Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Four Twins, 1985. Courtesy of Autograph ABP, London.
Houston’s Fotofest has announced five scholarships for Black photographers, a new addition to its International Meeting Place 2021 Virtual Portfolio Review. The online initiative will give each of five recipients 16 one-on-one portfolio review slots with curators, gallerists, photo editors, book publishers and collectors, lasting 25 minutes each, via Zoom. The online portal Submittable will be used for photographer submissions, and the deadline for all applicants is December 11, 2020 at 11:59pm Central Time.
Via FotoFest:
“This call is open to all Black photographic artists who can present at least one complete body of work (20-30 images) that is ready for exhibition or publication. Applicants can be artists, photojournalists, documentary photographers, and/or visual storytellers. English is the primary shared-language of the portfolio reviews. Please be aware that FotoFest is unable to provide translator services, but third-party translators can be accommodated”
In addition to the scholarships, FotoFest has announced an online seminar that will share insights on how to organize a digital portfolio, as well as tips for participating in online reviews. The Zoom seminar will happen in late January and will be free to all Meeting Place participants.
FotoFest Meeting Place.
Jurors for the 2021 Virtual Portfolio review include the following:
Nicole Acheampong, Assistant Editor, Aperture Magazine, NYC; Makeda Best, Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA; Lyle Ashton Harris, Contemporary
To apply to the International Meeting Place 2021 Virtual Portfolio Review, please go here.
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The FotoFest Meeting Place Portfolio Review is the world’s largest, and is the longest-running and most international portfolio review program in the United States. It is a conduit for photographers to meet with and present their work to many national and international art leaders in one place and in a short amount of time. It has served as a crucial jumping off point for thousands of photographers during its 34-year existence, and is designed to benefit the participating photographers long after their reviews conclude. FotoFest has organized portfolio reviews as part of its FotoFest Biennial since 1986, and this virtual review is the first of its kind for FotoFest, conceived of in response to COVID-19.
