The New Orleans Photo Alliance’s Grants

The Clarence John Laughlin Award

The Clarence John Laughlin Award was created by the New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA) to support the work of photographers who use the medium as a means of creative expression. It honors the life and work of Clarence John Laughlin (1905-1985), a New Orleans photographer best known for his surrealist images of the American South. The Clarence John Laughlin Award grants one $5000 prize annually to a photographer whose work exhibits sustained artistic excellence and creative vision.

2011 Juror

George Slade, Curator, Photographic Resource Center

Eligibility

Both emerging and established photographers residing in the U.S. may apply.

Deadline

All required materials must be received by the New Orleans Photo Alliance between July 1 and September 1, 2011.

Application Fee

Application fee is $25.
Application fee + NOPA membership: $60.

How to Apply

Applications will be accepted online only through the New Orleans Photo Alliance website.

Eligible Work

The New Orleans Photo Alliance invites photographers working in all mediums, styles, and schools of thought to apply. Still images made from all photographic processes, both traditional and digital will be considered. There are no restrictions on subject matter or genres. Traditional, contemporary, avant-garde, creative and experimental works that include old and new processes, mixed techniques, and challenging personal and emotional statements are all welcome. Still photography or photographic techniques should be integral to the works submitted.

Work Samples

Applicants must submit a portfolio of 10-20 image files representing a cohesive body of work. Applicants should demonstrate the ability to build a strong series of images. If your work is best communicated visually by showing its physical nature, you may use one or more of the required images for installation or detail views.

Written Statements

Applicants must submit a written statement explaining their images, process and intent. The purpose of the statement is to give the juror a better understanding of your work while they are viewing it. Your statement should be clear, concise and relate to the work samples you submit. Applicants will also be required to submit a bio or resume and a brief “description of work” summary.

Judging Criteria

The main criteria for selection will be the strength of the applicant’s portfolio and written statement. 

Selection and Notification

If more than 100 applications are submitted, a committee of independent curators and photographers will prescreen all submissions and select 100 portfolios to present to the juror. The juror will select a single winner. At the juror’s discretion a select number of finalists may be asked to submit a print portfolio for the final decision. Finalists will be notified by October 1 and required to mail portfolios at their own expense by October 10.

The winner will be announced on November 1, 2011.  The recipient’s portfolio will be featured on the New Orleans Photo Alliance’s website for one year.

The prize will be presented in December during PhotoNOLA.

About the Juror

George Slade has been professionally involved in photographic scholarship for over 25 years. He has been the Curator for the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) in Boston and the founding editor for its journal, Loupe, since May 2010. In Minnesota since 1990, and five years prior to that in New York City, he has worked as a picture researcher, writer, lecturer, project consultant, curator, portfolio reviewer, and editor at a number of organizations. A St. Paul native and 1985 graduate of Yale University (American Studies), Slade curated and juried exhibitions in Minnesota first as an independent consultant, then as the Artistic Director of the Minnesota Center for Photography in Minneapolis from 2003 to 2008. From 1998 to 2008 he directed the Minneapolis-based McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowships for Photographers Program, which made annual awards of $25,000 to Minnesota-resident photographers. In 2008, as the Adjunct Assistant Curator of Photographs at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, he coordinated the MIA presentation of Friedlander, the traveling retrospective of Lee Friedlander’s photography originally curated by Peter Galassi for its 2005 appearance at the Museum of Modern Art (NYC). A widely published writer who in 2007 received an Arts Writers Fellowship from the Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation, Slade's writings appear regularly in his own blog, re: photographica, Boston Photography Focus (the PRC’s blog), and Photo-eye books’ online magazine, as well as in a variety of exhibition catalogues and print periodicals.

Rules

By applying for the Clarence John Laughlin Award, you agree to accept the following rules:

The New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA) reserves the right to reject applications that are incomplete or improperly submitted.

You acknowledge that you are the sole owner and author of the photograph.  NOPA acknowledges your copyright of each image submitted.

You allow NOPA to feature your work without charge in print and on the web in conjunction with the promotion of the award.  Recipient agrees to supply a high-resolution image suitable for printing in media upon request.  NOPA agrees to provide proper copyright notice on its web site and in all NOPA press releases and related print materials.

NOPA is permitted to add applicants’ email and physical mailing addresses to the NOPA mailing list, which is private and will not be shared.

Staff or Board Members of NOPA are not eligible to submit applications.

The recipient is encouraged to donate up to 3 prints to NOPA selected from work submitted for the award and/or work created after having received it.  Donated prints will be archived in NOPA’s permanent collection and may be exhibited in the future.

Application Requirements

1.  $25 application fee, to be directed through Paypal immediately after your application has been successfully uploaded.

2.  A portfolio of 10 - 20 images.  Images can originate in any format but must be submitted digitally through our online application process.

3.  Each image submitted should be in jpeg format, 12 inches on the longer side, sized at 72 pixels per inch, saved at the highest setting available (usually 10 or 12). Name your files with your last name then first name and image title using underscores to separate. Example: Doe_Jane_ImageTitle.jpg

4.  Each image submitted will also require a title, dimensions, materials (specifying print medium, i.e. toned silver gelatin print) and year created.  Each image file and its accompanying information will be entered and uploaded one at a time.  You will have the opportunity to review and rearrange the sequence of your portfolio after all files have been uploaded.

5.  A concise description of work, limited to 260 characters maximum, which will be visible to the juror alongside your image portfolio.

6.  A written statement explaining your images, process and intent, 500 words maximum.  A Word document should be copied and pasted into the appropriate area at the beginning of the application form.

7.  Biography or resume/CV.  A Word document file should be copied and pasted into the appropriate area at the beginning of the application form.

Please read the guidelines and application requirements thoroughly. If you have any further questions please contact: CJLAward@neworleansphotoalliance.org

You may download a PDF of these guidelines here
You may apply for the Clarence John Laughlin Award here