Eugene Smith Fund announces five humanistic photography grant recipients
The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund announced the recipients of the 42nd annual Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, as well as the recipient of its 4th annual Smith Student grant 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.
Recipients of the 2021 W. Eugene Smith Grant include Lalo de Almeida (Brazil), Kimberly dela Cruz(Philippines), Melissa Lyttle (USA), Cristopher Rogel Blanquet (Mexico), and Nicolo Filippo Rosso(Italy). The Smith Fund also announced Salih Basheer (Sudan), a student at Cairo University, is the recipient of the 4th annual Smith Student grant ($5,000) for her entry, 22 Days in Between, and Sarah Stacke (USA) is the recipient of the 25th annual Howard Chapnick grant ($10,000) for her entry, The 400 Years Project.
“The Board of Trustees determined that the economic impact of the pandemic continued to effect foundation grants around the world and concluded that our traditional grant of $40,000 and $5,000 Fellowships would be most impactful if equally divided among five photographers,” explained Phil Block, president of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund. “The decision also helps place a spotlight on five amazing bodies of work instead of one or two,” noting the images from this year’s finalists are currently on display as a part of Photoville, an outdoor public art and photography exhibit throughout New York’s five boroughs through Dec. 1.
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.
“It is truly remarkable to see a continued year-over-year increase in the number of entries to our grants and fellowships,” said Aidan Sullivan, Smith Fund board member responsible for managing this year’s adjudication process. “Even more incredible is the increased diversity in the backgrounds and culture of entrants, and the outstanding quality and sensitivity of the photography being submitted,” he added.
2021 Smith Grant Recipients
Lalo de Almeida: “Amazonian Dystopia” (Brazil)
Amazonian Dystopia documents the occupation of the Amazon and its impact on the rainforest and its inhabitants. Brazil is home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest, which is a key regulator for the planet’s living systems and the country’s rainfall rate. Despite this importance for the planet’s future, the region continues to be exploited in the same predatory way since colonial times.
“It is a great honor, and deep responsibility, to be part of the history of this grant that perpetuates the legacy of Eugene Smith and the best values of humanistic photography,” said Lalo de Almeida.
“At a time when the Amazon rainforest has never been so threatened, the grant will help give more visibility to what is happening in the region.”
Kimberly dela Cruz: “Death of a Nation” (Philippines)
Death of a Nation is a project about the shattering of Philippine democracy which has always been fragile. The story is told through the experiences of families who lost their loved ones to the war on drugs, their trauma, desensitization to violence, impunity, and grief. But there is also hope. Families of victims became part of grief and justice-oriented networks where they found a support system and built a community of their own, helping each other heal and find courage.
“Working on a project so close to home has been a rollercoaster of emotions, but what keeps me going was the belief that there is something deeper to be explored,” explains Kimberly. “Receiving the W. Eugene Smith Grant is a huge honor, but it also feels like some sort of vindication, that my perspective and vision matter, and that the stories I’ve been entrusted with still resonate even if the world has moved on. I am beyond grateful for the support.”
Melissa Lyttle: “Where They Stood” (USA)
Last fall, Melissa Lyttle began to document the confederate monuments that have been taken down since George Floyd’s death, a moment in time viewed as a turning point when she felt the U.S. was beginning to try and figure out what it was going to become as a nation. Confederate monuments started coming down in record numbers. So, in April 2021, she began a 5-week, 7,300-mile road trip through the South to record an unraveling — that moment in time when long-held narratives about Southern pride and memorialization of Civil War leaders are literally being knocked off their pedestals.
“I am so thankful to the judges for recognizing this work and allowing me the opportunity to continue photographing all of the Confederate monuments that have come down since George Floyd’s death,” Melissa Lyttle said. “For me, this work has always been about the slow dismantling of the celebration of white supremacy while documenting the changing landscape of a country that is reckoning with racism in public spaces. More than anything, I hope the photographs will provoke conversations about how we got here and, more importantly, where we’re headed as a nation.”
Cristopher Rogel Blanquet: “Beautiful Poison” (Mexico)
Beautiful Poison is a long-term photography project documenting the public health problem associated with the unrestricted use of agrochemicals by the flower industry in the region of Villa Guerrero, Mexico. This project documents the life of four families in Villa Guerrero that have suffered child-loss, genetic disabilities and chronic diseases related to agrochemicals and entrusted Cristopher to tell their stories.
“To be named as one of this year’s recipients of the Eugene Smith grant is an honor, but even more importantly, it represents a responsibility,” said Cristopher Rogel Blanquet. “I have the opportunity to tell stories that should not exist, yet most of them are unknown to most. My commitment is to disclose them with responsibility and to guarantee the dignity of each person who trusted me to tell their stories with my camera.”
