The Competition

The Focus Project provides tools to launch the careers of emerging photographers. Portfolios in our system are seen by tens of thousands of visitors every month coming from every corner of the globe.

Throughout the course of The Focus Project, selected photographers will be prominently featured on our homepage and will have a chance at life-changing awards, world-wide acclaim, a red-carpet New York City reception and more than $75,000 in awards to fund your passion: taking incredible photos.

lensEveryone who participates in The Focus Project will be given the tools to gain international exposure for their work. Every Focus Project photographer will receive a sleek online portfolio that can be found in our searchable database, discoverable by editors, agents, enthusiasts and collectors.

By participating with The Focus Project, you retain all the rights to your photos. Our goal is simply to connect you to the next level of your career.

We love photography. It’s time to focus on what matters most in our lives.

Your Deadline for this week is Sunday, at 11:59 PM EST Participating with The Focus Project is only $14 per month.

Artists Wanted is a collaborative project between several New York City artists and creative organizations working to build new lasting opportunities for creative talent. We have experienced first hand the difficulties in breaking into the creative industries and it is our mission to make this process more welcoming, dynamic and open-ended. We work with photographers of all types, finding different opportunities from gallery shows to paid commissions and everything in between.

JPG Magazine is for people who love image-making without attitude. It’s about the kind of photography you get when you love the moment more than the camera. It’s for photographers who, like us, have found themselves sharing their work online, and would love to see that work in print.

The Judging

Your work will be reviewed by head curator: Daria Brit Shapiro. A contemporary art curator and critic, Daria has an expansive view of photography gained from a decade working with photographers from across the spectrum. In addition to being a Consulting Curator for the internationally renowned Scope Art Show, her curated exhibitions have garnered acclaim in The New York Times, Art in America, Contemporary Magazine, Time Out New York, Artnet, and other publications. Daria’s writings have been seen in Blackbook, Flavorpill, Artkrush, NY Arts, among others. Currently the Head Curator for Artists Wanted, Daria lives in New York City, New York.

Previous Judges

Whitney Johnson is the photo editor at The New Yorker where she produces and researches photographs for international, political, and cultural stories, including award-winning portfolios on the United States military and world leaders. She also contributes to the magazine’s photography blog, “Photo Booth”, and is an adjunct professor at the Columbia Journalism School. Prior to joining the magazine, Whitney worked at the Open Society Foundations, where she coordinated an international grant competition for documentary photographers and the “Moving Walls” exhibition, produced multimedia pieces for the website, and curated a series of public programs with photographers.

Jon Feinstein is a photographer, curator and the Co-Founder and Curatorial Director of Humble Arts Foundation, a New York based not-for-profit committed to supporting and promoting new art photography. Feinstein has curated numerous exhibitions, most recently including “31 Women in Art Photography”, “Group Show: Taschen” at Taschen Books NYC and “Women in Art Photography UK” at Taschen Books London. He also recently edited and oversaw the direction of Humble‘s publication, The Collectors Guide To New Art Photography, which will be available in early 2011, and wrote the introduction for Irina Rozovsky’s upcoming monograph “One To Nothing,” published by Kehrer Verlag. He has also served as a juror and guest critic for numerous portfolio reviews including Powerhouse Books, ICP, and Review Santa Fe. His own work has been exhibited throughout the United States, most recently in the group show “Tuesday” curated by amani olu at Mixed Greens Gallery.
Lauren Schneiderman is a freelance editor for Visura Media and Fotovisura inc., as well as a documentary photographer. She studied photography and multimedia studies while at the Salt Institute in Portland, Me. Lauren is dedicated to supporting and exposing emerging visual artists. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.