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Smith Fund Grant Finalists Announced
28 July 2021
The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund has listed the finalists in its 42nd annual Grant for Humanistic Photography. Finalists have also been named in the Smith Fund's 4th annual Student category and 25th annual Howard Chapnick Grant, which is awarded to encourage leadership in any field ancillary to photojournalism, such as picture editing, research, education and management.
"The Board of Trustees recognized that many economies and foundations around the world were still feeling the impact of the pandemic and determined that the $40,000 grant and previously awarded $5,000 Fellowships would have a greater impact if used to support five photographers with $10,000 grants," explained Phil Block, president of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund.
SMITH GRANT FINALISTS
- Lalo de Almeida: "Amazonian Dystopia" (Brazil)
- Dario De Dominicis: "To the Left of Christ" (Italy/Project produced in Brazil)
- Kimberly dela Cruz: "Death of a Nation" (Philippines)
- Fabiola Ferrero: "I Can't Hear the Birds" (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)
- Marco Gualazzini: "Mwavita -- Born at Time of War" (Italy/Project in The Democratic Republic of The Congo)
- Melissa Lyttle: "Where They Stood"
- Zed Nelson: "The Anthropocene Illusion" (United Kingdom)
- Cristopher Rogel Blanquet: "Beautiful Poison" (Mexico)
- Nicolo Filippo Rosso: "Exodus" (Italy, based in Colombia)
- Danielle Villasana: "Abre Camino" (USA, based in Turkey)
CHAPNICK GRANT FINALISTS
- Lauri Lyons: "Rest with Honor Preservation Guide"
- Rosem Morton: "Dear Survivor" (USA/Philippines)
- Nirvana Paz: "Sorora Dinamita: Digital Photography Camp" (Mexico)
- Sarah Stacke: "The 400 Years Project"
SMITH STUDENT GRANT FINALISTS
- Salih Basheer: "22 Days in Between" (Sudan) -- Cairo University
- Dylan Hausthor: "What the Rain Might Bring" -- Maine College of Art/Yale University
- Zobayer Joati: "We Live to Fight" (Bangladesh) -- Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology/Counter Foto
- Arne Piepke: "Anecdotes from an Unfamiliar Land" (Germany) -- Master's Program at University of Applied Sciences and Arts Dortmund
In lieu of the traditional in-person awards ceremony held in New York City, grant recipients in each category will be officially announced and honored during a live virtual event in October. Details about the virtual ceremony will soon be available at SmithFund.org.
For more information see the news release below.
Smith Fund Names Finalists in 42nd Annual Grants in Humanistic Photography
Board of Trustees Continues Moratorium on Single Grant Tradition, Will Present $10,000 Grants to Five Recipients; Howard Chapnick Grant Celebrates 25 Years and Student Grant Finalists Announced
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund is pleased to announce the list of finalists in the 42nd annual W. Eugene Smith Grant for Humanistic Photography. Finalists have also been named in the Smith Fund's 4th annual Student category and 25th annual Howard Chapnick Grant, which is awarded to encourage leadership in any field ancillary to photojournalism, such as picture editing, research, education and management. In lieu of the traditional in-person awards ceremony held in New York City, grant recipients in each category will be officially announced and honored during a live virtual event in October. Details about the virtual ceremony will soon be available at SmithFund.org.
Understanding the continuing struggles and financial need many are still facing, the Fund's Board of Trustees again voted to place a moratorium on its tradition of presenting a single grant to one photographer and to instead present five recipients each with $10,000 grants. The Fund's board first made this decision last year during the height of the pandemic and reserved the right to revisit the option for. After careful deliberation, the board voted to extend the moratorium on a single grant recipient for another year.
"The Board of Trustees recognized that many economies and foundations around the world were still feeling the impact of the pandemic and determined that the $40,000 grant and previously awarded $5,000 Fellowships would have a greater impact if used to support five photographers with $10,000 grants," explained Phil Block, president of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund.
