Google’s Creator Labs has joined forces with Aperture to offer grants to artists specializing in lens-based artistry for a second time around.

Creator Labs Photo Fund, a collaboration between Aperture and Google’s Creator Labs, was first launched in 2021 to provide financial support to photographers and creators engaging with lens-based practices. This year marks the second season of the partnership with a notable milestone: the largest assemblage of artists featured. A generous one-time grant of $6,000 is to be granted to 30 contemporary artists whose creative endeavors have come to life within the past three years.

Artists selected: Arlene Mejorado, Ashley McLean, Ashley Markle, Avijit Halder, Clara Mokri, Colton Rothwell, Daniel Diasgranados, Devin Blaskovich, Golden Golden, Ira Lupu, Isaiah Winters, Jenica Heintzelman, Jennifer Teresa Villanueva, Jeremy Grier, Keisha Scarville, Kierra Branker, Lisa Elmaleh, Luis Corzo, Natalie Keyssar, Oji Haynes, Ramie Ahmed, Ramona Jingru Wang, Ryan Krueger, Ryan Frigillana, Shala Miller, Tam Stockton, Wesaam Al-Badry, Xi Li, Yael Malka and Zhidong Zhang.

This year’s application required 8 to 10 images from one piece of work to showcase the talent of these artists in crafting an intricate, cohesive project. The opportunity was open to any photographer or lens-based artist residing in the United States.

Aperture, situated in New York as a nonprofit institution, is devoted to fostering and disseminating visual imagery and dialogue from artists worldwide. Founded in 1952, Aperture unites written discourse and visual representation to celebrate the up-and-coming. 

In celebration of artistic ingenuity, this year’s installment promises to be a pivotal moment in the fund’s evolution. It is imperative that these selected artists symbolize the new generation of international art, style, and cultural movement, making the process quite selective.