Tender Photos has announced Tender Visions, a cross-disciplinary commissioning program designed to support and elevate the work of photographers and writers based on the African continent. Funded by the Open Society Foundation, this initiative seeks to foster collaborative, community-rooted storytelling through image and text. The deadline to apply is July 15, 2025.

Tender Photos is a digital platform for African photography and visual storytelling, co-founded by Nigerian writers Emmanuel Iduma and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. They aim to “contribute to nuanced and layered perceptions of the continent by publishing narratives about the people, places, and events pictured in photographs, while promoting the work of visual storytellers and photographers.”

Through an open call, Tender Visions will commission eight photographers and sixteen writers to develop original, theme-based projects that explore layered narratives emerging from African communities. Selected photographers will receive £1000 (or local equivalent) to produce a new body of work comprising 40–50 images, of which 20–30 will be published. Writers, who will be paired with photographers, will produce creative or critical texts of 3000–4000 words in response to the visual work. Writers will receive a fee of £750 (or local equivalent), with travel stipends available on a case-by-case basis.

Photographers must be based in Africa to apply. Writers based on the continent are strongly encouraged to apply, though submissions from the African diaspora will also be considered.

At the core of Tender Visions are five thematic entry points that invite reflection on identity, memory, space, and community:

  • Inner Lives – Photographs that explore interior settings as expressions of belonging and intimacy.

  • The Aftermath – Visual meditations on post-conflict spaces and the lingering presence of trauma or resilience.

  • In Community – Stories about how people live and connect in diverse and complex African communities.

  • Faces – A reimagining of portraiture that expands the possibilities of representing human identity.

  • General – A space for proposals that don’t fit the above but offer compelling, original visions.

Read the full details for themes and application requirements here.

Applications close on July 15, 2025, 11.59pm GMT. Photographers should apply here, and writers should apply here.