Calling all photographers! The New Orleans Photo Alliance is accepting applications for the Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography 2014 grant. This fund, established by NOPA to honor the legendary New Orleans photographer Michael P. Smith, awards one $5,000 grant annually to a Gulf Coast photographer whose work combines artistic excellence and a sustained commitment to a long-term cultural documentary project.

Emerging and established photographers residing in the Gulf Coast states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are eligible to apply. The subject matter for the proposed project is not limited to the Gulf Coast region. NOPA will accept grant applications through April 15, 2014. Michael Famighetti, the editor of Aperture magazine, is the juror for 2014.

The MPS Fund, founded in 2008, has supported the work of four documentary photographers: Jonathan Traviesa from New Orleans, Scott Dalton from Houston, TX, Kael Alford from Dallas, TX, and Andrew Kaufman from Miami, FL.

The New Orleans Photo Alliance is comprised of a diverse group of photographers who joined forces in 2006 to create unity and opportunity for photographers in the Gulf South. It is an artist run 501(c)3 nonprofit which currently includes more than 400 members from across Louisiana and throughout the United States. NOPA sponsors numerous photographic exhibitions, workshops, and educational programs, and coordinates PhotoNOLA, an annual photography festival in New Orleans.

For submission guidelines and to download an application form, visit the Michael P. Smith Fund’s website at  http://www.neworleansphotoalliance.org/grants/MPS_Fund/index.php.