Application Deadline:Oct 15, 2019.

Magnum Foundation’s Photography and Social Justice Program expands diversity and creativity in the field of documentary photography through capacity-building and critical explorations of photography and social change.

Each year, the program supports a diverse, international group of Photography and Social Justice Fellows who are passionate about challenging injustice, pursuing social equality, and advancing human rights through photography. With New York City as a cultural resource, the program provides space for interdisciplinary experimentation, mentored project development, and cross-cultural, critical discourse at the intersection of photography and social justice. During the program, Fellows work on projects with support from Magnum Foundation mentors.

Magnum Foundation covers the cost of travel and room and board for the sessions in New York City. Fellows also receive a modest stipend to support the production of their projects. The program is produced in partnership with the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.

elements of the program:   

Project Development and Frameworks: March–May 2020

These initial bi-weekly online sessions provide conceptual groundwork for the training and a forum for the Fellows to develop their project ideas.

New York Session 1: June 1–30, 2020

The first session in New York City is a four week training hosted by CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism. This first session focuses on project development, technical trainings, and experimentation. This session will include exploration of emerging tools and platforms, lectures on documentary photography, and discussions on critical theory.

Project Production: June 2019–January 2020

Fellows complete the proposed body of work that aims to advance social justice in their communities with on-going support from Magnum Foundation.

Prospective Applicants

Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellows are photographers who are motivated to deepen their engagement with photography and visual storytelling.

The Photography and Social Justice Program is designed to prepare our fellows to be effective and creative leaders in their communities. Our hope is that our fellows become models and resources for other practitioners, and that they cultivate strength and support through their international colleagues. Through this program, Magnum Foundation trains photographers to use their creative skills to inspire social movements, to witness, to resist oppression, to pose the difficult questions, and to stimulate debate and awareness about critical social issues. 

This program especially aims to support people of color, women, gender non-conforming individuals, LGBTQ individuals, individuals who are part of racial, ethnic, or religious minority groups, refugees, and others whose authorship is unevenly represented within the field of documentary photography.

Guiding Criteria:

• Documentary photographers, visual artists, and photojournalists

• Activists who use photography in their change-making practice

• Scholars who incorporate images and image-making in their research and scholarship

• Self-taught practitioners and those who have not had previous opportunity to do a formal course of study in photography at the university level are encouraged to apply.

• Due to the nature of the program, applicants must be proficient in spoken and written English. All instruction, workshop materials, and group discussions will be in English.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellowship 2020