Wait, what is this? Deloitte Italy and Fondazione Deloitte [Deloitte Foundation] are handing out tens of thousands of euros in a photo competition centered around the subject of “proximites.” Why? According to the rules, because “Deloitte wishes to be a promoter of tangible support for contemporary cultural production and to serve as an observatory of the emerging art scene.” Apparently they’ve been doing this for a couple years now with the goal the Deloitte Photo Grant becoming “one of the world’s most important awards for photography within the contemporary art arena.” And we’re just now hearing about it.
Dang Italians and their art appreciation.
From the project’s website:
Deloitte’s Photo Grant, under the artistic direction of Denis Curti, aims to stimulate social reflection and, through intellectual awareness, promotes the theme Proximities, offering two grants totaling 75,000 euros ($85.5k USD).
With this initiative, Fondazione Deloitte seeks to provide concrete support for contemporary cultural production and establish itself as an observatory of the emerging artistic landscape.
Deloitte’s Photo Grant aims to visually document the daily struggles for the advancement of human rights (for everyone, with no exceptions) and, at the same time, the rejection of all forms of discrimination.
Through the photographic language, the goal is to give a voice to those who are often unheard, laying the groundwork for the creation of a free space dedicated to dialogue, where images can significantly contribute to fostering a constructive discussion on an urgent and relevant issue.
Let’s dig deeper into that theme, shall we?
The theme of the 2026 edition of Deloitte’s Photo Grant is Proximities, an invitation to tell and investigate the new forms of distance that characterize our era, a distance that is not only physical but arises from economic polarization, technological mediation, and social fragmentation. Photography can reveal these separations by observing how bodies inhabit spaces and how communities retreat behind screens and rhythms that reduce attention and relationships, highlighting the micro-relationships that endure in everyday life and what remains or disappears in the visible. The theme also invites reflection on what holds communities together despite the pressures of the present, and how photography can make these forms of proximity and distance legible.
Sounds like someone with a creative eye could make an impressive spread of photos demonstrating the pressures of the present at work in the modern public accounting workspace.
Open call submissions are open to all photographers under age 35 and are due by June 14. AI-generated images are allowed as long as they are clearly labeled as such. According to the rules, the competition is “not subject to geographical or
academic restrictions, and no exclusions or other restrictions apply (e.g., language, race, religion, gender, etc.)” beyond the under 35 rule.
Here’s a video from last year’s exhibition. We trust you can figure out how to turn auto-translated subtitles on.
Rules etc here.
