Skip to main content

2011 marked the advent of the Norwegian Journal of Photography (NJP), providing an arena for photographers to develop and display the full range of their projects. NJP offers an environment that provides encouragement and constructive criticism of works from the perspective of telling stories and building bridges between the more classic documentary photography and art photography.

NJP brings together and supports selected Norwegian documentary photography projects. Our goal is to present Norwegian photography at the international level, and to cultivate the photography community domestically. We aspire to create an inspiring forum in which Norwegian photographers can show their works at the national and international levels alike. NJP is an arena in which photographers can continue to produce relevant, exciting visual stories.

Following a comprehensive evaluation process, projects will be chosen for the fifth edition of NJP. During a two-year cycle, the selected photographers will receive editing assistance as well as help to apply for financial support. They will be taking part in seminars and in a master class with prominent international guest lecturers. All the photographers will also collaborate closely with NJP’s editors as their projects progress.

The objective of NJP has been to create a relevant, representative book of Norwegian documentary photography, showcasing the finest images, combined with powerful storytelling abilities. We encourage photographers to challenge the definition of the concept ‘documentary photography’, while striving to produce socially relevant independent narratives.

Applicants for NJP should either already be working on a major photo project, or be well underway with the preparations for a project before applying for NJP. For more details, please see the web page with the criteria for submitting an application.

The Norwegian Journal of Photography is a project that is an extension of the Fritt Ord Foundation’s efforts to strengthen the position of documentary photography in Norway.

The deadline for applying is Friday, 5 April 2019, and the photographers selected for NJP #5 will be announced on Friday, 3 May 2019.

The Team

Rune Eraker

Rune Eraker has for more than two decades worked as an independent documentary photographer. He became a member of the Amsterdam based picture agency Hollandse Hoogte in 1990. He has had a number of exhibitions in art museums and has published widely in magazines and newspapers, both in Norway and internationally. He has also published a number of photobooks (“Øyeblikk av Lys” Aschehoug 2001, “The Smell of Longing” Wigestrand 2005 and “The Dream of Europe” Press Books 2009) and in 2009 he was the picture-editor of “Norwegian Documentary photography”, (Press Books 2009). He was awarded “Freelancer of the Year” in Norway in 2009.

Laara Matsen

Laara Matsen has worked as a multi-faceted producer and mentor of documentary photography since 1997. She started her career at Magnum Photos in New York, was photo editor at D2 Magazine/ Dagens Næringsliv for 8 years, and has edited and curated numerous international exhibtions and photo books. Laara was Dean at Bilder Nordic School of Photography and is now focusing on Connective Storytelling, a collaborative method of creating and presenting visual narratives outside of mainstream media.

Espen Rasmussen

Espen Rasmussen works as a picture editor for the magazine division of the biggest Norwegian newspaper VG. He is also working on long term independent documentary projects, as well as projects in collaboration with different NGOs, such as Doctors Without Borders, Norwegian Refugee Council and the UNHCR. He has been awarded several times for his work, including two awards in World Press Photo and seven prizes in Picture of the Year international. In 2008, he was named one of the most promising young photographers in the world by Photo District News. He is represented by the London based agency Panos Pictures. In 2011, he will release his first book, «Transit», published by Dewi Lewis Publishing.

Fritt ord

The Norwegian Journal of Photography is a project that is an extension of the Fritt Ord Foundation’s efforts to strengthen the position of documentary photography in Norway. In 2006, the Fritt Ord Foundation called for applications for project funding for civic-minded photographers. The projects selected were carried out between 2007 and 2009. The project resulted in the exhibition ‘Norwegian documentary photography’ at the Henie Onstad Art Centre in autumn 2009 and publication of the book Norwegian documentary photography today by Forlaget Press publishing house the same year. The Fritt Ord Foundation’s paramount object is to protect and strengthen freedom of expression and its terms in Norway, especially by encouraging a dynamic debate and the fearless use of free speech.

This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site.