Up Next: Tender Visions
Our commissioning project launches in October
| TENDER PHOTOAUG 22 |
Since February 2, 2022, when we launched the flagship project of our digital platform, we have worked with photographers, writers, and curators to present a deepened engagement with photographers and visual storytellers from the African continent. As we shared previously, Tender Visions—our commissioning project, launched in partnership with the Open Society Foundations—is our most audacious step forward.
After an open call, we are finalising the process of commissioning 12 photographers and 24 writers. The photographers will be commissioned to produce new work within their communities, guided by predefined themes. The writers will write original creative or critical responses to the photographic projects. From October 2025 until September 2026, we will publish portfolios of the commissioned photographers, texts by the writers, and related multimedia content via our platforms, including this newsletter. More information on the artists will be shared in due course.
The first portfolio is to be published on Wednesday October 1. Between now and then, except for occasional updates about our projects, we are taking a break from weekly features of photographers on this newsletter.
In the meantime, we encourage you to browse our archives. Thank you for your usual support. Until soon.
The TENDER PHOTO newsletter is the flagship project of Tender Photos, a digital platform of African photography and visual storytelling, founded by Emmanuel Iduma and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. Our aim is to engage with life on the African continent through photography. We publish narratives about the people, places, and events pictured in photographs, contributing to nuanced and layered perceptions. The newsletter also read on web (best for viewing images), and via the Substack iOS/Android apps.
Every Wednesday we feature a photograph, a short caption about it, and a statement from the photographer. In the past, we have published commentaries or photo-essays in response to photographs previously featured on the newsletter, including CORRESPONDENCES, CONCORDANCE, KINDRED, INDEX, and AFFINITIES.
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