Getty Images Grants For Good Recipients Announced

Getty Images has announced the recipients of the Grants for Good

PRESS RELEASE

Getty Images is delighted to announce that photographers Gwenn Dubourthoumieu and Alex Masi, along with communications strategists from GVA Studio and the Bhopal Medical Appeal, have been selected as the recipients of this year’s Getty Images Grants for Good. The two teams, made up of a photographer and communications professional, will receive US$15,000 to cover the costs of developing compelling new imagery to strengthen the communications of a non-profit organisation they have chosen to support. Now in its third year, the 2011 Getty Images Grants for Good programme received more than 100 submissions from photographers and agencies in 16 countries.

Created in 2009, the Getty Images Grants for Good were introduced to help nonprofits use the power of imagery to promote positive change in the world and help communicate their stories more effectively. In addition to the Grants for Good programme, Getty Images also offers editorial grants awarded each year at the Visa Pour l’Image photojournalism festival in Perpignan, France. The Getty Images Grants for Good will support the following two projects: “Raped Lives” is the project that Gwenn Dubourthoumieu and GVA Studio will pursue to create imagery for a sensitisation campaign organised by the nonprofit association Des Femmes pour la Promotion et le Développement Endogène (AFPDE). The intent is to inform local communities about their rights, influence them to stop discriminating against sexual violence victims and urge the victims to abandon their silence and to take legal action.

This grant will create a series of portraits and interviews of women, not only victims, but also lawyers or policewomen who have the courage and the determination to fight against sexual crimes by strengthening the Congolese judicial system. “Open Wounds – Bhopal 1984 – 2011” is the project proposed by Alex Masi and Colin Toogood, media director of the Bhopal Medical Appeal, to improve the lives of people, including a new generation of children affected by the deadly legacy of a disastrous chemical explosion. This project will document how the deadly legacy of chemical contamination is now affecting children living within the city. The nonprofit will use the images in advertising, exhibitions and other communications tools to appeal for support for their work. The cash prizes will be used to cover the costs of developing the new imagery, and the winning photographers will have the option of collaborating with Getty Images’ team of art directors, photo editors and producers during the execution of their project.

The photographers’ resulting work and how it is incorporated into the nonprofits’ communications will be showcased on www.gettyimages.com/grants. Andrew Saunders, Vice President, Creative Content says: “Getty Images introduced the Grants for Good programme to recognise and support those in the creative community, who work with nonprofits on a wide range of important issues, including the arts, education, human rights, health, poverty and the environment.” He added, “We are pleased that this year’s grants will go towards tackling important issues, such as the sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and on the ongoing health issues experienced by those in the Bhopal, India, in the aftermath of an industrial chemical accident more than 25 years ago.”

The recipients of this year’s Getty Images Grants for Good were selected by a panel of leading industry professionals, all of whom possess a keen understanding of the creative community’s ongoing involvement with nonprofits, causes and Issues. The judging panel included:

• James Partridge, Founder and Chief Executive, of the nonprofit Changing Faces
• Ian Haworth, Global Chief Creative Officer and Chairman of creative agency RAPP
• Michael Hall, award‐winning photographer and climate change activist In addition to the two grant recipients, two other outstanding grant applications are commended by the judges.

Notable finalists:

• Photographer Barbara Alper and Green Team Advertising, both from New York City, were honored for their proposal to support Lifeforce in Later Years (LILY), an organization that helps seniors overcome challenges to live independent lives. They proposed a well-thought-out visibility campaign to tell the story of a Manhattan-based LILY program, Morningside Village, in a new brochure to drive awareness of LILY’s work, promote volunteer recruitment and support its fund-raising efforts.
• Armenian photographer Nazik Armenakyan was honored for his proposal to assist Mamikon Hovsepyan in developing imagery for Public Information and Need of Knowledge Armenia (PINK Armenia), a non-profit anti-discrimination organization committed to raising tolerance toward the LGBT community in Armenia. Their proposal put forth a thoughtful strategy to use imagery in Armenian-language materials for both the LGBT community and the general population, as well as photo essays for local magazines.

For more information about the Getty Images Grants for Good programme, please visit www.gettyimages.com/grants which features the winners and finalists.