In light of the increasingly difficult circumstances faced by our freelance photographic community, this year’s Firecracker Photographic Grant is specifically tailored to support practitioners during the Covid_19 pandemic. Open to female and non binary photographers, the Grant will be a minimum contribution of £2000 which will be split into 4 individual funds of £500 each. Submissions will be assessed on a combination of quality of work and artist statements outlining proposals for how the grant will be spent. Consideration will be given to both living expenses and production costs. Applications are subject to an application fee of £8 and ALL payments contribute to the funding. The larger the submissions, the larger the grant total and the more photographers we can support. Applications are now open, and will close 1 May 2020. The grant recipients will be announced by 10 May and we will endeavour to make payments at the same time.

About Firecracker

The Firecracker Photographic Grant is a small, self funded, non-profit initiative open to international female photographers or non-binary photographers. It is usually awarded to a photographer based on the strength of visual portfolios and artist statements submitted, however in light of the Covid19 pandemic, the 2020 Grant will be allocated in smaller individual amounts based on quality of work and information supplied in the application process. All information is confidential and consideration will be made on both living expenses and production costs. If you receive a salary or regular income we would encourage you to not apply, in order to benefit those with the greatest need. Applications are judged by an independent panel of industry experts. 100% of application fees go towards the total Grant amount.

Rudi Thoemmes
Managing Director and Founder of RRB Photobooks Rudi has worked with rare and antiquarian books for over 40 years and founded RRB Photobooks; a photobook publisher and specialist bookseller based in Bristol UK, in 2008. RRB Photobooks publish mainly overlooked, forgotten and underappreciated British photographers of the 1970s and 80s, as well as a variety of British documentary work. Rudi also founded Photobook Bristol in 2013 and the RRB Photobooks imprint in 2015.

Sabina Jaskot-Gill
Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, London
Sabina develops and curates photography exhibitions and displays at the National Portrait Gallery. Recent examples include Cecil Beaton, Martin Parr, John Stezaker, Sîan Davey, Thomas Ruff and the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. She received an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award in 2010, completing a PhD in post-war Polish photography. Sabina previously lectured on the history and theory of photography and held positions at the University for the Creative Arts and Autograph ABP.

Bindi Vora
Artist, Lecturer and Curatorial Projects Manager at Autograph ABP
Bindi Vora is a photographic artist, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster, and part of Hemera, a photographic curatorial collective. Prior to Autograph ABP, she worked at the Hayward Gallery and The Photographers’ Gallery curating their offisite commissions which included the international touring exhibition Work, Rest & Play: British Photography from the 1960s to Today, In Fine Feather at Selfridges London, In Your Face at Liberty London, amongst other initiatives.