RPS Postgraduate Bursary

As part of The RPS remit as an educational charity we offer an annual bursary of £3,500 in support of a postgraduate student. For this bursary, photography is interpreted in its widest sense to include digital and traditional photographic media, the art and science of photography and image based written work.

Applications are invited from postgraduate students on courses in photography or undertaking research in photography. Applications must be written in English if applying from abroad. Applicants can apply at any stage of their studies but must demonstrate a specific outcome for their proposed project.

ENTRIES NOW OPEN FOR 2023: bursaries.rps.org

Closes 13 June 2023

For further info click here

Recipient 2021/22

Jimmi Ho is the recipient of the RPS Postgraduate Bursary for 2021/22.

He describes his work in his own words:

"By capturing the tranquil moments in daily life, my photography documents the Hong Kong border and Hong Kong immigrants in the UK. It explores the impact related to geopolitics and the social environment between Hong Kong and the UK.

I rely on intuition and devote myself to creating a poetic language of photography, using nature's growth and migration metaphor. I attempt to record the finiteness of Hong Kong people and the calmness that arises in the environment."

Recipient 2020/21

Brook Andrew is an artist of Wiradjrui (Australian First Nations) and Celtic ancestry, based in Melbourne Australia. His interdisciplinary practice spans photography, sculpture, installation, painting and printmaking. Since 1996 he has worked with ethnographic museum collections to reimagine the representation of Indigenous peoples and challenge dominant narratives relating to colonialism and inherited histories.

Recipient 2019/20

Inspired by the current political climate, Cocoa Laney returned to her home state of Alabama for a six-week road trip, meeting and staying with diverse young women along the way.

Her project documents the trip and her encounters. It is an exploration of womanhood, shame, and Southern identity in 2019.

Supported by one of the UK’s leading photographic traders, MPB

Read Cocoa's project creation tips

Ioanna Sakellaraki 1 — **CREDIT:** Ioanna Sakellaraki

Recipient 2018/19

Ioanna Sakellaraki received the 2018 Postgraduate Bursary. After her father passed away three years ago, Ioanna returned to her homeland Greece and followed her mother’s behaviour as a believer, seeking shelter in the wider system of religious traditions and cultural beliefs. As the project advanced and while inspired by the origins of ancient Greek laments, she dwelled within traditional communities of the last female professional mourners inhabiting the Mani peninsula of Greece looking for traces of bereavement and grief and documenting the rituals around death.

More about the project and images

Recipient 2017/18

Cebe Loomis's photographic project focused on the largest historical landmark site in the United States, Virginia City, Nevada. Dedicated to unpacking the identities of the residential population, as well as the town¹s built and natural environments, this project aimed to create an understanding of complex American traditions.

Drawing from theories of space and memory, her project incorporated ethnographic text, analogue photography as well as ambient and interview audioscapes, each working to relay the stories and voices that make up Virginia City.

8. James Morgan Postgraduate Winner 2009 2 — **CREDIT:** James Morgan

Recipient 2009/2010

James Morgan's project on the Bajau Laut, a nomadic marine community who ply the waters between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines using traditional breathe hold techniques to dive for fish and other seafood.

A quote from James:

"None of this would have been possible without the support of the RPS bursary, it has opened many doors for me, both photographically and in enabling me to travel to places and experience other cultures, that I wouldn’t otherwise been able to do. I’m very excited to continue the project and to continue my exploration of the space where documentary photography and environmental activism overlap."

More about James' project