We are delighted to announce the recipients of the Urban Sketchers Reportage Grant 2026. From around the world we received 77 submissions on a wide variety of topics.
The USk Reportage Grant Program is open to individual sketchers, chapters, and creative collaborators from around the world. Visual storytelling lies at the heart of the USk movement. The program is designed to highlight the best examples of these efforts and to inspire new artist-reporters in our community.
What is reportage?
Reportage is a visual account of a cultural phenomenon, event, current history, etc., based in drawings completed from direct observation while on location. The drawings have to tell a story by capturing an event and showing context, characters, and setting. Sketches are accompanied by short pieces of narrative writing presented directly on the drawings or added separately. The narrative is informed by firsthand account, research, and interviews. A successful visual reportage gives viewers a feeling for the setting and the people.
What makes a successful reportage project?
- An interesting idea
- That the author has the necessary drawing skills
- The drawings tell a story
- There is evidence of research – going beyond what is purely on the surface
- The drawings transmit the sense of place
Selected projects 2026
In 2026 the selection committee consisting of 6 judges completed the assessment process and agreed that the USk grant would help to further the project for these 12 recipients :
- Ariel Rodriguez (Denmark) From Industrial Port to Harbor Bathing: Capturing the Vibrancy of Copenhagen’s Harbor Life Through the Centuries
- Dagmar Aline Von der Ahe Garriga (Germany) Stories of Waiting
- Dan Archer (Hong Kong) In Deep Water: the changing face of Sham Shui Po
- Francisco Figueroa Fuentes (Mexico) De la mina al taller: la memoria viva de la plata en Taxco
- Ilaria Paolucci (Italy) Climbing in Ulassai, Sardinia. The birth of a new community tied by the mountains
- Joshua Biseruka (Rwanda) Nyungwe: Inkomoko y’Ubuzima (Tracing the Sources of Life)
- Manasi Abhay Bhuskute (India) Sanctuary of Shilparamam – Documenting the Lived Heritage of Hyderabad’s Arts Village
- Spike Hains (Michigan, USA) Libraries as Living Rooms – Sketching Spaces of Story, Community, and Literacy
- Suren Ganbaatar (Mongolia) Stories on the Wall
- Tim Griffiths (UK) British Pubs: Their Role and Their Loss
- Terri Jung (Taiwan) Frozen Streets, Living Stories: Drawing resilience where time stood still
- Titikhya Mullick (India) Terracotta Practice in the village of Chintamanipur and the manual culture around it
Many congratulations to all !
Winning proposals will now receive a grant in order to offset expenses related to the project. The authors will have until April 30, 2027 to complete the proposed project including the completion of at least 12 on-location sketches that tell the story in a reportage format.
We will share the reportages on our website and across our social media channels, so please check back soon and subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for details!
Reportage Grant 2026 Selection Committee
Special thanks to the following artists and educators for their time and expertise in assessing the proposals.
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