Ronan Guillou Grant 2026: Photography and the Sea

The Ronan Guillou Grant supports a photographic project about the relationship between humans and the sea. Created by Eyes Wide Open, a non-profit linked to the photography platform The Eyes, its fourth edition is open to professional photographers from Europe and the southern shores of the Mediterranean. The selected photographer receives €4,000, spends up to two months in Sète, in the south of France, and exhibits the work in autumn 2027. Entry is free, and applications close on 15 November 2026.

The grant aims to restore a shared meaning to our cultures around the sea and to engage with the essential issues facing the ocean.

The Theme

Projects should explore the challenges facing our future in relation to the sea, or offer a progressive, engaged or activist view that can raise collective awareness. Possible subjects include:

• Ecology and the state of the ocean
• Human activities at sea and on the coast
• Transmission and heritage
• Economic and geopolitical challenges
• The links between the Occitanie region and other parts of the Mediterranean basin

What the Winner Receives

• €4,000: €3,000 in fees and €1,000 as a per diem
• Five months to develop the project, including up to two months on site
• Accommodation in Sète for two months between February and June 2027
• An exhibition at the Musée de l'Étang de Thau in Bouzigues, during the second FLOW Biennial

Who Can Apply for the Ronan Guillou Grant?

Professional photographers from Europe and from the southern shores of the Mediterranean. It suits documentary, environmental and artistic photographers with a clear idea for a project connected to the sea and the Mediterranean.

Fees

There is no entry fee.

How to Apply

Applications are made through the call on The Eyes website. Prepare a clear project proposal explaining your subject, your approach and why it matters now, with a portfolio of previous work and a plan for how you would use the time on site.

About the Organisers

The Eyes is a platform for contemporary photography that includes a journal, publishing activities and The Eyes Lab, its creative and research workshop. FLOW is an annual programme in the Occitanie region whose main event is an artistic route through heritage sites. The fourth edition of the grant is supported by Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée, M28 Terres de culture, the Musée de l'Étang de Thau, Hahnemühle and the Tomoe laboratory.

Tips for Applying

Be specific: a focused story about one community, coastline or issue is stronger than a general project about "the sea". Show how you would use the two months on site, and how the project could connect with the Mediterranean context of Sète and the Étang de Thau lagoon.

The Setting

Sète is a port town on the Mediterranean coast of Occitanie, between the sea and the Étang de Thau, a large saltwater lagoon known for its oyster and mussel farming. The exhibition venue, the Musée de l'Étang de Thau in Bouzigues, sits on the lagoon's shore. This setting may help shape your proposal, whether your project is about fishing communities, coastal ecology or life by the water.

Things to Consider

• Free to enter.
• Professional photographers only.
• Europe and the southern Mediterranean.
• Deadline: 15 November 2026.

Apply for the Grant

Have a project about people and the sea?

Apply for the Ronan Guillou Grant

The call and application details are on The Eyes website.

Looking for more open calls? Browse all competitions and opportunities on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: November 4, 2026