Cortona On The Move | BarTur Grant

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 will be announced at Cortona On The Move Festival in July 2025. They 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.

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.

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.

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.

Cortona On The Move / BarTur Grant: $30,000

The Cortona On The Move | BarTur Grant will award a $30,000 grand prize to one professional photographer, The Grant invites established photographers to submit proposals for in-progress documentary project(s) that reflect the fund’s central themes.
The winning project will be exhibited at the 2026 edition of Cortona On The Move.

Submission fee: 20 USD per project

Cortona On The Move / BarTur Grant for Emerging Photographers: $5,000

The Cortona On The Move | BarTur Grant for Emerging Photographers will award two $5,000 grand prizes to two professional photographers under the age of 30. The Grant invites emerging professional photographers under the age of 30 to submit proposals for in-progress documentary project(s) that reflect the fund’s central themes.
The winning projects will be exhibited at the 2026 edition of Cortona On The Move.

Amnon Bar-Tur – Founder The BarTur Award
Brian Byrd – Writer / Advisor / Freelance Photographer
Kate Bubacz – Lead Photo Editor The Wall Street Journal
François Hébel – ICP’s Director at Large
Nathalie Herschdorfer – Curator and Director, Museum Photo Elysée
Hideko Kataoka – Photo Editor Newsweek Japan
Kublaiklan – Photography Curators Cortona On The Move
Lars Lindemann – International projects curator Cortona On The Move
Marie Monteleone – Senior Photo Editor Bloomberg News
Veronica Nicolardi – Director Cortona On The Move
Paul Ninson – Executive Director & Chief Curator Dikan Center
Azu Nwagbogu – Founder/ Director African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) / LagosPhoto Festival
Corinne Perkins – North America Editor, Reuters Pictures Reuters
Vivek Prakash – Managing Editor, News – APAC Getty Images
Fiona Shields – Head of Photography The Guardian News & Media Group
Valerio Vincenzo – Photographer/Visual Artist/Head of Photo Department GEO France
Paolo Woods – Artistic Director Cortona On The Move

You can submit your proposal through the Picter platform using the following link:

Info: hello@barturphotoaward.org

You can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions here:

Read the terms and conditions of the award here: