Getty Images awards $130,000 worth of photography grants
- Text by Andrea Kurland
Long-term photojournalism projects should be respected as a gift – an entry point to the depths of human existence. They take years of personal sacrifice to produce and are consumed in a matter of moments, but the message they carry can last for all time.
To help support those working to bring us closer to the source, Getty Images has awarded $130,000 worth of photography grants for editorial and portrait projects that carry a journalistic significance as part of the Visa Pour l’Image Festival in Perpignan, France.
Among those to receive a $10,000 grant for their work in photojournalism is Ohio-born photographer Krisanne Johnson, who’s long-term project on South Africa’s Post-Apartheid youth looks set to deepen over the coming year to cover life at every level of society.
Krisanne’s South African work, The Born Frees, is a natural follow-up to the time she spent in Swaziland producing I Love You Real Fast. Featured in Huck 46 – The Documentary Photography Speciall II – alongside a personal essay in which Krisanne reveals the questions that drive her work – it’s a coming-of-age portrait of the lives of teenage girls who are dealing with, but not defined by their battle with HIV.
So how did the two projects connect? Says Krisanne: “I’d been to South Africa in the late ’90s. It had been a meaningful experience to see a changing post-apartheid generation take shape. I had done a study abroad there and an internship. My plan was to return to visit friends and to chase love. But during an African language fellowship course in grad school, an assignment led me to research Swaziland – a country almost surrounded entirely by South Africa. The more I read, the more I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
Other photographers to receive a Getty grant include Giulio di Sturco, for his work on the Ganges, William Daniels, who’s been documenting a year of conflict in the Central African Republic, Laura Boushnak for her work on women in the Middle East, Jordi Busqué for his project on The Mennonites of Bolivia, and Juan Arredondo, who’s been documenting the child soldiers of Colombia.
Read Krisanne Johnson’s essay in Huck 46 – The Documentary Photography Special II, out September 8.
Subscribe now to ensure you don’t miss another issue.
Latest on Huck
This erotic zine dismantles LGBTQ+ respectability politics
Zine Scene — Created by Megan Wallace and Jack Rowe, PULP is a new print publication that embraces the diverse and messy, yet pleasurable multitudes that sex and desire can take.
Written by: Isaac Muk
As Tbilisi’s famed nightclubs reawaken, a murky future awaits
Spaces Between the Beats — Since Georgia’s ruling party suspended plans for EU accession, protests have continued in the capital, with nightclubs shutting in solidarity. Victor Swezey reported on their New Year’s Eve reopening, finding a mix of anxiety, catharsis and defiance.
Written by: Victor Swezey
Los Angeles is burning: Rick Castro on fleeing his home once again
Braver New World — In 2020, the photographer fled the Bobcat Fire in San Bernardino to his East Hollywood home, sparking the inspiration for an unsettling photo series. Now, while preparing for its exhibition, he has had to leave once again, returning to the mountains.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Ghais Guevara: “Rap is a pinnacle of our culture”
What Made Me — In our new series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that have shaped who they are. First up, Philadelphian rap experimentalist Ghais Guevara.
Written by: Ghais Guevara
Gaza Biennale comes to London in ICA protest
Art and action — The global project, which presents the work of over 60 Palestinian artists, will be on view outside the art institution in protest of an exhibition funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Written by: Cyna Mirzai
Ragnar Axelsson’s thawing vision of Arctic life
At the Edge of the World — For over four decades, the Icelandic photographer has been journeying to the tip of the earth and documenting its communities. A new exhibition dives into his archive.
Written by: Cyna Mirzai