Thursday 12 June 2008

Ian Parry Scholarship-Open for Entries!


























2007 Winner Ivor Pickett

If success begets success then this years Ian Parry Scholarship promises to be another brilliant event and will surely root out some fine talent. Ian Parry was a photojournalist who died whilst on assignment for the Sunday Times during the Romanian revolution in 1989. He was just 24 years old. The Scholarship was set up by Aidan Sullivan, then picture editor of the Sunday Times and Ian’s friends and family in order to build something positive from such a tragic death.

Each year a competition is held for photographers who are either attending a full-time recognised photography course or who are 24 years old and under. Entrants must submit a digital portfolio of their work to their FTP and a brief synopsis of a project they would undertake if they won the award. There are, of course,some hefty cash prizes up for grabs.Currently the prize is £3,000 towards their assignment and £500 to those awarded highly commended and commended.

As you can imagine this is a significant prize for a photographer and coupled with the continued support of The Sunday Times Magazine, which publishes the winner's work, the scholarship provides an excellent launch into a professional photography career. Year after year, the award has highlighted the work of some of the industry’s finest emerging talent, all of whom have progressed into professional careers and still support the award.

A first this year is that World Press Photo will automatically accept the winner onto their final list of nominees for the Joop Swart Masterclass in Amsterdam. This is because of so many of our previous winners having attended this prestigious event in recent years.

The 2008 jury are: Don McCullin Patron, Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos & 2002 Winner, Tom Stoddart Getty Images, Tony Chambers Editor-in-Chief Wallpaper* magazine, Cheryl Newman Photography Director Saturday Telegraph magazine, John Downing Trustee, Steve Blogg Getty Images, Stephen Reid Art Director Sunday Times magazine and Ian’s family. Judging will be held on the 1st July at the Frontline Club in London.

In true time honoured fashion, the extremely popular and well-attended print exhibition will take place in London at the Getty Images Gallery. The exhibition will run from the 7th August to the 16th August 2008.

The Ian Parry Scholarship 2008 deadline is Friday 20th June 2008.All applications must be digital.FTP instructions and the application are available from www.ianparry.org

For queries please email Rebecca McClelland, Deputy Director of the Ian Parry Scholarship on: becky@ianparry.org

Good luck everybody!