Fujifilm Electronic Imaging Korea (President Im Hoon, hereinafter Fujifilm Korea) announced on the 19th that it is recruiting participants for the ‘GFX Challenge Grant Program 2026’, which discovers and supports capable photo and video creators worldwide. Marking its sixth year, the ‘GFX Challenge Grant Program’ is co-hosted across regions including Korea, North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Applicants in each country go through regional screening followed by a final global review, and a total of 15 awardees worldwide are selected to support their advance onto the global stage. In Korea, any resident aged 18 or older who wishes to produce a photo or video project using Fujifilm GFX is eligible to apply. The application deadline is August 17. Korean applicants complete submission by filing a proposal for a photo or video project they wish to realize with GFX via the Fujifilm Korea website. After a first-round document review and a second-round online interview by region, finalists are selected, and awardees are confirmed through a global final review. Judging is based on how effectively the features and strengths of the GFX system are utilized, with a comprehensive evaluation across five items: alignment with objectives and criteria, appropriateness, originality, feasibility, and capability. Awardees receive a range of benefits and prize money that add meaning to their projects. First, each of the five global awardees receives $10,000, and each of the ten regional awardees receives $5,000, and one GFX camera and two lenses are loaned free of charge during the project period. The supported GFX body lineup also includes the cinema camera GFX ETERNA 55. In addition, professional technical support from Fujifilm will be provided to enhance the completeness of the works. The ‘GFX Challenge Grant Program’ has steadily produced Korean winners each year, elevating the standing of the Korean photography scene. In a previous call, the work ‘Under the Purple sky’ by artist Lee Dasul was selected, and this year the work ‘Mother of Pearl’ by artist Kim Juyoung, who serves as an adjunct professor at Daegu University, will be unveiled. ‘Mother of Pearl’ carries the idea that something profound can reside even in the smallest things, and drew attention as a project that explores the microscopic structure of the surface and the visual depth within it through macro photographs of nacre. The judging panel includes leading figures in photography and the arts from around the world, such as Brendan Embser, Senior Editor at the international photography magazine Aperture, independent curator and art consultant Amanda Maddox, Lesley A. Martin, Executive Director of the photography publishing organization Printed Matter, Inc. and founder of ‘The PhotoBook Review’, and Masako Sato, founder of the Japanese exhibition planning company CONTACT. Co., Ltd. Fujifilm Korea President Im Hoon said, “GFX Challenge Grant Program has established itself as a creative platform where photo and video creators around the world complete their work with their own sensibilities and perspectives and can unfold new possibilities on the global stage,” and added, “We will continue to provide support so that many creators can discover new possibilities, based on the outstanding imaging technology and global network of Fujifilm.” Past award-winning works from the GFX Challenge Grant Program have been introduced on diverse global stages, widening points of contact with audiences. The 2024 award-winning works were presented as a group exhibition at Fujifilm Square in Tokyo Midtown, Japan, and the winning artists were invited to Tokyo for the opening event and a portfolio review with the judges. There was also a related exhibition at the world-renowned photography festival 2026 Kyotography. The 2025 winning works are scheduled to be unveiled on the Fujifilm global website at the end of this year.