Award-Winning Creative Directors, Curators, Picture Editors, and Documentary Photographers Highlight Renowned List of International Judges for 2024 Entries

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 26, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The W. Eugene Smith Fund has announced the judges for its 2024 annual grants including the W. Eugene Smith grant, W. Eugene Smith Student grant, and Howard Chapnick grant. This year’s esteemed adjudication panel includes Arem Duplessis, Group Creative Director at Apple, Hideko Kataoka, Director of Photography at Newsweek Japan, photographer Nii Obodai, David Y. Lee, a Senior Program Officer at the National Geographic Society, documentary photographer Munem Wasif, Darcy Padilla, educator and recipient of the 2010 Eugene Smith Grant, Mariana Rettore, Exhibitions Manager and Curator at the World Press Photo Foundation, Gisela Volá, mentor and educator, and Emine Ziyatdinova, co-founder and director of the NGO "Ukrainian Warchive.” This year’s adjudication process will be managed and directed by Eugene Smith Fund board members Elizabeth Krist and Angela Jimu.

“We are honored to have such a talented and diverse group of industry professionals to adjudicate this year’s grant entries” said Scott Thode, president of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund. “These judges represent a global perspective and a vision of excellence which will assist them in determining this year’s grant recipients from hundreds of international entries,” Mr. Thode added.

Thanks to the support from longtime donors including the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, Earth Vision Institute, and the John and Anne Duffy Foundation, along with new supporters including PhotoWings and the Joy of Giving Something, the Smith Fund has been able to provide financial support to documentary photographers around the world. The Smith Fund recently announced it will increase cash awards for its grants and fellowships and add a second Student grant, beginning this year.

The W. Eugene Smith Fund will continue accepting applications for all grants through October 8, 2024 (11:59 EDT). The Eugene Smith Fund has presented nearly $1.3 million in grants since it was founded in 1979.

2024 W. Eugene Smith Grant Judges
Arem Duplessis is an Emmy Award recipient and AIGA Medalist, currently working as a Group Creative Director in Apple’s worldwide marketing department. Previously, he served as design director of The New York Times Magazine, where his department was named Design Team of the Year for three consecutive years by the Art Director’s Club. During his tenure at GQ, he led the development of the typeface GQ Gotham (later shortened to Gotham), which became one of the most recognizable typefaces of a generation.

Hideko Kataoka is a photo editor and curator and was appointed director of photography at Newsweek Japan in 2001. In 2004, she created the 'Picture Power' section, a weekly photo essay that captures underreported topics from around the world and is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Nii Obodai is a photographer and artist born in Accra, Ghana. His photography explores the intricate relationships within urban and rural culture, focusing on the dynamic interplay of environment and spirituality while telling the stories of the people he connects with. Through his visual practice, he strives to communicate the profound connection between humanity and the environment.

In 2015, Nii founded Nuku Studio, offering support for both emerging and established photographers through research projects, collaborations, partnerships, exhibitions, and more.

2024 W. Eugene Smith Student Grant Judges
Munem Wasif is a documentary photographer from Bangladesh and a teacher of documentary photography at Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in Dhaka. He was selected for the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass in 2007 and won the City of Perpignan Young Reporter's Award at Visa pour l'image in 2008, the same year he received the International Award for concerned photography.

Darcy Padilla is an associate professor of art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member photographer of Agence VU' in Paris. Her work primarily focuses on narrative photography, exploring themes of struggle and the trans-generational effects of socio-economic issues. Padilla's acclaimed monograph, Family Love, published by Éditions de La Martinière (France), documents a family over 21 years, presenting an intimate portrayal of poverty, AIDS, and social issues. Darcy was the recipient of the 2010 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography.

Mariana Rettore is an Exhibitions Manager and Curator at the World Press Photo Foundation in Amsterdam. She currently oversees the presentation of the annual World Press Photo exhibition in approximately 20 locations worldwide. Prior to World Press Photo, she worked as a producer and assistant curator at the Tiradentes Photo Festival in Brazil between 2018 and 2023. In 2021, she led the coordination of an international open call for lens-based artists that culminated in an exhibition at Rotterdam Photo.

2024 Howard Chapnick Grant Judges
David Y. Lee is a Senior Program Officer at the National Geographic Society where he supports their Storytelling grant-making program and global community of Storytelling Explorers. Prior to joining National Geographic Society, David covered The White House for TIME and Newsweek as a photojournalist, served as an official photographer for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, led National Geographic’s global photo community, and worked at Advancement Project as their Social Impact Storyteller.

Gisela Volá lives in Argentina and works at the intersections of visual creation, education, and collective work. In 2004, she co-founded Cooperativa Sub, a project that has been operating for fifteen years in Buenos Aires and delves into the creation of a collective identity and the execution of photographic investigations within the Latin American territory. Gisela Volá has been a mentor in the Women Photograph Mentoring Program. She received the POYi Latam Picture of the Year Award 2019/2012 in portraiture and the first prize at the Cuenca, Biennial in 2009.

Emine Ziyatdinova is a Crimean Tatar documentary photographer and co-founder and director of the NGO "Ukrainian Warchive," a digital photo archive of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Emine holds MA degrees in sociology from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and in photojournalism from Ohio University's School of Visual Communication. From 2012 to 2017, she worked extensively in documentary photography and journalism in Ukraine before relocating to the UK where she shares her expertise with the non-profit organizations such as the Rory Peck Trust and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Louis Desiderio
Synergy Communications
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