The Institute awards nine prizes, four of which are in the field of ethnographic film. These are advertised regularly in ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY, the Institute's bi-monthly journal.

1. Curl Essay Prize (Annual)
2. J.B. Donne Essay Prize on the Anthropology of Art (Biennial)
3. Arthur Maurice Hocart Prize and RAI Student Essay Prize (Annual)
4. The Amaury Talbot Prize for African Anthropology (Annual)
5. Wellcome Medal for Anthropology as Applied to Medical Problems (Biennial)

6. Royal Anthropological Institute Film Prize
7. Basil Wright Film Prize
8. Blackwell Student Video Prize
9. Material Culture and Archaeology Film Prize
10. Audience Prize
11. Intangible Culture Film Prize (Music - Dance - Performance)

1. Curl Essay Prize (Annual) (top)

The Curl Essay Prize of £1,100 will be awarded to the author of the best essay, of not more than 10,000 words excluding notes and references, relating to the results or analysis of anthropological work, submitted to the Institute by 31 October.

The prize is open annually to competition among all nationalities. Judges are appointed by the Council of the Institute. Essays already accepted or submitted for publication elsewhere are not eligible.

Four copies of the entries should be sent in by 31 October to the Office Manager, Royal Anthropological Institute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT (email to the ). It is helpful if entries can be submitted as both hard copy and email attachments. Entries will not be returned to authors. The winning entry will be announced no later than four months after the deadline for submissions.

Past Recipients

2. J.B. Donne Essay Prize on the Anthropology of Art (Biennial). (top)

Entries are invited for the J.B. Donne Essay Prize, offered biennially in memory of the late J.B. Donne. Essays should address some aspect of the anthropology of art, including the visual and performing arts. Word limit: 10,000 words exclusive of footnotes and references. Entrants may be of any nationality. It is likely that the winning essay will be published by the Institute, and essays already offered for publication elsewhere are not eligible. Judges will be appointed by the Institute's Council, and are under no obligation to award a prize for any given occasion. The prize will be £700. Entries to be submitted in triplicate to the Office Manager, Royal Anthropological Institute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT by 15 December 2007. Essays will not be returned.

Past Recipients

3. Arthur Maurice Hocart Prize and RAI Student Essay Prize (Annual) (top)

The Council of the RAI has decided that, from 2006, two student essay prizes will be awarded annually. The value of each prize is £150.

The Arthur Maurice Hocart Prize, established in 1948 under the will of the Mrs E.G. Hocart in memory of her husband, will be awarded for the best essay on an anthropological subject by a student of any nationality registered for a postgraduate degree in any branch of anthropology at a British or Irish institution.

While the prize is intended primarily for those working for a first postgraduate degree, an outstanding essay by an undergraduate student of anthropology in an eligible department will also be considered. Entries may also be submitted on behalf of doctoral students; in assessing these, the student's academic level will be taken into account. For those eligible, the Hocart Prize will include a year's subscription as a Student Associate of the RAI. Entries must be submitted through the head of a department teaching anthropology at an eligible institution.

The RAI Student Essay Prize is a new award, open only to students of any nationality registered for a first degree at a British or Irish institution. It will be awarded for the best essay on an anthropological subject. Entries must be submitted through the head of a department teaching courses with a recognizable anthropological component, at an eligible institution.

For both prizes the following will apply.

Essays must not exceed 10,000 words excluding notes and references. They must be well presented, and include a word count and page numbers. Both regular coursework essays and those written specially for the prize competition are eligible for submission. Essays must be dated by the writer. The department submitting the entry is asked to confirm the academic standing of the writer as at the date of entry.

Judges are appointed by the Council of the Institute, and reserve the right not to make an award in any year should no entry of sufficient quality be received. Entries for both prizes are now invited from eligible departments on behalf of their students. Four copies of the entries should be sent in by 30 November to the Office Manager, Royal Anthropological Institute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT (email to the ).

It is helpful if they can be sent as both hard copy and email attachments. Entries will not be returned.

4. The Amaury Talbot Prize for African Anthropology (Annual) (top)

The Amaury Talbot Prize of about £500 will be awarded to the author or authors of the work which, in the opinion of the judges, is the most valuable work of African anthropology submitted.

Only works published during the calendar year previous to the submission date of 31 March are eligible. Works relating to any region of Africa are eligible, but preference will be given in the first place to Nigeria, and in the second place to any other part of West Africa or to West Africa in general.

