eidolon Grant 2026 — an international grant of €25,000 for photographers, artists and researchers
If you work with archives, family photographs, visual culture, memory, social media, or explore the role of images in society, eidolon Grant can provide an opportunity to receive funding of up to €25,000, support from an international platform, and time to develop your project. Unlike most photography grants, the programme supports not the creation of new image series, but the study of existing photographs, archives, and visual histories that help us better understand both the past and the present.
The grant is organised by the eidolon Centre for Everyday Photography and is open to artists, photographers, curators, researchers, archivists, historians, collectors, and visual culture professionals from around the world. Now entering its third year, the programme supports projects dedicated to the preservation, study, and reinterpretation of vernacular photography.
What the Grant Offers
In 2026, the organisers will distribute €25,000 among the strongest projects. Support is available for research projects, artistic initiatives, publications, archival programmes, educational activities, exhibitions, and interdisciplinary work connected to photography as part of cultural memory and social history. For many participants, this is an opportunity not only to realise their own ideas but also to draw attention to archives and visual materials that rarely receive support from major international programmes.
Themes of the Grant
This year the grant accepts applications in two categories. The first category focuses on contemporary everyday photographic cultures and explores digital images, social media, internet cultures, visual communication, and the impact of new media on society. The second category focuses on everyday photographs of the past and includes work with nineteenth- and twentieth-century archives, family collections, overlooked photographs, collective memory, and the history of photographic practices. The organisers are particularly interested in projects that offer new interpretations of images and reveal connections between historical visual heritage and contemporary culture.
Who This Opportunity Is For
The grant may be especially relevant for those working with archives, family memory, visual studies, anthropology, history, digital culture, photographic collections, and social histories. The organisers welcome both academic research and artistic projects, making the programme suitable for applicants with different professional backgrounds and approaches.
What You Need for the Application
Applications are accepted exclusively through the Typeform platform. Applicants must prepare materials in English, including a project abstract, CV, detailed project description, visual materials, and budget. The project description should outline objectives, methodology, implementation schedule, and expected outcomes. An official Excel template must be used for the budget. It is important to follow all formatting requirements carefully, as incomplete applications are automatically excluded from consideration.
Why Consider eidolon Grant
Today, millions of historical photographs are gradually disappearing from family archives, while digital images are transforming the ways memory is preserved and visual communication takes place. eidolon supports projects that help interpret these changes and preserve important visual evidence for future generations. For artists and researchers working with memory, archives, and photography as a cultural phenomenon, this is one of the most distinctive and specialised international grant programmes currently available.
The deadline for applications is 30 September 2026.