Nicolo Filippo Rosso: “Exodus” (Italy, based in Colombia)
In Latin America, a lack of job opportunities, access to education, political corruption, and impunity have persisted for generations fueling a circle of violence and displacement that is both the symptom and the cause of a disrupted society. For four years, Nicolo Filippo Rosso has traveled along migration routes documenting the journey of refugees and migrants from Venezuela to Colombia and from Central America to Mexico and the United States. Following children, adolescents, and pregnant and nursing women from different countries, he has seen countless stories of loss merging into a single narrative through the eyes of the most vulnerable migrants: those who are born, grow and die on the move. Decades of civil war, poverty, or violence make it difficult for migrants to find better conditions than those they are fleeing from. Crossing borderlands controlled by gangs and rebel groups, people are exposed to trafficking and recruitment. Some never reach their destination. Others continue to move, often on foot, hoping to find a place where to start a new chapter of their lives.
“I was with my mom at the Festival of Ethical Photography when I received the news about the Smith Grant,” Nicolo recalls. “Of all the awards and accolades, one could receive, she knew how much the Smith grant meant to me. The tradition of humanistic photography of the Eugene Smith Memorial Fund has always inspired me, and I am honored for the opportunity to keep working on the project Exodus thanks to this important support. I hope that this recognition will bring more attention to the struggle of so many people forced to flee their homes all over the world and inspire actions to reduce poverty and violence in Latin America, as the main causes of migration.”
The following photographers were also recognized as finalists for this year’s W. Eugene Smith Grant:
Dario De Dominicis: “To the Left of Christ” (Italy / Project produced in Brazil)
Fabiola Ferrero: “I Can’t Hear the Birds” (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)
Zed Nelson: “The Anthropocene Illusion” (United Kingdom)
Danielle Villasana: “Abre Camino” (USA, based in Turkey)
Photographs and project descriptions of each grant recipient’s entry can be viewed at SmithFund.org.
Howard Chapnick Grant
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the 2021 Howard Chapnick grant ($10,000) is presented to Sarah Stacke (USA) for her entry, “The 400 Years Project.” The project, founded by Brian Adams, Sheena Brings Plenty, and Sarah Stacke, is a photography collective looking at the evolution of Native American identity, rights, and representation, centering the Native voice. One of its ambitions is to create a groundbreaking pictorial collection of Native America. To help meet this goal, they are building a digital library of Native American photographers from the mid-1800s to the present.
“There are few things I love more than investigating archives and the counter-narratives they reveal,” explains Sarah Stacke. “The 400 Years Project is elated to be the recipient of the 2021 Howard Chapnick Grant and we are eager to continue researching and locating Native photographers from the first 100 years of photography in family, regional, and national archives. The history of photography – and North America – is incomplete without the critical work and perspectives of Native American photographers,” she added.
Elizabeth Krist, a Smith Fund board member, and lead juror for the grant, was impressed with the passion and dedication represented by this year’s entries. “The scope and intensity of these undertakings is both impressive and inspiring,” said Ms. Krist. “It was an honor to review this year’s submissions with Nicole Frugé, Director of Visuals at the San Francisco Chronicle, Angélica Dass, an award-winning Aperture photographer from Brazil, and esteemed curator and Sony Artisan of Imagery Endia Beal.
- Eugene Smith Student Grant
Salih Basheer (Sudan), a student at the Danish School Of Media And Journalism (DMJX), received the $5,000 Eugene Smith Student grant for “22 Days in Between,” a narrative journey looking back at the loss of his parents and the challenges of settling into a new home with his grandmother. This project is Salih’s visual process of learning more about his parents and himself and serves as a method of healing from the trauma of losing his parents. Salih says that having a camera in his hand gave him the courage and comfort level to ask questions about his parents and their deaths.
“It’s a great honor for me to be named recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Student grant,” said Salih Basheer. “I’m very happy, proud, and grateful, and I appreciate the judges’ confidence in me and my work. I will use this grant to continue producing work that helps make a difference.”
“The judges were impressed and encouraged by the number of incredible entries we received this year,” explains Kris Graves, Smith Fund board member and lead juror for the student grant. Joining Kris as jurors for the 4th annual Student grant were Lisa Volpe, Associate Curator, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Andreas Gehrke, photographer and Publisher of Drittel Books, and Michelle Dunn Marsh, co-founder of Minor Matters. The $5,000 grant provides a special category for all collegiate-level students (photo and non-photo majors) to submit their documentary photography and tell their stories.