Project Groundswell (2024 - 2026)
- Project Type
- Photography
- Title
- Project Groundswell (2024 - 2026)
- Release Date
- 2024
- Irish Partner
- Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin (Lead Partner)
- Co-Partners
- Lead Partner: Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin
- Cedilhas E Legendas, Portugal
- FOTOHOF, Verein zur Forderung die Autorenfotografie, Austria
- On The Move, Italy
- Funding Strand
- Cooperation Projects (Small)
- Year Funded
- 2024
- Funding Amount
- €200,000
For Project Groundswell: new perspectives on climate action in Europe (2024 – 2026) four leading photo organisations in Europe have come together to create new funded opportunities for artists to develop and exhibit photographic work focusing on climate action. The lead partner of the project is Photo Museum Ireland in Dublin.
Project Groundswell offers opportunities for artists and cultural professionals to develop skills in environmentally sustainable practices. Audiences will have the opportunity to experience exhibitions and photobook publications and engage with issues of sustainability in meaningful ways.
About Project Groundswell
Public awareness of climate change is high: what is required now is to transform this into climate action, and to raise awareness of effective responses to climate change that exist today. Project Groundswell uses the visual storytelling power and popular appeal of photography to address this need.
Aims
- New funded opportunities for artists to develop and exhibit photographic work focusing on climate action.
- New opportunities for artists and cultural professionals to develop skills in environmentally sustainable practices.
- Opportunities for audiences to visit high quality exhibitions and to engage with issues of sustainability in meaningful ways.
- Opportunities for global audiences to engage with the project through photobook publications and through exciting audiovisual content on social media and on this website.
Actions
- Four Artists’ projects will be produced for a major Curated Exhibition selected from an Open Call by an international Jury.
- The exhibition will be presented in four leading European galleries/festivals: Fotohof, Salzburg; Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin; Cortona on the Move, Tuscany; Imago Lisboa Festival, Lisbon.
- Publication of Four Monograph Photobooks provide a lasting record of the work.
- Dynamic Family and Schools Engagement Programmes accompany the exhibitions.
- Twelve artists supported to create high quality audiovisual shorts of their projects.
- Three Free Online Training Workshops to develop skills in environmentally sustainable practice.
- Ten Artists supported to take part in free Portfolio Reviews with international photo experts.
- Finale Outdoor Projections, discussion panels and in conversation events, in the context of COP31.
Project Groundswell exhibition in Photo Museum Ireland runs from 21 February to 12 April 2026.
‘Project Groundswell is a climate action contemporary photography project that invites artists to respond to the global challenge of climate change. At a time when awareness of environmental issues is at an all-time high, Project Groundswell aims to take the next step: turning awareness into tangible action through the evocative power of photography. It brings together four international cultural institutions: Cortona On The Move (Italy), Fotohof Salzburg (Austria), Imago Lisboa (Portugal), and Photo Museum Ireland (Ireland) through a shared programme of climate action training, exhibitions, publications and audiovisual content that connects audiences with pressing sustainability issues.’ Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin
Irish Partner
Photo Museum Ireland is the national centre for contemporary photography, dedicated to advancing the development, appreciation and understanding of photography and visual culture across Ireland. Photo Museum Ireland stimulates debate and new perspectives on the role of the photographic image in society through innovative exhibitions and programmes that address important artistic, cultural, and societal issues.