2024 Gomma Photography Grant

The Gomma Photography Grant is a grant contest tailored to fund and support photographers working in various genre. Begun in 2014, the Gomma Grant has quickly acquired a reputation for being ethical and quality-focused, with an eye for spotting fresh talent and encouraging those already in the spotlight. Photographers that are recognized through the Gomma Grant are known to have grown their career to a higher level, both professionally and artistically.

A bit of history... Gomma has come a long way since the first Gomma Magazine came out in 2004. Throughout the years, Gomma has been actively promoting photographers and their work, both established and emerging photographers. We worked with internationally renowned artists, such as Roger Ballen, Anders Petersen, Michael Ackerman, Keizo Kitajima, and Daido Moriyama. The Gomma Grant is open to everyone. Any medium, black & white or colour, analogue or digital. Gomma's juror and editors are looking for consistency, personality, and courage.

WHY SHOULD I SUBMIT TO PHOTO CONTESTS?

In photography, like in many other creative industries, exposure means jobs. It can open doors to a new collaboration, publishing, and commissions. Photo contests are still a very useful and successful way to get your work known across a wide international audience.

Many photographers probably feel sick and tired of photo competitions, there are simply way too many. Every day we see new photo contests springing up, and it is difficult to decide whether one is more ethical and reliable than another.

WHY SHOULD I SUBMIT TO GOMMA GRANT?

If photo contests were shops, imagine the Gomma Grant like a bijou, quality-focused, collectables shop compared to the Walmart kind of supermarket of the major photo competitions. It depends on what you are looking for and how you would like your work to be judged.

• WE’RE ETHICAL: Gomma Grant rewards the work, not the name, and not the curriculum vitae. We award photographers regardless of their past success or network. We look at the works with fresh minds and eyes freed from any dogma or modus operandi.
• WE’RE LONGSTANDING: Gomma started almost 20 years ago, in 2004 from a south London basement-flat. We are established but still young because we don't want our many years of experience to steal our freshness and our beginners' minds.
• WE HAVE MAGIC: There is something magical and awkward and stylish at the same time about Gomma. We are pretty unique with a constant out-of-the-box attitude. We don't believe the hype and don’t follow any trends. We are the trend makers.
• WE LOVE SIMPLICITY: We don't like articulated slogans and sophisticated vocabulary. We believe that the arts should be for everyone. And this is why from this year we have made it simpler to submit your work for the grant.
• WE’RE NOT MONEY-DRIVEN: Gomma is run by a few artists that have their own means of economic nourishment from other jobs. So we don't know too much about profits and business. That is why from this year, due to the recent dramatic circumstances we have decided to donate all our net profits to charities. We are also giving you, the photographers, the freedom to decide whether to pay or not and how much.
• WE'RE SUPPORTIVE: We do not just award cash prizes because we also push both the winning and shortlisted works. Photographers that are recognized through the Gomma Grant are known to have grown their career to a higher level, both professionally and artistically.