SINGAPORE – The Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, the philanthropic arm of the French luxury goods company, has announced its support for the next three editions of the prestigious Henri Cartier-Bresson International Photography Prize which is awarded every two years.

The award is not designed to recognize existing work but “to allow an artist to complete a project.” It does so by awarding a photographer 35,000 euros to realize a project with a documentary sensibility which he or she would otherwise find difficult to realize without the financial support.

The winner will then have 18 months to complete the project before it is exhibited at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris and the photographer will also be given the opportunity to exhibit at two of the Hermès Fondation’s exhibition spaces dedicated to photography: The Gallery at Hermès in New York and TH13 in Berne, Switzerland

The Hermes foundation is contributing €150,000 per award for each of the next three editions towards the cost for the endowment, the expositions and the catalog.

Photographers have until April 15 to submit their project and application. The winner will be selected by an international jury of seven and will be announced June 25.

The 2011 winner was Vanessa Winship for her project: “Out there: an American Odyssey,” while David Goldblatt won in 2009 with his project “ex-offenders.”