Funding opportunities for photographers including grants bursaries and fellowships

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Funding for Photography Projects: RPS Bursaries Closing Soon

2026-06-19 / Comments Off

The Royal Photographic Society’s 2026 Bursaries are still open for submissions.

RPS Bursary funding supports a wide range of project costs, including research, travel, equipment, and publication. In addition, both bursaries offer the unique opportunity to have the finished work published by the award‑winning RPS Journal team and The Guardian.

Discover their available bursaries below:

Joan Wakelin Bursary

In partnership with The Guardian
Closing Soon 14 July – £2000

An annual £2000 bursary to support a photographer with a compelling proposal for a photographic essay addressing an overseas social documentary issue.

We are seeking applicants with a strong creative vision and a clear plan for how their images will be used to tell impactful, visually engaging stories.

Eamonn McCabe Bursary

In partnership with the McCabe Family and The Guardian
Closing 3 August – £3000

This bursary will provide £3000 to a photographer aged 30 years or under to deliver a photography project responding to the theme of ‘Sporting Endeavour’.

This theme can be interpreted as widely as the applicant wishes, but the general approach should be editorial and suitable for publication.

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Joanne Carter

Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)