Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography 2025
Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation (SSAF) is pleased to announce the eighth edition of the Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography.
The Umrao Singh Sher-Gil (USG) Grant for Photography was established in 2015 in the name of Vivan Sundaram’s grand-father, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil (1870–1954), a photographer of exceptional talent, whose principal subjects were his family and himself. He produced a family album of vast proportions, and his self-portraits spanning almost 60 years make up a unique archive. In 2007, the first retrospective exhibition of Umrao Singh’s vintage prints was held at the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival in France, followed by exhibitions at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi and Mumbai, India. Umrao Singh is regarded as a pioneering figure of the mise-en-scène or staged photography in India.
This year marks a decade since the Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography was established. For the USG Grant 2025, SSAF pledges two grants of INR 5,00,000 each, to photography projects working with staged/constructed images and to documentary photography, while recognising the blurred boundaries between the methodologies and forms of both genres.
Application Procedure
Please combine soft copies of the documents/materials listed below in a single folder and upload it on any cloud-based file-sharing platform (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.). Share the link to the folder in the relevant section in the application form. Please ensure that access to the link is shared with usg.photogrant@gmail.com and that the link does not expire before 23 November 2025.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be Indian citizens who reside in India.
- There is no age limit for applicants.
- Individuals as well as collaborative projects may apply.
- Applicants must not hold any other fellowship/grant/prize for their proposed project.
- Applicants may propose either an ongoing project that needs financial assistance for completion or a new body of work.
- Proposals for making photobooks or any form of exhibition production do not fall within the remit of the grant.
Application Requirements
- Biography
- Project Proposal & Artist’s Statement
- Portfolio
- Timeline
- Budget
Please click here for to know more about the word count, format, and guidelines.
Selection Process and Timeline
- The last date for submission of applications is 1 November 2025.
- An independent 3-person jury will select the two grantees.
- Shortlisted applicants will be informed by 21 November 2025. The jury will conduct online interviews with only the shortlisted applicants on 21 November 2025.
- The announcement of the grantees will be made at a public programme in Delhi on 23 November 2025.
Please note that due to a large volume of applications, only shortlisted applicants will be informed by 21 November 2025. The two selected grantees will be informed by 22 November 2025, and they will be invited to attend the public programme in Delhi on 23 November 2025.
For any queries, please write to us at usg.photogrant@gmail.com or call at (+91-11) 46170894 (11 am–5pm, Monday through Friday)