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the Howard Chapnick Grant, established in 1996 to honor the memory of Howard Chapnick who led the Black Star photo agency and to acknowledge his enormous contribution to photography and support of photographers around the world. The $10,000 grant recognizes an individual or organization working in any field ancillary to photojournalism, such as picture editing, research, education and management. The Eugene Smith Student Grant, now in its 4th year, recognizes the work of an outstanding student with a $5,000 grant. Since the Fund's inception in 1979, it has awarded over $1 million to photographers whose past work and proposed projects follow the tradition of W. Eugene Smith's career as a photographic essayist.
"The pandemic has had the same impact on the Smith Fund as it has on other charities and foundations around the world," Block said. "But thanks to the commitment from our supporters this past year, we were able to fulfill our grants for 2020 and continue to financially support the worthy work of photographers through."
Despite continued issues surrounding the pandemic, including economic hardships and restricted gatherings, the number of entries submitted for this year's Smith Grant was among the most received in the grant's 42-year history. This year's finalists were selected from entries submitted from 62 countries.
"We continue to see year-over-year increases in the number of total entries to our grants and fellowships, as well as increased diversity in the backgrounds and cultures of entrants," said Aidan Sullivan, Smith Fund board member who managed this year's adjudication process.
The following is a list of finalists for the W. Eugene Smith, Howard Chapnick and Smith Fund Student grants.
2021 W. Eugene Smith Memorial Grant Finalists
- Lalo de Almeida: "Amazonian Dystopia" (Brazil)
- Dario De Dominicis: "To the Left of Christ" (Italy/Project produced in Brazil)
- Kimberly dela Cruz: "Death of a Nation" (Philippines)
- Fabiola Ferrero: "I Can't Hear the Birds" (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)
- Marco Gualazzini: "Mwavita -- Born at Time of War" (Italy/Project in The Democratic Republic of The Congo)
- Melissa Lyttle: "Where They Stood"
- Zed Nelson: "The Anthropocene Illusion" (United Kingdom)
- Cristopher Rogel Blanquet: "Beautiful Poison" (Mexico)
- Nicolo Filippo Rosso: "Exodus" (Italy, based in Colombia)
- Danielle Villasana: "Abre Camino" (USA, based in Turkey)
2021 Howard Chapnick Grant Finalists
- Lauri Lyons: "Rest with Honor Preservation Guide"
- Rosem Morton: "Dear Survivor" (USA/Philippines)
- Nirvana Paz: "Sorora Dinamita: Digital Photography Camp" (Mexico)
- Sarah Stacke: "The 400 Years Project"
2021 W. Eugene Smith Student Grant Finalists
- Salih Basheer: "22 Days in Between" (Sudan) -- Cairo University
- Dylan Hausthor: "What the Rain Might Bring" -- Maine College of Art/Yale University
- Zobayer Joati: "We Live to Fight" (Bangladesh) -- Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology/Counter Foto
- Arne Piepke: "Anecdotes from an Unfamiliar Land" (Germany) -- Master's Program at University of Applied Sciences and Arts Dortmund
About the Judges
W. Eugene Smith Grant
Marcia Allert is Director of Visual Journalism at The Dallas Morning News and a member of the Smith Fund Board of Trustees and chaired this year's adjudication panel, which included Darcy Eveleigh, a freelance photo editor and former chairwoman and past juror for the Pulitzer Prize, multi award-winning photographer Elizabeth Dalziel and Michael Hamtil, Assistant Director of Multimedia at The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography is traditionally presented annually to a single photographer whose past work and proposed project follows the tradition of W. Eugene Smith's humanistic photography and dedicated compassion as a photographic essayist.
"My fellow judges and I were delighted by the quality of this year's entries," Allert said. "Many of the entries showcased a high caliber of work and storytelling which allowed for thoughtful conversions in the jury room."