Lagardère Foundation — €10,000 grant for documentary photography and author project development
There are projects that cannot be completed in a single go. They require time, a return to the subject, conversations, trust, and a gradual immersion into the reality you are working within. It is precisely for such stories that this grant exists — as an opportunity not to rush, but to grow into your own work within the reality you are working with.
This is a grant for the realisation of an authorial documentary project, aimed at young photographers who are already working professionally. It supports not a start ‘from scratch’, but a moment of transition — when the author already has experience, publications and a direction, but still lacks the resources to put together a complete series.
The Foundation works with documentary photography linked to social, political and cultural processes. This is not about aesthetic experimentation for the sake of form, but about the author’s view of the world—attentive, exploratory and engaged.
Here, it is not only the result that matters, but also the process — how you observe, how you construct a narrative, and how you engage with the subject.
What participation offers
The €10,000 grant is, essentially, an opportunity to pause external distractions and focus on the project. It allows the recipient to continue shooting, deepen the research, return to a subject that requires time, build a coherent series rather than isolated images, and prepare the work for publication or exhibition.
This is not support for a “quick result”, but for a process that becomes a statement.
Who is it for
This grant works differently from most open calls — it is not about offering a “first chance”, but about supporting projects where the artist already has a developed artistic voice.
It is suitable for:
— photographers aged 35 or under who are already working professionally
— those with a track record of publications and an understanding of the documentary format
— artists who have a recurring theme rather than simply an idea to “shoot a project”
— those who wish to move from individual shoots to a cohesive series and a personal artistic statement
How the selection process works
This programme has clear criteria, and it is these criteria that define its standard. Applicants are expected to have experience — at least two published documentary projects — and to be ready to submit their application in French and present their project in person to the jury at the final stage.
This may sound complicated, but in practice it is simply a different stage: not ‘submitting an application’, but entering into a professional dialogue.
The jury looks at: the relevance of the topic, the depth of the research, the originality of the approach and the author’s professional maturity.
Why this is more than just a grant
It isn’t the largest sum in the industry—but it is one of those opportunities that act as a turning point.
This is because three key elements come together here: resources, institutional attention, and recognition within the professional community.
Even if the conditions seem difficult right now, that is no reason to rule out the possibility — it is a benchmark that can be reached: through publications, developing the topic, and gradually working with reality.
The deadline for applications is 14 June 2026.
