About the Call

Cortona On The Move and the BarTur Photo Award are proud to announce their partnership to present the Cortona On The Move | BarTur Grant. Supported by the Visual Storytellers Fund, this initiative aims to support photographers worldwide by providing grants and resources to create compelling documentary photo essays. The Grant focuses on projects that illuminate urgent social, environmental, economic, and cultural issues of our time.

Please visit Cortona On The Move www.cortonaonthemove.com and BarTur Photo Award www.barturphotoaward.org for more detailed information on the award.

What Winners Receive

The Cortona On The Move | BarTur Grant offers:

• $30,000 Grand Prize: Awarded to one professional photographer.

• Two $5,000 Prizes: Awarded to two emerging photographers under 30.

Photographers are invited to submit proposals for in-progress documentary projects that align with the fund's central themes. The grand prize winner and the two emerging photographer winners will be announced at Cortona On The Move Festival in July 2025. The winners will have nine months to complete their project, with the final work submitted by 15th March 2026. The completed work will be exhibited at the 2026 edition of Cortona On The Move, along with the two winning works by emerging photographers, offering a global stage to amplify their story. The Grant will cover the travel and accommodation for the winners to attend the opening ceremony of Cortona On The Move 2026.

About the Organizations

Cortona On The Move

Since its inception in 2011, Cortona On The Move has been a leading international photography festival, hosted annually in the Tuscan town of Cortona, Italy. Renowned for its dedication to photographic excellence, the festival serves as a hub for photographers, curators, critics, authors, and the public. It has become a pivotal event in the global photography landscape, showcasing groundbreaking work and fostering meaningful connections.

https://www.cortonaonthemove.com/en/

BarTur Photo Award

The BarTur Photo Award celebrates the transformative power of photography in shaping our understanding of the world. By championing photographers who challenge conventional perspectives, the award aims to spark meaningful dialogue and inspire action on critical global issues.

https://www.barturphotoaward.org

Visual Storytellers Fund

The Visual Storytellers Fund provides financial support and resources to photographers worldwide, enabling the creation of impactful documentary photo essays. Supported by the BarTur Photo Award and generous contributors, the fund emphasizes projects that transcend boundaries, inspire empathy, and shed light on pressing contemporary issues. Through this initiative, the fund seeks to amplify visual storytelling that sparks dialogue and drives change.

Judging Criteria

Submissions are assessed on intellectual and substantive merits, as well as:

• Creativity and Originality: The uniqueness of the approach and a compelling narrative.

• Relevance: Alignment with the competition's thematic areas (urgent social, environmental, economic, or cultural issues).

• Technical and Aesthetic Excellence: The quality of the imagery and storytelling.

• Potential Impact: The project's capacity to engage audiences and inspire meaningful dialogue.

• Feasibility: The clarity of the budget, timeline, and methodologies proposed.