Open Call for Prix Virginia

The prix VIRGINIA

The Prix VIRGINIA is organized by the Association SYLVIA S. It recognizes the work of a woman photographer.

It is awarded in accordance with the following rules:

The Prix VIRGINIA, awarded every other year, beginning in 2012, is open to all living professional women photographers, regardless of age or nationality, with the exception of photojournalisms and advertising. Photographs submitted for the Prix VIRGINIA must not have been exhibited in France. Requests for assistance with projects, reporting, or exhibitions will not be considered.

The Jury is composed of eight key cultural figures who deliberate and designate the Winner. Members serve one two-year term, with the exception of the President and a representative of M, the magazine of le Monde.

The jury receives applications from candidates directly as well as through international experts (photo editors, photographers’ agents, critics, gallery owners, etc.). The deliberations of the Jury are secret and will not be communicated officially. The President of the Prix VIRGINIA Jury organizes and leads the discussion, and holds a casting vote. The Jury alone has the authority to resolve any questions not covered by these rules, and in the event that it decides no application meets the required criteria, it reserves the right not to award the Prize.

With the exception of the Winner, applicants may re-apply for the Prix VIRGINIA at each two-year cycle.

The jury shall designate the Winner and the Selection of the Jury consisting of 10 photographers.

Awards

– 10,000€ from the Association SYLVIA S.

– Publication of the winner’s work in M, the magazine of Le Monde.

– Be-pôles, which publishes the collection Portraits de Villes will offer the winner carte blanche to photography the city of her choice.

– Exhibition in L’Espace photographique de l’Hôtel de Sauroy in Paris, supported by the generous partnership of he lab Central Dupon Images.

– L’Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe publishes in its season program the work of one of the 11 photographers selected by the Jury.

– Editions Filigranes publishes a box-book with the winner’s and the Jury’s choice photographies.

All informational and promotional materials used during these exhibitions and publications must include the mention “© Prix VIRGINIA 2016”.

The Winner will be announced during a formal, public ceremony by the President of the Jury at a date announced after the deliberations in Paris, in the presence of the Winner, the Jury, and the

media.

The organizers of the Prix VIRGINIA can not be held liable for any loss, theft, or damage that may occur, including during shipping of applications.

How to apply

Article 1/ The candidate must submit a  file including:

– A complete CV and a short letter of motivation written by the candidate, describing the creative and artistic dimensions of the submitted work, and the filled and signed application form (to download on the website).

– The signed agreement letter stating that images are royalty-free and free for use for the Prix VIRGINIA and its promotion in all media, known and unknown at this date, for non-commercial use only.

– 12 to 15  photographs, (with captions, date, title and format) on unrelated themes or grouped by subject, black and white and/or colour. Each photograph has to be at format Jpeg, 72 dpi and no more than 1,5 Mo (or Mb).

– Joign 3 A4 (or similar format, no bigger format authorized) paper print, choosen among the photographs submitted to the Prix Virginia.

Except the three prints, all these documents (photographs and signed forms) have to be sent on a single CD or USB key.

Article 2/ Before submitting any materials, each candidate must carefully verify that all documents (paper and digital) are easily identi_able, and that her name is clearly legible. It is essential that each photograph be dated and captioned. The Association SYLVIA S. is not responsible for any loss, theft, or damage to these documents.

Only applications accompanied by a stamped return envelope will be returned. All files not accompanied by a stamped return envelope will be destroyed after December 1, 2016.

Article 3/ Once the Prize has been awarded by the Jury, the Winner and the selectionned photographers will submit via CD 5 files (72 and 320 dpi) of photographs available to the Association SYLVIA S, for two years, until the next attribution of the award, for the promotion of the Prix VIRGINIA via its partners and the media.

Article 4/ Any application that does not meet the conditions in articles 1 and 2 will not be submitted to the jury.

Article 5/ Submitting an application indicates acceptance of these rules.

Timeline

– January 6th to May 6th, 2016 (closing date): submission of applications

– 13 October 2016 : official presentation of the Prize in Paris

– from 14th to 30th of October : exhibition at Espace photographique de l’Hôtel de Sauroy.

Dowload

Download the rules

Download the application folder

 Edition 2016 1