GFX2023 Challenge Grant Program

The application period has ended as of October 15, 2023.
Thank you for all your submissions.

GFX Challenge Grant Program 2023

The GFX Challenge Grant Program, sponsored by FUJIFILM, is a grant program that awards 5 Global Grant Award and 10 Regional Grant Award to help aspiring creatives bring their imaging projects to life. It is designed to nurture and develop the skills of emerging/promising content creators, giving them the opportunity to create content on topics that have significant meaning to them, while gaining experience using FUJIFILM GFX System gear.

Proposed projects may be submitted as still photography or in a movie format. At the conclusion of the production period in June 2024, the award recipients’ final content will be showcased on the fujifilm-x.com website as well as in the exhibition which will be held at FUJIFILM SQUARE, a gallery within FUJIFILM Headquarters in Roppongi, Tokyo.

Submit a project proposal for a chance to receive a $10,000 Global Grant Award, or a $5,000 Regional Grant Award, and take the first step in turning your creative idea into reality!

Grant Award

  • Global Grant Award
    • Complimentary use of a GFX System camera body and two GF lenses for the duration of their project
    • Mentoring and technical assistance from Fujifilm technicians / product experts
    • US $10,000 Grant
  • Regional Grant Award
    • Complimentary use of a GFX System camera body and two GF lenses for the duration of their project
    • Mentoring and technical assistance from Fujifilm technicians / product experts
    • US $5,000 Grant

    • *No purchase necessary to enter or win.
    *A total approximate retail value of all grant awards offered in connection with this program is USD $229,500.

Archives

See the projects from the past programs.

How to Apply

Please read this page and the program rule provided in the application form prior to submitting your application from below.

  • Entry Period The application is open from August 14 to October 15, 2023
  • Eligibility
    • The program is only open to individuals who are a resident of the countries / region listed in the section of "Entry Submission" at the bottom of this page.
    • The Program is open to both amateur and professional photographers and videographers.
    • This Program is not open to employees or officers of FUJIFILM and its subsidiaries.

Propose a Creative Project

This is your opportunity to think big! Let us know what you've always wanted to create and help us see your creativity. Just remember that your submission must clearly communicate what you'd be able to accomplish if you received one of our global or regional grants. The program is global, and to treat each one of your proposals equally, we have set English as the common language of the program. Your proposal must be communicated in English. However, if English is not your first language, then your proposal can be accompanied by the language of your choice. Language proficiency is not part of the judging criteria.

Preparing the project proposal

In order to apply for the program, you will need to prepare the following three pieces of information and combine them into a single document PDF.

  • 1. Preformatted Cover Letter (Download here) - This should be inserted as the cover page of your proposal. With the information provided on this document, a reader should have a good idea of your project. The space is limited, so be clear and straight to the point.
  • 2. Your Project Proposal - Provide the detail of your project and address the questions below so we can engage with your idea. There is no format to the proposal, so you can be as creative as you like. Make sure to add images as visuals will also help us see your idea more clearly.
  • Descriptive plan of your project what you are trying to do?
  • Objectives of your project What are you trying to achieve?
  • Evaluation and outcome measures How will you measure the success of your project?
  • Communications Other than through Fujifilm’s efforts if you are a Grant Award Recipient, how will your project be communicated to the public?
  • Fujifilm Partnership How will you take advantage of the mentoring and other resources offered by Fujifilm as part of the Grant Award?
  • Schedule What is your project design and timeline?
  • Budget How will you utilize / allocate the grant award?

  • 3. Portfolio of each indivdual involved in the project - Show us your past works and acommplishments. We are interested to know you more.

Download the Preformatted Cover Letter


*The submission must be a single document in PDF format.
*The file must include Preformatted Cover Letter, Project Proposal, and Portfolio.
*The file must be under 10MB in size.
*The document must be written in English, but it can be accompanied by the language of your choice.
*Language proficiency is not part of the judging criteria.

The Selection Process

Submission Period

1st Round

2nd Round

Final Round

  • Submission Period August 14 - October 15, 2023
    Prepare your project proposal and submit it via the entry form below. Remember that your submission must include English and saved as a PDF file format.
  • 1st Round October 16 - November 3, 2023
    Fujifilm will review the submissions and select 15 project proposals from 3 geographical regions, 45 submissions total, that will be evaluated in the 2nd round. By November 8, 2023, each selected Regional finalists will be informed via email and the necessary Zoom (or equivalent) interviews will be scheduled.
  • 2nd Round November 9 - 23, 2023
    Candidates will be asked for an interview with Fujifilm. The interview may be conducted in the language of your choice, if Fujifilm can accomodate. 5 finalists from each geographical region, 15 total, will be selected to proceed to the final round.
  • Final Round November 24 - December 8, 2023
    Global Grant Award judging team will review each candidate and select the 5 global grant award recipients, with the remaining 10 finalists receiving regional grant awards. The award recipients will be announced in January 2024.

