FAQ – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Capa Center, as the founder of the prize and the awarding organization, primarily wishes to encourage the work of the middle generation authors of Hungarian photography with this prize, but the jury may deviate from this in a justified case, after seeing the entries, and checking with the secretary representing the Center.

There is no possibility for direct nominations in the case of the Capa Grand Prize Hungary.

No stages of the grand prize contest are anonymous, so it is not possible to submit an entry anonymously for this contest.

It is any creative communities consisting of at least two and maximum five people, who wish to enter the Capa Grand Prize Hungary contest with a joint artwork. It is not necessary that these groups exist as a separate legal entity; ad hoc creative associations may also enter.

First, a jury selects the three fellows. The three fellows work on their entries for a year, and then the jury chooses the grand prize winner from among them.

The extra entry is selected by the jury in case one of the fellows fails to complete the fellowship year, due to objective reasons beyond his or her control. In such a case, shall the organizer and the jury decide so, the author of the extra entry replaces the fellow in question.

The jury will be able to access all information contained within the entry documentation, about each contestant, whose work they need to assess.

Any author of Hungarian citizenship from anywhere in the world, as well as non-Hungarian citizens who demonstrably live and work in Hungary are eligible to apply if they are older than 30 years old. In the case of groups, at least half of the members must meet these two criteria. Previous winners of the contest (fellowship or prize) are not eligible to enter another contest for two years following their award. Members of winning groups may enter as parts of other groups or with individual entries. There is no other criterion to participating in the contest.

Individual entrants must be over 30 years old, meaning that they must have been born no later than on December 31, 1991. In the case of groups, this must be true for at least half of the members.

Each contestant must upload some already finished photographs with each of their entries. It is not possible to enter with merely a synopsis.

Yes. Only those artworks may not be entered, through which the author already receives any other art grants (for example NKA, MMA, or József Pécsi photography grant).

Yes. It is not the authors, but the already state-sponsored materials that are excluded from entering.
However, it is also worth checking whether the other grant does not preclude the Capa Grand Prize Hungary fellowship.

If the artwork was not created with the financial support of the Capa Center, the answer is yes. Thus, it is possible to enter a photograph exhibited in the Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition, even if it was awarded there.

Once the fellows are named, they cannot submit the material they applied with to any other contests, until the grand prize winner is announced.

Each grand prize is awarded by two juries, each consisting of five Hungarian or international experts, in a “rolling” system, in two stages. In the first year, the jury of the given year decides about the three fellows and the extra entry. In the following year, a new jury chooses the grand prize winner out of the three fellows named the previous year, while it also decides about the three new fellows and the new extra entry for the new contest.

One of the most important things to consider for the jury is the potential they see in the entered artwork and the related synopsis. The curriculum vitae and the earlier works of the contestant are also important, so that the jury can assess, which author could contribute the most to its entered artwork during the fellowship year. Another important factor is whether the entry handles the subject in a socially committed way, applying a wider interpretation of documentary photography, but still utilizing its toolset.

The working language of the jury is exclusively English (but of course each member of the jury has access to the Hungarian version of the full contest material as well).

In order to ensure the fully independent operation of the jury, the jury’s work is private from the beginning to the end, and no information related to the assessment procedure is published, not even after announcing the grand prize winner.

In the first stage of the assessment procedure, the jury does not meet the authors; in this stage we invite the contestants for the announcement of the results, where several members of the jury participate as well. In the second stage of the jury’s work, the three fellows present their finished works to the jury in person, and in English.

The secretary represents the founders of the contest and the awarding organization, that is, the Capa Center, and is also responsible for organizing the contest. The secretary does not have voting right, but he or she is present in all stages of the assessment of the entries. He or she checks whether the artworks meet the requirements of the call for entries. The secretary is also responsible for having the rules of the contest adhered to, and supervises the work of the jury.

After winning the fellowship, each fellow receives HUF 300,000 (about EUR 900 or USD 900) as the first part of their fellowship. They also receive another HUF 200,000 (+VAT), for covering the costs of preparing their presentational exhibition. The remaining part of the fellowship (HUF 200,000) is wire transferred by the center when the contract is fulfilled; that is, when the fellows present their work to the jury at the end of the fellowship, in accordance with the criteria of the call for entries. The payment of the fellowships and the prize may only be requested in Hungarian forints and by wire transfer to a Hungarian bank account.

The jury shall decide, in light of the new direction and the ready artworks, whether the change is in accordance with the spirit of the grand prize contest.

In each year, the materials of the three authors selected for the fellowship are presented at the public announcement in October, and they are published on the website of the grand prize. This is also the time when the three fellows chosen the previous year present their one-year work at the end of their fellowship – in person, publicly, and in English – to the jury, in the form of an exhibition organized at the Capa Center. Based on this presentation the jury decides about the winner of the grand prize. Following the assessment process, the presentational exhibitions of the fellows will be open to the public in the regular opening hours of the Capa Center.

Yes, it is necessary that the contestant speaks English on a conversation level, because the three fellows must present their exhibited work to the jury in person, and in English.

No, this is not necessary, the contestants only have to sign a declaration that they speak English on a conversational level.

The joint exhibition consists of three units, each of which is put together by the fellows themselves in close cooperation with the curator appointed by the Capa Center, in the space designated by the Capa Center.

The compensation is intended to cover the costs related to the creation of the exhibited pictures and their transportation to the Capa Center. The spending of the grant is entirely at the discretion of the fellows. The installation and the promotion of the exhibition is the responsibility of the Capa Center. The exhibition may be visited at the regular opening hours of the Capa Center.

A change compared to previous years is that entries and portfolio works may contain only photos, therefore, it is not possible to upload PDFs and videos.

The description of the artwork is for presenting the series that is already finished and is uploaded together with the application. In the synopsis, or project plan, the candidate explains how he or she intends to complete the work in progress (elaboration of the content and schedule). The installation plan includes suggestions from the entrant on the final form or installation of the work. The final form may be for instance an exhibition, a photo book, or even a website.

No, this is just a possibility. These are not required fields, and they may be left empty.

No, it is only possible to upload and finalize the applications before the deadline. After finalizing the application, there is no possibility for modifying it in any way.

The Capa Center will not obtain the copyright of the works in progress, but it is entitled to use every fellowship-winning work and the related contents (photographs, videos, documentation, books, etc.) in connection with the promotion and the communication of the prize without any limitations. The winner of the grand prize undertakes to indicate the fact of winning the award in all cases when the winning series is published in any form, for five years following the winning of the prize.

Applicants bear full legal responsibility for the entirety of their entries and the pertaining consequences, which may also include the disqualification from the contest.