The Aftermath Project

2015 Grant Application

Dear Friends and Colleagues:
 
Our sincere apologies for the delay in opening the 2015 grant cycle – we just had some housecleaning to do. But we’re ready now! Thanks once again to the generous support of the Foundation to Promote Open Society, we will be offering one $20,000 grant in 2015, and naming four finalists.
 
The application deadline is Monday, December 3, 2014. IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT FILING: Sadly, we have to revert to Dropbox for uploading applications. Filing via our website proved to be trickier than expected last year. Please be sure to read the application guidelines on the following page, which includes specific directions about filing on Dropbox. Applications that do not follow these directions will be not be considered in the judging.
 
We will announce the grant winner before Christmas. As always, applicants will be the first to know before we issue a general press release.
 
It’s been a tough year for so many people in this world. There are so many aftermaths to come. But it reminds me that post-conflict stories are more important than ever. I’ve often said that war all too often defines our inhumanity – and that the aftermath of conflict is where we define our humanity. And photographs do that, I believe, better than almost any other medium. They help us understand what it means
to be human.
 
So – we look forward to seeing your proposals this year, to the ways that you can help us all better understand our humanity. We need it.
 
If you have problems submitting your application, you can email me at sara@theaftermathproject.org.
 
Thank you for your work.
 
Kind regards,
Sara Terry
Founder/Artistic Director, The Aftermath Project
 
PS Please keep an eye out for our upcoming Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for “War is Only Half the Story, Vol 7,” featuring the work of 2013 grant winner Stanley Greene (who covered the aftermath of the war in Chechnya), as well as finalists Isabel Kiesewetter, Boryana Katsorova, Gwenn Dubourthoumieu and Martino Lombezzi.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

The Aftermath Project’s mission is to support photographic projects that tell the other half of the story of conflict — the story of what it takes for individuals to learn to live again, to rebuild destroyed lives and homes, to restore civil societies, to address the lingering wounds of war while struggling to create new avenues for peace. Grant proposals should reflect an understanding of this mission. Proposals may relate to the aftermath of numerous kinds of conflict, not just international wars. The conflict may have been at the community level — for example, violence between rural ethnic groups or an urban riot in an industrialized country. It may have been a regional one, such as a rebel insurgency, or it may have been a full-scale war. There is no specific time frame that defines “aftermath,” although in general The Aftermath Project seeks to support stories which are no longer being covered by the mainstream media, or which have been ignored by the media. In general, conflict should be over for a situation to be deemed an “aftermath.” There are specific cases, however, where conflict may have continued for so long, or be the result of an aftermath situation, that they will be considered to be within the scope of The Aftermath Project. If you have doubts about whether your proposal meets these guidelines, please email sara@theaftermathproject.org.

Proposals should include an explanation of the specific aftermath issues related to the project being proposed, as well as an overview of the applicant’s plans for covering the story during the course of the grant year — i.e, the proposed timing of trips, etc. You MUST inform The Aftermath Project if you have any commercial commitments or contracts related to the project you are proposing, including book deals and exhibitions. Failure to do so on the part of a grant winner will automatically terminate the grant, and the winner will forfeit any funds he/she has not yet received from The Aftermath Project.

YOUR APPLICATION MUST INCLUDE:
1. A signed application form (next page), saved as a PDF or jpg file.
2. A project proposal, not to exceed two pages, saved as a PDF file.
3. A portfolio of no more than 30 images, in jpg format. You must label your images with your last name, followed by a number – ie, Smith_1.jpg. Your images MUST be sized 1200 pixels on the longest side, at 72 dpi – with a file size of NO LARGER than 2 MB PER PHOTO.
4. A caption sheet, saved as a PDF file.
5. Do NOT send anything else with your application.

NOTE ABOUT YOUR PORTFOLIO: If you have not yet begun the project you are proposing, that’s fine! Please submit other images that shows your photographic and storytelling skills. If you have begun the project you are proposing, please include a selection of those images in your portfolio.

TO FILE VIA DROPBOX:
1. When you are READY TO FILE, send an email to sara@theaftermathproject.org, asking to be invited to the Dropbox folder. Once you receive the invitation to join, you will have 24 hours to upload. Your invitation will be cancelled after 24 hours.
2. Put all your application materials into ONE FOLDER titled like this: LAST NAME_FIRST NAME, and put it into the Dropbox file. You will be notified by email that we have received your application (give us a week to do that, please).

NOTE: Your application materials will be downloaded as soon as possible and will not remain online for other photographers to see in the uploading process. We have tracking software that allows us to determine if you have looked into a file that is not your own. If you have done this, your application will automatically be disqualified.

