Flickr and Black Women Photographers Announce $10,000 Grant for Black Female and Non-Binary Photographers

Fourth annual program will award its largest grant to date live at the inaugural MODE by Flickr festival \nthis September in Minneapolis

SAN FRANCISCO, July 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Flickr announced the return of its annual grant program with Black Women Photographers (BWP), a global community, directory, and support hub with over 2,100 Black and African creatives across more than 60 countries and 35 U.S. states. Now, in its fourth year, the partnership is dedicated to expanding access, visibility, and career opportunities across the photography industry. The grant will award $10,000, its largest to date, to a Black creative who will be announced live on stage at the first-ever MODE by Flickr festival, taking place September 18-20 in Minneapolis.

Chosen by a panel of judges including BWP Founder, Polly Irungu, Flickr Community Manager, MacKenzie Joslin, 2025 grant recipient and guest judge, Éléonore Menga, and the Flickr Community team, this year's grant recipient will also win a two-year Flickr Pro membership and a one-year SmugMug Pro membership. Ten additional selected photographers will also receive a one-year Flickr Pro membership and a one-year SmugMug Pro membership for their work. These memberships reflect Flickr and BWP's shared commitment to making careers in photography more accessible to Black and marginalized creatives.

"Black Women Photographers is home to an incredible network of artists and storytellers, " said Crystal Duarte, Director of Marketing at Flickr. "We're excited to partner with an organization built on inclusivity and community values that go hand-in-hand with the self-expression and individuality we celebrate at Flickr."

Guiding this year's submissions is "Traces of Connection," a theme selected by Éléonore Menga which invites photographers to explore the visible and invisible threads that connect people, places, memories, environments, and identities. Applicants are encouraged to submit work that reflects intimacy, belonging, memory, distance, and the lingering impact of human connection.

"Creating access and opportunity for Black and African women creatives has always been at the heart of our mission," said Polly Irungu, Founder of Black Women Photographers. "We're proud to continue our partnership with Flickr and the opportunities it creates for photographers to grow their careers, share their work, and connect with a broader creative community."

Applications are open now through August 3, 2026. To be eligible, applicants must:

1. Be a member of the Black Women Photographers organization
2. Join the Black Women Photographers Flickr Community
3. Submit one photograph inspired by the theme "Traces of Connection" to the BWP Flickr Community
4. Share a brief description of how the image connects to the theme

More information about the partnership is available at blackwomenphotographers.com/smugmug-flickr.

About Flickr
Flickr, founded in 2004, is the world's largest photography community, committed to elevating the memories, artistry, and impact of all your photos. Fueled by passionate photographers for 20 years, Flickr provides users with the safest and most inclusive platform for sharing and connecting through photos and videos. Since its acquisition by SmugMug in 2018, these united brands have created the most influential photography-focused community in the world.

About Black Women Photographers
Founded by Polly Irungu, and launched in July of 2020, Black Women Photographers (BWP) is a global community, directory, and hub of over 2,100 Black and African women creatives, spanning over 60 countries and 35+ U.S. states. Black Women Photographers is a home for Black women to receive proper recognition, and, most importantly, get hired. Dedicated to providing a resource for the industry's gatekeepers, it supports its members through promoting their work in an active database distributed to photo editors, directors, curators, and art buyers. The collective also offers free educational resources such as regular programming of webinars, workshops, training, grants, and portfolio reviews. To date, BWP has provided over $185,000 in financial grants to Black creatives, plus brand-new mirrorless Nikon gear. Through conversation, workshops, educational resources, virtual and in-person events, and an active directory of photographers available for hire, BWP is committed to providing a home for Black women-identifying photographers to increase access to professional and paid opportunities for Black creatives around the world.

SOURCE Flickr