Apply Aperture Portfolio Prize 2025 (Up to $5,000 cash prize)

The Aperture Portfolio Prize 2025 portal are now open, The Aperture Portfolio Prize is an international competition that aims to identify trends in contemporary photography and highlight artists whose work deserves greater recognition. Apply Here

Application Deadline: 11 January 2025, 5:59 AM

Who hosts this contest?

• Aperture is a nonprofit publisher that leads conversations around photography worldwide.

What’s the theme?

• Judges are looking for a theme or topic unique to each artist carried throughout the portfolio in a fully resolved, consistent manner. There is no one overarching theme for the prize.

What Winners Receive?

• First Prize: The first-prize winner will be published in Aperture magazine and will receive a $5,000 cash prize, a $1,000 gift card to shop for gear at Mpb.com, and a presentation organized by Aperture in New York City.
• Shortlist: The four artists chosen for the shortlist will each receive a $1,000 cash prize and an editorial feature on Aperture.org.
• All Finalists: All five finalists will receive exposure across Aperture’s email campaigns and social media channels, which reach a global audience of prominent curators, critics, artists, and members of the photography community.

What can be submitted?

• The jurors are expecting to see a number of images that equate to a range, i.e., a portfolio of images. We will not accept submissions that contain fewer than 10 images or greater than 15 images.

Judging Criteria

When examining entries, judges will consider the following criteria:

• Was the work created in the past five years?
• Is a theme or topic carried throughout the portfolio in a fully resolved, consistent manner?
• Are all the images individually strong?
• What technical and presentation choices has the photographer made? Are they appropriate for the work? For example, is there a clear reason for the work being in black and white – versus a digitally enhanced palette?
• Does the body of work take an innovative or unique approach to the subject matter?

Entry Requirements

• The sole entry requirement for entering the Portfolio Prize is to be an Aperture magazine print subscriber. Subscriptions must be current through Spring 2025, issue 258.

Aperture is a nonprofit publisher that leads conversations around photography worldwide. From our base in New York, Aperture connects global audiences and supports artists through our acclaimed quarterly magazine, books, exhibitions, digital platforms, public programs, limited-edition prints, and awards. Established in 1952 to advance “creative thinking, significantly expressed in words and photographs,” Aperture champions photography’s vital role in nurturing curiosity and encouraging a more just, tolerant society.

Eligibility

• Entries are welcome from anyone who makes photographs. This program is inclusive, and work will not be chosen on the basis of the status of the photographer. It is the portfolio that counts.

How To Apply

Upload

• 1 project per submission
•  to 15 files per project
• Allowed file types: JPG
• At least 3000px on the long edge

Click Here and Apply