Leica x 1854 Commission Series

Over the next three months, the Leica x 1854 Commission Series will select one winning photographer each month to produce a creative body of work using Leica equipment. Here, we introduce the first theme in the series, ‘Witnesses of: The Everyday’.

We are all witnesses to moments of beauty amidst the mundane: ones that emerge suddenly and pass fleetingly through our daily lives. But can you capture them on camera? 

Saul Leiter would sit in a cafe in New York and watch an unremarkable patch of pavement, waiting for a moment. Stephen Shore would walk through Manhattan all day, photographing the street corner of each and every block. Vivian Maier would secretly stalk the streets of Chicago with her camera, often capturing the shapeshifting form of her own shadow. 

As part of the new Leica x 1854 Commission Series, we’ll be launching three commissions over three months, each with its own theme as the brief. Photographers are invited to apply for the commissions by submitting 10 images from their archive to give us a feel for their work, alongside a short description of their proposed project.

This month, in collaboration with 1854, Leica will commission one photographer to create a personal body of work under the theme Witnesses of: The Everyday.

The winning photographer will be given a £5,000 commission fee to develop a unique body of work centred around The Everyday, and will be provided Leica equipment for use throughout the duration of the commission. The winner will also secure a place on the newly acclaimed Leica Lab course, regarded as one of the industry’s most respected online educational courses for developing photographic artists.

The Leica Lab programme is an exclusive learning experience with a focus on commercial photography and content creation. Each two week intensive course is led online by industry leaders, with labs this year focused on portraiture, community, and landscape photography. Photographers will be challenged and supported by industry experts and peers to help broaden their skill set and evolve their visual language.

The deadline to apply for the Witnesses of: The Everyday commission is 1st April 2021. Applications will be judged by an expert panel from 1854 and Leica. The selected photographer will shoot their series between 26th April and 17th May 2021. 

In future months, Leica x 1854 Commission Series will return with new themes inspired by Leica’s The World Deserves Witnesses global campaign. So stay tuned.

This commission is open exclusively to 1854 Access Members. Apply now.