Eugene Smith Fund announces 2024 grant recipients in humanistic photography
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The W. Eugene Smith Fund announced the recipients of its 2024 grants, including the W. Eugene Smith grant, Smith Student grant, and Howard Chapnick grant. This year’s grants collectively received more than 725 entries, the most entries in any year since its inception in 1979. In addition, the Smith Fund will issue $72,500 in grants this year, the most in any grant cycle in 45 years. As a testament to the overall quality of entries this year, judges for the Smith Student grant were unable to unanimously select two recipients, as instructed, and instead selected three, with each receiving a $5,000 grant. Scott Thode, president of the W. Eugene Smith Fund, credits this year’s record-breaking success to effectively promoting its 45th anniversary by highlighting the world-class photographers who previously received the grant, and the continued commitment of new and longtime donors.
“After 45 years, it is both exciting and humbling to see that the W. Eugene Smith grants continue to attract documentary photographers at all levels from all over the world,” Thode said, noting that entries were received from more than 85 countries. “But none of our success is possible without our volunteer board members and our longtime donors including the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, Earth Vision Institute, and the John and Anne Duffy Foundation, along with new supporters including PhotoWings and the Joy of Giving Something,” he added.
Eugene Smith Grant Recipients
Adriana Loureiro Fernández (Venezuela) is the recipient of this year’s $30,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for her project, Paradise Lost. Her project was among 584 entries submitted from 75 countries. Paradise Lost encapsulates several stories happening at once, amounting to an untenable situation framed by both tragedy and splendor. She said the project was a tribute to her generation’s search for change.
“Eugene Smith’s legacy carries so much of what I cherish in our photographic practice, and I am honored to bring awareness to stories from Venezuela, in a time when democratic values are challenged around the world,” said Adriana Loureiro Fernández. “I hope these stories can shed light on what is at stake —how it feels to live through a shattered democracy. Most importantly, I hope to honor and highlight how the human spirit and its resilience carries through it all, and hope others can find warmth in restless times.”
“It was difficult to judge the entries because they were of such high quality and importance,” said Hideko Kataoka, Director of Photography at Newsweek in Japan and one of three judges of this year’s Smith Grant entries. “We were struck by the tireless efforts of photographers who are using photography as a weapon to fight against all kinds of social issues, to uncover their essence, and to connect them to tomorrow,” she added. The Smith grant adjudication panel also included Arem Duplessis, Group Creative Director at Apple, and Nii Obodai, Founder of Nuku Studio, which offers support for both emerging and established photographers through research projects, collaborations, partnerships, and other initiatives.
The judges also awarded two Finalist awards in this category. Murat Yazar (Turkey) received a $10,000 grant for his work, Shadows of Kurdistan, which explores the dimensions and depth of Kurdish culture and their political situation since Kurdistan is split among the countries of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.
“In the early years of my photographic journey, one of the photographers who had the greatest impact on me was W. Eugene Smith,” explained Yazar. “Receiving this award reinforces my belief that I have been on the right path in my photography from the very beginning. This recognition will motivate me to continue my photographic project, Shadows of Kurdistan, with even more dedication. I am deeply grateful to the esteemed jury for deeming me worthy of this honor, and to the W. Eugene Smith Fund for their support,” he added.
Deanne Fitzmaurice (United States) also received a $10,000 Finalist grant for her story, The Unlikely Journey, the story of Iraqi refugee Saleh Khalaf, who was severely injured by a roadside bomb in 2003 as the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began. For more than 20 years, Fitzmaurice has been documenting his life, and the life of his family in the U.S. after being granted asylum.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive this W. Eugene Smith grant to continue my 20-year project about a boy severely injured in the US-led invasion of Iraq and the long-term effects of war on maimed civilians,” saidFitzmaurice. “This recognition is exceptionally meaningful as my photography has long been inspired by the powerful work of W. Eugene Smith and his deep compassion for humanity.”