The prize will be awarded by judges appointed by the RAI Council. the judges reserve the right to not make an award should work of the required standard not be submitted.

All submissions, together with three copies of the book, article or work in question, should be sent by 31 March to: Amaury Talbot Prize Coordinator (please indicate clearly), Royal Anthropological Institute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT. The Institute undertakes the academic administration of the prize on behalf of the trustees, Barclays Bank Trust Ltd. Entries will not be returned to candidates.

Past Recipients

5. Wellcome Medal for Anthropology as Applied to Medical Problems (Biennial) (top)

The Medal, together with a prize of £600, is awarded biennially by the Council of the RAI, on the recommendation of judges appointed by Council, for a recent body of published work which makes, as a whole, a significant contribution to research in anthropology as applied to medical problems.

Individuals may apply to be considered for the award, or may be nominated. All applications and nominations should include full bibliographic references. Four copies of any book or other publication which forms the basis for an application or nomination should be supplied. One of these will be given to the Anthropology Library at the British Museum, and the others become the property of the judges after the competition. Submissions may be made in any language, but those languages other than English must be accompanied by an adequate English summary or abstract. Candidates of all nationalities are eligible.

In reaching their decision the judges will give due attention to all material submitted. They may, but are under no obligation to, solicit further material, seek advice from others, or follow up references. Where, in the opinion of the judges, more than one candidate meets the conditions for award of the medal, preference will be given to a candidate at a relatively early stage of his/her career. While the primary consideration in awarding the medal will be the excellence of the candidate's work, the judges will, in successive rounds of the competition, attempt to establish an overall balance among the different aspects of research in anthropology as applied to medical problems.

The medal need not be awarded in any year if, in the judges opinion, no submission meets the required standard. The judges may agree to hold over the documentation of a candidate not awarded the medal for consideration of their succesors in a future round. In such cases the candidate and/or nominator(s) will be informed of the decision, and given an opportunity to submit additional material in the later round.

No individual may receive the medal on more than one occasion. The medal and prize are the gift of the Wellcome Trust. Where the award relates to a particular book or other published material, one copy must be deposited by the author with the Governors of the Wellcome Trust in addition to those supplied to the RAI.

The deadline for receipt of applications/nominations is 30 November 2008. Submissiong together with all documentation, clearly labelled, should be sent to the Office Manager, Royal Anthropological Institute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT, to arrive by that date.

Past Recipients

Film Prizes

6. Royal Anthropological Institute Film Prize (top)

Prize of £500, awarded biennially since 1980. This is awarded for `the most outstanding film on social, cultural and biological anthropology or archaeology'.

Past Recipients

7. Basil Wright Film Prize (top)

Prize of £500, awarded biennially since 1986. Funds have been provided by Robert Gardner, the American film-maker. This prize will be awarded for `a film in the ethnographic tradition, in the interest of furthering a concern for humanity in order to acknowledge the evocative faculty of film as a way of communicating their concern to others.' See announcement in Anthropology Today.

Past Recipients

8. Blackwell Student Video Prize (top)

Formerly the JVC Professional Student Video Prize until 2003. Prize of £250, awarded to the most outstanding film in the ethnographic tradition made by a student enrolled in a bona fide educational institution. In addressing the films, the judges will consider the budget constraints, technical resources, and professional input available to the students, as well as each film's anthropological relevance.

Past Recipients

9. Material Culture and Archaeology Film Prize (top)

If an appropriate film of sufficient merit and excellence is submitted which falls within this category, the Festival Committee may also provide £250 for this special award.

Past Recipients

10. Audience Prize (top)

The audience of the festival is invited to vote by ballot for their favourite film in the Festival, regardless of whether it has been shortlisted for one of the prizes or has been scheduled in any of the 'special interest' screenings. The prize is normally sponsored by a local publisher or institution.

Past Recipients

11. Intangible Culture Film Prize (Music - Dance - Performance) (top)

This prize was created specifically for the 2007 Festival in response to the large number of films submitted that dealt with music, dance and performance that it would have been difficult to acknowledge under other prize categories. By referring to it by the UNESCO designation 'Intangible Culture', it is offered as companion prize to the Material Culture & Archaeology award, and will be equally of a value of £250.

Past Recipients

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