About the Award — ERNEST – COLE

ABOUT
THE
AWARD

The Ernest Cole Award was established to commemorate Ernest Cole and to acknowledge him both as a key figure in the history of South African photography and as a contributor to the struggle against apartheid. Cole’s images are transformative, compassionate, and critical, and marks the importance of photography in history and art making.

Ernest Cole faced many struggles in his career as a photographer, struggles that lead to his exile and the struggles that continued in his time as a photographer in the United States and Europe. The Award is framed by the need to support and provide professional guidance to photographers facing various difficulties while trying to establish their careers. Conceptualised and operated from within South Africa, the ECA is an important identifier for photography practice in the cultural sphere of South Africa and for South African photography internationally.

The relaunched ECA looks to facilitate positive change in order to extend opportunities for South African photographers beyond the scope of the Award, and does so by supporting creative practice that expands photography’s field of engagement and by resourcing photographers through tailor-made support structures such as a circle of mentorship, peer review, and exhibition and publication opportunities. The Ernest Cole Award is given every second year.

The chosen candidate will receive R75 000 to complete their project, and in addition will receive the opportunity to develop a public outcome for the project completed during the Award. This outcome could be an exhibition and/or publication, or a less traditional format that platforms their work in an alternative manner. Since the ECA considers photography in its widest sense, the presentation of the finalised body of work may be responsive to the format and degree of experimentation involved in making the work.

Timeline

Call for entries opens
03 May 2022
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Applications Close
06 June 2022
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Announcement of Recipient
July 2022
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Mentorship and Project Development
July 2022 - 2023
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Project Launch
July 2023