$100,000 Fund for Climate Change Photography – Visualizing Climate Change
We recently came across an amazing initiative for visualizing climate change. In a time when the world is changing rapidly, and drastic action is needed, initiatives like this are so important. So we had to share more with our community of photographers and creators. Enter your photos of climate change for a chance to win funding from a $100,000 USD licensing initiative.
This initiative is a partnership between UK climate change charity Climate Outreach and the non-profit organization TED as part of their climate change initiative Countdown. Cover photo by the National Renewable Energy Lab.
Organizational Background
Climate Visuals, a project of Climate Outreach, is the world’s only evidence-based and impact-focused climate photography resource. Climate Outreach is a charity focused on widening and deepening public engagement with climate change.
TED (TED Conferences LLC) is a non-partisan non-profit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. Countdown is a TED global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis, turning ideas into action.
Visualizing Climate Change: An Open Call for Photography
TED Countdown is partnering with Climate Visuals to build a new robust, diverse and accessible collection of evidence-based photos that document the reality of climate change around the world.
We’re seeking image submissions that communicate climate solutions in five themes that work in harmony with our photography brief which includes our Climate Visuals principles. Energy, Transport, Materials, Food, Nature.
The open call will source, license and promote 100 powerful images of climate change taken by both professional and amateur photographers from around the world. This initiative will distribute a total licensing fund of US $100,000 directly to the chosen photographers – with the final 100 images all selected by an independent jury.
The visual narratives in circulation must move from illustrating climate causes and impacts to climate justice, solutions and positive change. The online submission and licensing process will consider a broad range of diversity, equity and inclusion factors to ensure that the opportunity is global, accessible, fair, representative, illustrative and impactful.
The photographic and wider creative sector has been significantly impacted by Covid-19. Selected photographers will be both fairly remunerated and have the opportunity to be profiled, exhibit their work virtually and physically at Countdown events and COP26 in Glasgow, and feature in a global media campaign.
‘Visualizing Climate Change: An Open Call for Photography’ aims to ultimately support climate change photographers, communicators, organisations and campaigners who have long struggled to create, access or afford quality visual content.
Key Calendar Dates
- 19 May: Registrations open on www.climatevisuals.org
- 1 June: Image submissions open
- 30 June: Image submissions close
- July: Jury convene to choose the 100 selected images
- August: Selected photographers and images announced
- September: Full image collection released on Climate Visuals library October: TED Countdown Summit, Edinburgh, UK
- November: COP 26, Glasgow, UK
Independent Jury
Annick Shen – Head of Editorial at Adobe Stock
Eric Hilaire – Environment, Science and Global Development Picture Editor at The Guardian
Luis Salazar – Communications Manager at the Global Crop Diversity Trust
Nana Kofi Acquah – Independent Photographer based in Accra, Ghana
Nicole Itano – Global Recovery Coordinator at Climate Emergency Collaboration Group
Shadia Fayne Wood – Executive Producer and Founder of the Survival Media Agency
Tanvi Mishra – Creative Director of Caravan Magazine
Additional information:
Themes: https://climatevisuals.org/opencall/countdown_themes/
Photography brief: https://climatevisuals.org/opencall/photography_brief/
Background research and evidence: https://climatevisuals.org/evidence/
Jury biographies and quotes: https://climatevisuals.org/opencall/judges/
Social Media
Twitter: twitter.com/climatevisuals | twitter.com/tedcountdown
Instagram: instagram.com/climatevisuals | instagram.com/tedcountdown
