Explorer's Grant
Calling all Creative Visionaries, Storytellers and Pioneers!
If you’re an Australian photographer or filmmaker with a deserving story to tell, problem to solve or positive impact to make, either locally or globally, the CameraPro Explorer’s Grant is your chance to make it happen and make it known.
Established by CameraPro in 2018, the Explorer’s Grant is designed to support change-making initiatives and raise awareness of them through photography/video.
Three successful 2019 applicants will receive a total of $25,000 in funding ($10,000 for travel and production, $10,000 to donate to causes and $5,000 for promotion).
In 2018, the Explorer’s Grant helped to support and promote these remarkable initiatives:
- Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre – a refugee-led school in Indonesia teaching 1,500 refugee children from Afghanistan unable to attend local schools
- Meet the Ocean – an educational non-profit using virtual reality to inspire/teach the public about marine conservation and rehabilitate kids in hospital
- Rafiki Africa Ministries, Buwooya Mission School, EthiopiAid and Action Ethiopia – locally run Ugandan and Ethiopian aid organisations assisting disadvantaged children, women and local farmers
“So grateful to CameraPro who funded this trip to be able to tell the stories of small organisations who often don’t have the resources to be able to tell their story to an international audience”
– Marcus Wong (filmmaker, graphic designer & 2018 Explorer’s Grant recipient)
Congratulations to our 2019 Explorer's Grant Recipients!
Sarah Osborn is a Brisbane-based documentary photographer and photojournalist. Sarah’s many notable achievements include serving as the Artist in Residence at the Mater Children's Hospital School, exhibiting work for previous Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and travelling to India as the Emotion21 photographer for the 2015 World Down Syndrome Congress.
Sarah’s winning project, What remains here now?, continues her work with Forgotten Australians, giving voice to survivors of institutional care as they seek justice against their abusers.
Grant: $3000 for charity (PACT), $3000 for project
Originally from Sydney, Natalia Mroz is a Kenya-based photographer, writer and audiovisual producer. She has spent 15 years documenting social and environmental issues for the United Nations, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and assorted development and wildlife conservation NGOs, in countries all over the world.
Natalia’s project, Samburu Tribe and the Grevy's Zebra Trust, engages indigenous African communities to maximise conservation outcomes for endangered species, as an example for global conservation efforts.
Grant: $5000 for cause (Grevy’s Zebra Trust), $5000 for project
What?
CameraPro created The Explorer's Grant to aid Australian storytellers in gaining exposure and support for their cause through photography and videography. The project can last up to 6 months with a focus on communities, business or entrepreneurs making a positive social or environmental impact locally or globally. We are looking for creativity that has impact and a strong reach. (See below for full criteria.)
CameraPro currently collaborates with organisations whose mission aligns with our values. We are constantly looking for new opportunities to get involved in and we want to help you make the world better.
The types of projects supported include:
- Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre – a refugee-led school in Indonesia teaching 1,500 refugee children from Afghanistan unable to attend local schools
- Meet the Ocean – an educational non-profit using virtual reality to inspire/teach the public about marine conservation and rehabilitate kids in hospital
- Rafiki Africa Ministries, Buwooya Mission School, EthiopiAid and Action Ethiopia – locally run Ugandan and Ethiopian aid organisations assisting disadvantaged children, women and local farmers
Funding
We're inviting grant applications from Australian residents who want to educate society and provide support to their cause through photography and videography. Please apply if you consider yourself any of the following:
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Humanitarian
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Environmentalist
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Storyteller
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Narrator
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Innovator
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Pioneer
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Developer
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Groundbreaker
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Trailblazer
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Pathfinder
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Progressivist
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Experimenter
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Inventor/Creator
When?
Applications for 2019 and the recipients have been announced.
Register your interest now for 2020 applications.
How?
- Read our Frequently Asked Questions and Terms & Conditions.
- Complete our application requirements.
Original content creation is a must. Provide up to 10 original images and an original video (up to 2 minutes long) that showcases your storytelling capabilities through your creation and production. Content can be previously created content if you don't have any content on your proposal project. - Successful applicants will have 6 months to document their project with milestone updates being presented in a project plan.
- For successful applicants: On completion of your project we will help facilitate a group presentation, with potential for an exhibition and/or roadshow to help gain exposure for your project.
A focus on communities, businesses or entreprenuers making a positive, social or environmental impact locally or globally.
It's about providing both financial support and exposure to a project. We are not only wanting to support the cause, but also give the financial backing to document the story.
Video and photograhy to document the story, providing context and displaying the impact in the community.
The project must involve travelling and working with a relatively unknown community.
The project must showcase the problem being faced and recommend a use for the available funds.
$10,000 for travel and production
$10,000 cash for the cause
$5,000 partnership and promotion
Jimmy has dedicated his life to understanding and conserving the natural world. He followed his passion, which was to explore the wilderness areas of our planet and understand the animals that live there. After you have seen the things around you, the next step is always to go a little further. Before he knew it his life was one big adventure.
Jimmy's PhD work examined the role of marine protected areas plan in the conservation of shark species.
Jolyon is an Australian filmmaker who's fascinated by subcultures, identity and community. Five years ago Jolyon went to meet a refugee in Indonesia. Almost immediately he met Muzafar and Khadim and their friendship changed all their lives. They still work with each other every day, bringing Australians and refugees together.
Marcus is 20 years old, and is a photographer, filmmaker and graphic designer based in Perth, WA. He believes that communication starts conversation, and conversation sparks change. Marcus volunteered in Uganda, Africa at an orphanage for 3 months, and grew to love working with children and telling their stories. His hope is to bridge the gap between third world countries and Australia by telling the stories of people in Africa through filmmaking and photography. Read more about Marcus and his Grant-winning project.
Martin Stringer is a Melbourne photographer, filmmaker, and cancer survivor whose love of nature has inspired his work with numerous environmental NGOs—including the Wilderness Society, Rainforest Rescue, and GECO—from Australia to remote Nepal.
Martin’s project, Replanting a Rainforest, sets out to raise awareness, funds and seedlings to help restore, protect and buy back the Daintree, Australia's most ancient and biodiverse rainforest.
Grant: $2000 for cause (Rainforest Rescue), $2000 for project