are changing the application process – we will NOT accept submissions via email. Applications can only be submitted through a dedicated Typeform page. Please read the instructions carefully both on this website and while filling out the form, as any application that does not follow the required format or is incomplete will be automatically rejected.
The Typeform page will guide you step-by-step through the application process.
The submission deadline is September 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. After this point, the system will no longer allow uploads, so please begin your submission in ample time. Late submissions will not be accepted via email under any circumstances.
In advance, please prepare the following materials:
01.
The eidolon Grant application requires structured submissions in English, following strict formatting rules.
02.
Applicants must provide basic personal information, a project title, category, and output type selected from predefined lists.
03.
The core materials include an abstract (max. 2,000 characters), a short CV and relevant project overview compiled into a single PDF (max. 3 pages, max. 10 MB), and a detailed project description in PDF format (max. 10 pages, max. 10 MB), including timeline, objectives, methodology, and visual materials.
04.
Depending on the project type, additional materials such as writing samples or a translation description may be required.
05.
A completed budget must be uploaded using the official Excel template, and any collaboration with external institutions requires a signed consent letter.
06.
Please note that all files must strictly comply with the specified size and format requirements, as incomplete or non-compliant applications will be automatically disqualified.
01.
The eidolon Grant application requires structured submissions in English, following strict formatting rules.
02.
Applicants must provide basic personal information, a project title, category, and output type selected from predefined lists.
03.
The core materials include an abstract (max. 2,000 characters), a short CV and relevant project overview compiled into a single PDF (max. 3 pages, max. 10 MB), and a detailed project description in PDF format (max. 10 pages, max. 10 MB), including timeline, objectives, methodology, and visual materials.
04.
Depending on the project type, additional materials such as writing samples or a translation description may be required.
05.
A completed budget must be uploaded using the official Excel template (available at the provided link), and any collaboration with external institutions requires a signed consent letter.
06.
Please note that all files must strictly comply with the specified size and format requirements, as incomplete or non-compliant applications will be automatically disqualified.
You will receive an automatic response from Typeform if your submission has been successfully received.
For any questions, you can still contact us at info@everydayphotography.org
Tips & Tricks
Our Tips & Tricks for Submissions
To make the submission process as convenient and smooth as possible for everyone, we’ve put together a list of useful tips and tricks to help you prepare and optimise your files before sending them in.
Disbursement of the eidolon Grant
Announcement of the grant winners and their awarded Grant amount will be published in November, 2026 – 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.)
Call for entries open
May 1,
2026
Submission deadline
September 30, 2026,
at 11:59 p.m.
Winners' announcement
November 10,
2026
Call for entries open
May 1,
2026
Submission deadline
September 30, 2026,
at 11:59 p.m.
Winners' announcement
