Capturing Culture: How to apply

Days of significance and cultural celebration

Photos of an important day of significance that multicultural communities celebrate or recognise here in Victoria. These cultural days and events have played an important role in creating connections during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Faces

This category will showcase the faces of our multicultural communities and the important stories captured behind them. We encourage you to submit refreshing takes on human portraiture, whether taken inside or outside a studio, planned or sporadic, of anyone in your community.

Daily life

Whether it is sharing a meal, or connecting with family, the experiences in our daily lives that brought comfort and support during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will be rewarded in this category.

Resilience

The resilience of our multicultural communities throughout hardship and overcoming hardship will be celebrated in this category.

An award will be given to the winner of each of the above four categories.

In addition, we are excited to run the following two awards, for which every eligible entry will automatically be considered:

Minister's Award for Multicultural Photography

The winner of this award will be chosen by the Victorian Minister of Multicultural Affairs, The Hon. Ros Spence MP.

People’s Choice

The winner of this award will be chosen by the public. A shortlist of entries will be shared via the VMC’s social media channels and voted upon by the community – let their voices be heard!

Prizes and opportunities will be awarded to the collective amount of $9,000 across 6 awards and may include:

• a monetary prize
• photography equipment or voucher
• a mentoring session with a renowned photographer and/or film industry leader
• a winning print or merchandise
• a large-scale display of their work in a public place.

To be eligible, all submissions must meet the following requirements:

• The Work must be created and developed prior to the Closing Date.
• Applicant must be over the age of eighteen as at the Closing Date.
• Applicant must be based in Victoria and the Applicant identifies as being from a multicultural or multifaith background.
• The Work must correlate thematically to one of the Categories.
• The Work must not include any sensitive or inappropriate content, themes or imagery. It must not degrade or defame any persons or contain any false, misleading, infringing, abusive, defamatory or threatening content.
• The Work may be manipulated with the use of technology or a mix of artistic mediums, however, such manipulation must be clearly outlined within the Work’s description.
• The Work must be original and solely owned by the Applicant.
• The Work must be photo-based artwork, including analogue and digital photography or staged and directorial photomedia work.
• VMC reserves the right to verify the validity of the Work and reserves the right to disqualify any Applicant for submitting Work that is not in accordance with these Conditions or if the Applicant has engaged in any misconduct or unlawful actions to jeopardise the proper conduct of the Competition.
• Applicant(s) may submit artwork on behalf of a group or organisation. The group may decide how to split any prizes awarded (monetary or otherwise).
• You can also submit your artwork via email to vmcphotography@think-hq.com.au. Please attach your photograph, and provide us with your name, photograph title, and preferred competition category (outlined below). A Capturing Culture team member will respond with an email confirmation.

Selection

A dedicated panel of judges consisting of experts in the photography and visual arts sector, and community leaders from Victoria’s multicultural communities, will be provided with a detailed assessment criteria to guide selection of winning entries.

Assessment criteria

Assessment criteria will include:

• whether the Work meets all eligibility criteria and includes necessary components;
• whether the Applicant’s statement aligns with sharing personal experiences or stories of multicultural communities in Victoria during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
• whether the Work will authentically present as having been created by, with and for the Victorian multicultural community.

All submissions must be submitted in English via Film Freeway and include:

• the photographic image in jpeg/png format
• the title, year and category for submission
• an artist biography (100 words)
• an artwork statement explaining the story told by the image (200 words).

A Frequently Asked Questions document on how to submit to the competition will be available shortly in the following languages:

• Simplified Chinese (简体中文)
• Vietnamese (tiếng Việt)
• Traditional Chinese (繁體中文)
• Khmer (ខ្មែរ)
• Korean (한국어) 
• Arabic ( العربية)
• Dari (دری)
• Karen (ကညီကျိ)
• Assyrian (ܐܵܬܘܿܪܵܝܵܐ ܟܲܠܕܵܝܵܐ)
• Chin (Hakha Chin)

If you require assistance from an interpreter to talk through any of the above, please email vmcphotography@think-hq.com.au.

The VMC has developed terms and conditions for this competition that should be read by all applicants before submitting your photograph.

Click to read the terms and conditions