NEW YORK, NY (June 25, 2008) – This year the deadline to apply for a 2008 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography is July 15, Robert Pledge reminds photojournalists. Pledge is president of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund.
The W. Eugene Smith Grant is presented annually to a photographer whose past work and proposed project, as judged by a panel of experts, follows the tradition of W. Eugene Smith's compassionate dedication exhibited during his 45-year career as a photographic essayist.
For 2008, the Smith Grant will be $30,000, with an additional $5,000 in fellowship money also to be given at the discretion of the jury. The Grant recognizes photographers who have demonstrated a commitment to documenting the human condition. The grant program is independently administered by the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund and is funded in part with contributions from Digital Railroad, Getty Images, Inc., The Mona Fund and Open Society Institute. Winners receive their awards in a ceremony held in New York City in October.
One of the most prestigious honors in photojournalism, the Smith Grant was established in 1978 following the death of Smith, the legendary photo essayist, by his friends Howard Chapnick, Jim Hughes and John Morris to perpetuate his work and spirit. The grant program provides photographers with the financial freedom to envision and carry out major photographic studies.
Applicants must include a written proposal, which should be, concise, journalistically realizable, visually translatable and humanistically driven.
Photographers interested in applying may download an application at www.smithfund.org.
Applicants can eMail questions to EugeneSmithFund@mac.com.
Submissions are to be sent to: W. Eugene Smith Fund c/o ICP, 1133 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10036, USA.
Applicants are also asked to provide a resumé of educational and professional qualifications along with evidence of photographic ability in the form of photographic workprints (8"x10" prints preferred, and no more than 40), and/or photocopies, duplicate transparencies, contact sheets and clippings of published stories. Digital images will be considered only if delivered as low-resolution jpegs on a CD or DVD (no RAW files, TIFF files, or on-line applications.)
The Smith Fund's executive committee appoints a three-person jury each year to review the applications and proposals. The jury meets twice, first to select finalists. The finalists are then asked to submit a comprehensive photographic portfolio, to write a more details and focused proposal and to answer questions about the project.
At their second meeting, the jury reviews the new material and selects the grant recipient and the recipient of the additional fellowship. The recipient must warrant that the project in progress is ongoing, and agree to provide the Fund with a set of photographs when the project is completed. The photographs will be housed as part of the permanent W. Eugene Smith Legacy collection at the ICP.
There is no entry fee. The application advises that preliminary material will be returned only when accompanied by appropriate packaging and sufficient U.S. postage or its equivalent in U.S. dollars or prepaid return Delivery Form by courier. The Smith Fund is not responsible for loss or damage.
Past grant recipients include Marc Asnin, Jane Evelyn Atwood, Letizia Battaglia, Ernesto Bazan, Ellen Binder, Pep Bonet, Chien-Chi Chang, Stephen Dupont, Carl DeKeyzer, Donna Ferrato, Maya Goded, Paul Graham, Stanley Greene, Graciela Iturbide, Alain Keler, Brenda Ann Kenneally, Gideon Mendel, Dario Mitidieri, James Nachtwey, Trent Parke, Paolo Pellegrin, Gilles Peress, Eli Reed, Eugene Richards, Cristina Garcia Rodero, Milton Rogovin, Sebastião Salgado, Vladimir Syomin, John Vink and Kai Wiedenhöfer.
The Board of Trustees of the W. Eugene Smith Fund includes Robert Pledge; President, Marcel Saba; Vice-President, Sue Brisk; Secretary, Robert Stevens; Treasurer, and trustees; Jim Balog, Phillip S. Block, Rich Clarkson, Frank Evers, Donna Ferrato, David Friend, W.M. Hunt, Yukiko Launois, President Emerita; Helen Marcus, John G. Morris, Marcel Saba, Aaron Schindler, Robert Stevens, and David Wolf.
