Dutch Talent Project Grants – The Netherlands
Deadline: October 4, 2026
Submission: Free of charge
In collaboration with Amarte Fonds Rotterdam Photo is happy to present the Dutch Talent Project Grant 2027. This initiative gives emerging photographers the opportunity to create new work exploring the festival’s theme. This category is open to photographers who are based in the Netherlands, currently studying there, or have completed studies in the Netherlands.
Part of the Rotterdam Photo 2027 Open Call programme. Photographers may apply to multiple categories. Each submission is reviewed separately by the selection committee.
Submit your application
Submission: Free of charge
In collaboration with Amarte Fonds Rotterdam Photo is happy to present the Dutch Talent Project Grant 2027. This initiative gives emerging photographers the opportunity to create new work exploring the festival’s theme. This category is open to photographers who are based in the Netherlands, currently studying there, or have completed studies in the Netherlands.
Part of the Rotterdam Photo 2027 Open Call programme. Photographers may apply to multiple categories. Each submission is reviewed separately by the selection committee.
Submit your application
Theme 2027: VIBRANCE – The Pulse of a Living World
Vibrance is an exploration of energy in its many forms – from the intimate to the collective, from physical presence to digital intensity.
In a time where narratives are often shaped by crisis and fragmentation, this theme turns toward what continues to move, connect, and generate meaning. Vibrance is not only movement, but tension, rhythm, resistance, and transformation. It exists in bodies coming together, in cities in flux, in cultural expression, and in the invisible forces that shape everyday life.
We invite photographers to interpret Vibrance freely – as a social condition, emotional state, visual rhythm, or conceptual framework.
What selected photographers receive
Five selected artists receive a €3,000 production grant to develop their project into a work-in-progress exhibition at Rotterdam Photo 2027, with a dedicated exhibition space, curatorial guidance and international visibility through Rotterdam Photo and its partners.
Selected artists receive:
-Professional review of submissions by field experts
-€3,000 production grant and curatorial guidance and artistic coaching throughout the development process
-Dedicated exhibition space and inclusion in the group exhibition during the Rotterdam Photo 2027
-Integration into the official festival programme
-Participation in Rotterdam Photo Talks and networking events
-Rotterdam Snapshots – video portraits documenting the artistic process, shared via YouTube and social media
-Exposure to curators, press, and international photography professionals
-International visibility through festival channels and partners
-Opportunity to exhibit in Barcelona in June at the gallery of the International Photo Festival Association
-Opportunity to exhibit in Tampere, Finland, during the Backlight festival in September
-Opportunity to exhibit in Tbilisi, Georgia, during the Tbilisi Art Fair in May
-Opportunity to exhibit in Switzerland during Photo Schweiz with Directors’ Choice
-€3,000 production grant and curatorial guidance and artistic coaching throughout the development process
-Dedicated exhibition space and inclusion in the group exhibition during the Rotterdam Photo 2027
-Integration into the official festival programme
-Participation in Rotterdam Photo Talks and networking events
-Rotterdam Snapshots – video portraits documenting the artistic process, shared via YouTube and social media
-Exposure to curators, press, and international photography professionals
-International visibility through festival channels and partners
-Opportunity to exhibit in Barcelona in June at the gallery of the International Photo Festival Association
-Opportunity to exhibit in Tampere, Finland, during the Backlight festival in September
-Opportunity to exhibit in Tbilisi, Georgia, during the Tbilisi Art Fair in May
-Opportunity to exhibit in Switzerland during Photo Schweiz with Directors’ Choice
Who can apply
This open call category is open for photographers who are based in the Netherlands, currently studying there, or have completed studies in the Netherlands. Eligible applicants include:
-3rd- and 4th-year art academy students
-Recent alumni (since 2020) of photography or related visual arts programs
-Self-taught photographers with up to five years of practical experience
Projects developed during study are eligible, provided they are extended or deepened beyond the academic context.
-3rd- and 4th-year art academy students
-Recent alumni (since 2020) of photography or related visual arts programs
-Self-taught photographers with up to five years of practical experience
Projects developed during study are eligible, provided they are extended or deepened beyond the academic context.
Selection
Applications are assessed on:
-Artistic quality and vision
-Strength of development potential
-Relevance to the theme
-Fit within group exhibition context
Meet the Selection Committee