At its first edition, VID Grant seeks to support emerging visual storytellers, photographers and artists from the Balkans to create or complete a compelling, nonstereotypical and
The VID Foundation for Photography is pleased to announce the winners: Marija Mandić (Winner VID Grant Financial Prize), Matej Jurčević and Vera Hadzhiyska (Winners VID Grant mentorship).
Their work will be exhibited in the Netherlands as well as in the Balkans in order to promote new, untold perspectives and representations of social, cultural and physical landscapes in the Balkans. The exhibitions will portray various, relevant social issues to broaden perceptions of Balkan countries through the medium of photography.
For this year’s edition, the VID Foundation for Photography received a total of 85 submissions, with all of our target countries in the Balkan region represented (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia). The selection of the winners of the VID Grant was made by an international and independent Jury composed of 8 experts from the industry, who based their choice on artistic merit, motivation of the artist, novelty of approach and relevance of the theme.
Here’s what the Jury had to say about the winners:
Marija Mandić from Serbia
© Marija Mandić
“Marija Mandić’s project captured the imagination of the jurors, standing apart from the other entrants as her story, which mixes family history with mythology, exposes how women are often expunged from ancestral stories. There’s a poetic sense that emerges from Marija’s reconstruction of her own family record, offering a story that feels both personal and universal. We can’t wait to see how Marija develops this work.”
Matej Jurčević from Croatia
© Matej Jurčević
“Matej Jurčević’s images, there was little doubt in our minds that we were dealing with a young but talented photographer. There’s a closeness between him and the people he captured in his work that’s undeniable, and we felt that a mentorship could only be beneficial for the development of Matej’s craft and storytelling.”
Vera Hadzhiyska from Bulgaria
© Vera Hadzhiyska
“Vera Hadzhiyska was an instant favorite for many of us. Her careful and yet so colorful aesthetics make for such a strong visual project – one that deals with a subject that remains taboo in the Balkan region. It is our hope that awarding Vera with this mentorship will not only help her develop the next installment of this work, but also help her spread awareness of the forced name-change policies that have impacted Bulgaria’s Muslims for most of the 20th century.”
To learn more visit the website www.vidfoundation.com