Terms & Conditions

2014 GRANT APPLICATION – TERMS AND CONDITIONS
 
ELIGIBILITY:
1. The Aftermath Project is open to working photographers world-wide who are interested in creating work that helps illumine aftermath issues, and encourages greater public understanding and discussion of these issues.
2. Employees and directors of The Aftermath Project, and their immediate families are NOT eligible to apply for funding. Advisory board members and their immediate families are NOT eligible to apply for funding. Grant application judges, and their immediate families, are NOT eligible to apply for funding in the year that judges help choose grantees.
3. Only those submissions including all required materials will be considered for entry.
 
REQUIREMENTS OF GRANT WINNER AND FINALIST(S):
Grant winner(s) and finalists retain all copyrights to their work. Obligations to The Aftermath Project are as follows:
1. Grant winner agrees to give The Aftermath Project 12 prints, chosen by the grant winner in collaboration with The Aftermath Project, for its archives at project completion. Prints must be 16x20 inches or larger.
2. Grant winner agrees to make at least 30 images from his/her grant work available to The Aftermath Project for inclusion in “War is Only Half the Story, Vol Seven” and/or in commercial publications of anniversary retrospectives of the Aftermath Project. No financial compensation — other than the grant money awarded —will be made for publishing winner’s photos in said publications. The Aftermath Project does not guarantee that any publication will be produced by The Aftermath Project, alone, or in partnership with other publishers. However, if such publications are made, grant winner will be included in editorial and lay-out decisions. If such publications are made, winner will receive 30 free copies of said publication.
 
NOTE: if grant winner lives outside US, only 2 copies will be sent; remaining copies can be sent to a US address. Grant winner is responsible for reporting grant income for tax purposes as required by law.
3. In addition, grant winner agrees that work created with The Aftermath Project grant may be used for exhibitions created or supported by The Aftermath Project for educational and/or community outreach purposes. Images for such purposes will be chosen by the photographer in collaboration with The Aftermath Project. The winner also agrees that images from his/her grant work may be used for publicity and press purposes by The Aftermath Project. Any photograph so used by The Aftermath Project will carry the photographer’s credit/copyright line.
4. Finalists agree to allow a portfolio of work submitted with their applications to be included in “War is Only Half the Story, Vol Nine,” and/or in commercial publications of anniversary retrospectives of the Aftermath Project, if requested by The Aftermath Project. They also agree that their submission photos may be used for exhibitions created or supported by The Aftermath Project for educational and/or community outreach purposes. In both cases, images will be chosen by the photographer in collaboration with The Aftermath Project. The Aftermath Project does not guarantee that any publication will be produced. No financial compensation will be paid to finalists for use of their photos in such publications, but each finalist will receive 10 free copies of said book if it is published. NOTE: if grant finalist lives outside US, only 2 copies will be sent; remaining copies can be sent to a US address. Finalists also agree that images from his/her grant work may be used for publicity and press purposes by The Aftermath Project. Any photograph so used by The Aftermath Project will carry the photographer’s credit/copyright line.
5. Grant winner AND finalists agree to allow their work to be used (if chosen) as part of The Aftermath Project’s visual literacy/aftermath curriculum development.
6. DONATION OF PRINTS TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR BOOK PUBLICATION: Grant winner and finalists agree to donate two signed prints to the Aftermath Project to help raise funds for publication of “War is Only Half the Story, Vol Nine.” The Aftermath Project will pay for the cost of printing and shipping those prints.
 
NOTE: If any compensation is available for photographs by winners or finalists for use of their images in exhibitions, curriculum development, or press/publicity, The Aftermath Project will forward those funds to the photographers as soon as they have been received, or will put the photographer directly in touch with the organization making payment. As part of the mission of The Aftermath Project to raise awareness about aftermath issues, every effort will be made to disseminate information about the work of our grant winner and finalists. The Project’s goal is to create an everwidening network of individuals committed to these issues, and to help create, whenever possible, opportunities for winners and finalists to share their work with as many people as possible.
 
REPORTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS, AND PROJECT DEADLINES:
Grant winner will receive one half of grant funds at project onset. Winner will be required to submit interim reports by dates designated in award letter and packet, and will receive 40% of their award mid-way through, and the remaining 10% upon delivery of 12 prints at project completion. All grant work MUST be completed by December 31, 2015; photographs must be delivered by January 31, 2016.
 
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS:
Must be submitted via Dropbox by December 3, 2014.
 
The Aftermath Project Grant is made possible through the support of the Foundation to Promote Open Society

Photographers