Winners revealed for the inaugural Getty Images Creative Bursary

Getty Images has just revealed the first recipients of the inaugural Getty Images Creative Bursary. The bursary was established to support emerging photographers in the creative field and enable them to realise commercial photographic projects which, without funding, they might not have otherwise been able to pursue.

This year, six recipients received bursaries totalling US$20,000, with $5,000 for joint first place, $3,000 for joint second place and $2,000 for joint third place. In order to be eligible, entrants must submit a project proposal and visual brief in support of their creative idea, be 30 years or under or have been pursuing photography as a professional career for less than three years.

The recipients

First place

• Oriana Koren is a Florida-born photographer, writer, and activist currently based in Los Angeles. Her project, If I Can Cook, You Know God Can will be a six-month long project documenting African contributions to food culture in the Americas.  
• Jeremy Dennis was born and raised on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton, New York. He looks to explore the topic of indigenous history and oral stories in his project, Our Stories – Past and Present. Through his work, Dennis uses the medium of photography to address themes of indigenous identity, assimilation, and tradition.

Second place

• Yagazie Emezi is a Nigerian documentary photographer. Emezi aims to provoke folkloric connotations through her photographic project titled, Another Tale By Moonlight. She began her journey as a self-taught photographer in early 2015 and has since been commissioned by the likes of the New York Times and Vogue.
• Neema Githere is a film photographer and multimedia artist from Nairobi. Githere’s idea for her project, “Coming of Age as a Nomad in the #DigitalDiaspora was motivated by her wanderlust, and will document her return visit to Madagascar.

 

Third place

• Donavon Smallwood is a New York-based photographer. Smallwood has been awarded for his project, Shepherdess, which is inspired by the traditional paintings of William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
• Tara Sellios is a Boston-born photographer. Sellios mimics the style of altarpiece paintings in her project, Testimony. The still-life photographs are created using organic matter with the purpose of showcasing the beauty of the natural world.

The judges

An esteemed panel of photographic and multidisciplinary experts judged a geographically diverse group of artists.

• Andy Saunders – Senior Vice President, Creative Content at Getty
• Andy Adams – Photographer and Publisher of Flak Photo
• Jeanie Annan-Lewin – London-based fashion editor and stylist as well as founder of Moodboard Zine.
• Andrea Wise – independent artist and editor and Diversify Photo co-founder
• Brent Lewis – Senior Photo Editor of ESPN’s The Undefeated and co-founder of Diversify Photo