*The 1st and 2nd Round selection will be conducted regionally. These regions are 1. The Americas, 2. Europe / Middle East / Africa, 3. Asia Pacific (South Asia / Oceania / Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong SAR / Taiwan / Japan / Korea).
*The written project proposals will be reviewed in English. However, the interview in the 2nd round may be conductetd in a different language, if Fujifilm can accomodate.
*Language proficiency is not part of the judging criteria.
*Only candidates advancing in the selection process will be notified of their progress. An annoucement of the final grant recipients will be made at the conclusion of the final round.
*The Shooting Project is expected to be completed, and all created image and/or video are provided to Fujifilm by June 30, 2024

Judges

The Final Round will be reviewed by Global Grant Award judging team. The five guest judges are invited to come on board with us.

  • Masako Sato Curator & Founder Contact. Co., Ltd. Masako Sato graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo. Organized the exhibition of photography in Pacific Press Service (PPS) in Tokyo. After leaving PPS, studied French in Paris. She has worked as a freelance coordinator whilst organizing various photography exhibitions. Founded Contact. Co., Ltd. in 2013, and has since organized and curated many travelling exhibitions such as Robert Doisneau, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Shoji Ueda, Shigeo Gocho, and the first retrospective of Saul Leiter’s works in Japan.

  • Pauline Vermare Curator, historian and writer Pauline Vermare is an independent photography curator, historian and writer. She was formerly the cultural director of Magnum Photos NY, and a curator at the International Center of Photography (ICP), The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, in Paris. She is the author of numerous interviews and essays on photography. She sits on the boards of the Saul Leiter Foundation and the Catherine Leroy Fund.

  • Lesley A. Martin Editor at Large of Aperture Lesley A. Martin is Editor at Large of Aperture and founding publisher of The PhotoBook Review. Her writing on photography has been published in Aperture, IMA magazine, and FOAM, among other publications, and she has edited more than 150 books of photography, including On the Beach by Richard Misrach; Illuminance by Rinko Kawauchi; The New Black Vanguard by Antwaun Sargent; and Sara Cwynar: Glass Life. Martin co-founded the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards in 2012, and received the Royal Photographic Society award for outstanding achievement in Photographic Publishing in 2020. She is teaches at the Yale University Graduate School of Art.

  • Amanda Maddox Lead curator at World Press Photo Amanda Maddox is lead curator at World Press Photo. She was previously an associate curator of photography at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. She has organized or co-organized numerous exhibitions, including Dora Maar (2020); Gordon Parks: The Flávio Story (2019); Now Then: Chris Killip and the Making of In Flagrante (2017); and Ishiuchi Miyako: Postwar Shadows (2015).

  • ©Isabel Muñoz

    Lucille Reyboz & Yusuke Nakanishi Founder of Kyotographie Lucille Reyboz is a photographer born in 1973 in Lyon, France. Lucille Reyboz began her journey with photography in Africa, where she spent most of her childhood. Then worked in the music industry creating visuals for Blue Note records and Verve and published books focusing on Africa and Japan.Yusuke Nakanishi is a lighting director. Yusuke Nakanishi was born in 1968 in Fukuoka, and currently lives in Kyoto. He travels the world, expressing his impressions of light and shadow from his memories. Together they founded and are the director of KYOTOGRAPHIE in 2013, and KYOTOPHONIE Borderless Music Festival in 2023

Selection Criteria

The project proposal will be reviewed based on the following criteria, each equally weighted (at 20% each):

  • 1. Relevance of the Project to the Program Objectives, and Applicant’s Adherence to the Submission Criteria
  • 2. Appropriateness of the Project story to be told using GFX System Products
  • 3. Creativity and Uniqueness of the described Project
  • 4. Achievability/Execution (Feasibility of the Project, overall budget size, likelihood the Project will be able to be completed as outlined)
  • 5. Applicant background and photography / videography experience and abilities

Entry Submission

The application submission has ended as of Oct. 15, 2023.
Those selected for the next round will be notified via email by Nov. 8, 2023.
For more details, please read our terms and conditions from the link below.


*The program is only open to individuals who are a resident of the countries / regions listed above.