The Academy
The Academy establishes itself as a vehicle for empowering talent from the Global South. It ensures that narratives of the Mediterranean are produced, documented, and driven by local stakeholders, while maintaining international standards and reach.
Four pillars underpin the Academy: continuous, long-term support; a center of educational excellence; a dual-location campus (Tangier and Carcassonne); and a tool for popular education and civic engagement.
An Academy for long-term support of Mediterranean writing
Direction : Mina Mostefa & Wilfrid Estève
Recognizing that the limited timeframe of a festival like the Rencontres Photo de Tanger—and its first seven editions—is no longer sufficient to durably alleviate the precariousness faced by creators or to consolidate the autonomy of Mediterranean visual storytelling, the Tangier event is becoming the foundation for a broader ambition: the creation of the Academy.
Led by Mina Mostefa and Wilfrid Esteve, this transformation turns the energy of an annual gathering into a permanent hub for training, mentoring, and the transmission of visual skills, operating year-round.
The Academy now provides continuous support over a twelve-month period, ensuring scholarship recipients benefit from a comprehensive learning framework covering documentary storytelling, visual ethics, post-production, copyright law, and an understanding of economic systems.
This new institution is structured around an interconnected, dual-location campus spanning Tangier and Carcassonne:
– Tangier and its Photo Meetings remain the hub for anchoring, selection, immersion, and showcasing work in the Southern Mediterranean;
– Carcassonne hosts artist residencies, intensive training programs, and Off-site initiatives.
The Academy is also reinforcing its commitment to public education and civic engagement by developing cross-border educational programs focused on the critical analysis of images.
This new website marks the advent of this strategic shift.
It reflects the progress made since 2019 and opens the doors to a true open-air school – one rooted in solidarity and high standards – dedicated to empowerment through imagery and the equality of voices across the entire Mediterranean region.
THE ACADEMY
Venue: Museum of Mediterranean Cultures at the Tangier Kasbah
A true incubator for contemporary documentary storytelling, the Academy will host 14 emerging photographers—selected based on their portfolios – in 2026.
• OFFICIAL DEDICATED PROGRAM
Immersive Program: Creation, Mentorship & Professional Integration
Dates: Wednesday, November 25 to Saturday, November 28, 2026 (inclusive)
Venue: Kasbah Museum, Tangier (Morocco).
Over four intensive days, participants benefit from professional methodological workshops and dual high-level mentorship (artistic critique and hands-on editing), culminating in a public presentation on Saturday, followed by the Awards Ceremony and the Closing Party.
• APPLICATION DETAILS
• Target audience: photographers in the process of becoming professionals
• Visual portfolio: a single PDF file containing one or two photo essays (maximum of 30 images in total).
• Cover letter: written in French or English, detailing the candidate’s motivations and the impact of this opportunity on their practice.
• Conditions: applications are entirely free of charge, with no registration fees.
• APPLICATION FORM
