W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Announces Winner of Prestigious Photography Grant
27 Octubre 2003 - 2:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Announces Winner of Prestigious
Photography Grant Annual Grant for Humanistic Photography Sponsored
by Nikon Spirit Initiative(C); Awards Ceremony and Reception Held
Oct. 27 in New York City MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ --
The Nikon Spirit Initiative(C) and the W. Eugene Smith Fund today
announced Trent Parke as the overall winner of the 2003 annual W.
Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography. In his winning
photographic essay, Minutes to Midnight: A Changing Australia --
Cities, Beaches, Bush, Parke focused his photographic eye upon his
home country of Australia. For the past eight years, Parke has been
documenting daily life in the city of Sydney, and he will continue
to travel throughout Australia during 2004 to document its people
and culture in an attempt to capture the mood and emotions of the
still young and emerging nation. The winning work also reflects
Parke's commentary on the recent Bali bombing and threats of
terrorist attacks in Australia, which he says has affected "the
psyche of the nation" and caused the "disappearance of innocence"
in the country. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031027/NYM162 ) Parke will be
awarded a $30,000 grant, funded by The Nikon Spirit Initiative, at
an awards ceremony this evening at the HBO Theatre in New York
City. The grant is awarded each year to independent photographers
who have demonstrated their commitment to documenting the human
condition. "The Nikon Spirit Initiative would like to congratulate
this year's winners and is pleased to be affiliated with and
support the W. Eugene Smith Grant," said Anna Marie Bakker, general
manager of communications at Nikon Inc. "Capturing the human
experience through the lens of a camera requires sharing a certain
level of the suffering or joy of the subject. To accurately portray
the human condition takes great talent and insight. Nikon is proud
to help fund photographers who continue this tradition by following
in the footsteps of the great humanistic photographer W. Eugene
Smith." The W. Eugene Smith Fellowship Grant, also funded by The
Nikon Spirit Initiative, will be awarded this evening as well. New
York City photographer Victor Sira, in his work entitled Points of
Entry, chronicles the lives and living conditions of undocumented
immigrants flowing into the European Union through three key border
regions in France, Spain and Italy. Sira will receive a grant
totaling $5,000. The primary grant is awarded to the photographer
whose previous work and proposed continuation follow in the
tradition of W. Eugene Smith's compassionate dedication as a
photographic essayist. "On behalf of the Smith Fund and the
photojournalists who have been recipients and will be recipients of
the Grant, we sincerely thank The Nikon Spirit Initiative for its
continued support and friendship to our profession," said Helen
Marcus, president of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund, Inc. "We
are thrilled and excited that Nikon continues to demonstrate its
leadership in supporting photography and the work of great
photographers in their portrayal of our society." Learn more about
the W. Eugene Smith Fund by logging onto the website at
http://www.smithfund.org/. About The Nikon Spirit Initiative: The
Nikon Spirit Initiative encompasses a variety of educational and
sponsorship programs, and serves as a forum for expression and
creativity to inspire and help people realize their creative
visions through photography. Through this initiative, Nikon is
giving back to the photographic community by fostering education
and providing opportunities and support through grants,
scholarships, contests, promotion, workshops, equipment donations
and financial contributions. The Nikon Spirit Initiative inspires
photographers of all skill levels to use photography as a medium to
directly impact the lives of others. For more information, please
visit http://www.nikonusa.com/spiritinitiative. About the W. Eugene
Smith Grant The W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography is
presented annually to a photographer whose past work and proposed
project for the upcoming year, 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.
Since 2001, the grant has been $30,000, with an additional $5,000
in fellowship money awarded at the discretion of the jury. The
grant program is independently administered by the W. Eugene Smith
Memorial Fund and generously funded by Nikon Inc. Visit the W.
Eugene Smith Memorial Fund on the Web at http://www.smithfund.org/.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031027/NYM162
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: The Nikon Spirit
Initiative(C) CONTACT: Emily Buchanan of The MWW Group,
+1-201-507-9500, Web site: http://www.smithfund.org/
http://www.nikonusa.com/spiritinitiative
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