Eugene Smith Student Grant
Judges in the Student grant category had difficulty selecting two top entries among the 103 entries received from 42 countries, so they selected three! Again, thanks to the Smith Fund’s donors and corporate supporters, it is able to financially support this decision and provide $15,000 in student grants instead of the two budgeted grants totaling $10,000.
“The submissions for this year’s Eugene Smith Student grant showcased exceptional diversity and depth,” explained Munem Wasif, a documentary photographer and educator from Bangladesh and one of this year’s Student grant judges. “As judges, we faced a challenging task, engaging in multiple rounds of debate to reach a final decision. It was inspiring to see so many young photographers deeply committed to extensive engagement and thorough research over long periods,” he added.
Lea Greub (Germany) is one of this year’s Smith Student grant recipients and is currently attending the Ostkreuz School of Photography in Berlin. Her project, Burning Sun on Frozen Conflicts, captures life in Northern Cyprus, an island that has been divided since the civil war between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
“Receiving the W. Eugene Smith Student Grant is a great honor,” Ms. Greub said. “With the support of the grant, I will continue my research and photography on the island, culminating in an exhibition at the Ostkreuz School of Photography in Berlin.”
Mosfiqur Rahman Johan (Bangladesh) is a student at Counter Foto-Center for Visual Arts in Dhaka. His project, Memories of Disappearance, documents the everyday acts of resistance undertaken by women and children whose husbands and fathers were forcibly taken by state agencies in Bangladesh.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive this Grant,” Mosfiqur Rahman Johan said. “This recognition means so much—not just to me but to the families I’ve worked with over the years. It gives me hope that their stories of loss and resilience will reach people around the world.”
Gerd Waliszewski (U.S., based in Germany) is also a student at the Ostkreuz School of Photography in Berlin. His story, Between the Lines, is a documentary project about young Ukrainians in times of the Russian invasion of their country. “Receiving the prestigious W. Eugene Smith Student grant is a great honor,” Mr. Waliszewski said. “This grant will allow me to continue my photographic work during the most crucial time for Ukraine.”
“All the projects the judges selected had in its core the visual exploration of these students on the vulnerability of the political systems, and their impact on daily life,” said Mariana Rettore, a member of the Student Grant adjudication panel and an Exhibitions Manager and Curator at the World Press Photo Foundation in Amsterdam.
Darcy Padilla, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the 2010 recipient of the W. Eugene Smith grant, was also a Student Grant adjudication panel member.
Howard Chapnick Grant
Maleza, a photographer-led, not-for-profit association that seeks to facilitate the merging and exchange of experiences around photography in Peru, is this year’s recipient of the 2024 Howard Chapnick Grant. The grant, named in memory of Howard Chapnick, president of the picture agency Black Star, recognizes programs, rather than individuals, that significantly contribute to the field of documentary photography through education. Inspired by the opportunities that they were able to access, Alejandra Orosco and Paul Gambin created a project in the Sacred Valley of the Incas to promote the decentralization of voices, a physical space where photographers from the region of Cusco and beyond could also access photographic education, share projects, and collaborate.
“It was amazing to learn about so many great initiatives that use photography to build communities, educate society and teach visual communication skills to young people,” explained Emine Ziyatdinova, co-founder and director of the NGO “Ukrainian Warchive,” a digital photo archive of the Russo-Ukrainian war who judged this year’s Chapnick grant entries along with Cooperativa Sub co-founder Gisela Volá and David Y. Lee, a Senior Program Officer at the National Geographic Society.
“Maleza was born from the collective dream of creating a safe and open space in which the local photographic community of the Sacred Valley and beyond could come together in dialogue and exchange,” explained Paul Gambin. “Thanks to the Howard Chapnick grant and its recognition, we are more confident than ever that Maleza can continue to offer decentralized opportunities for photographers in a country like Peru where photography-focused spaces are disappearing and where art is often an inaccessible privilege.”
The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund, Inc. is a non-profit corporation qualified as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and is supported by generous contributions from The Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, Earth Vision Institute, the John and Anne Duffy Foundation, the Joy of Giving Something, and PhotoWings. Additional support is provided by the International Center of Photography, and Synergy Communications.