Her name is Nancy Farese. She’s American and a photographer. She created a foundation called Catchlight, which is very focused on social photography and engaged. The Eye of Photogtraphy sheds light on her approach and activities by giving her a column today.
There is a vitality and urgency about being in the arts right now. Photography has never been more ubiquitous, or more useful as a social tool to reach across geographies and language. The medium itself is evolving, perhaps beyond the reference of light and writing into something that we can yet recognize. The landscape around it shifts and reconstitutes around new platforms, new behaviors, new technologies. Yet the connective tissue of storytelling has never been more necessary, and the stories that we share, whether in a flash of Snapchat or a deeply immersive documentary film, are largely visual. I believe that there has never been a better time to use the power of photography and the connectivity of storytelling to bind our world together with empathy and compassion.
For the past 10 years, I’ve traveled as a social documentary photographer, shooting visual narratives for non-profits such as CARE.org, The United Nations High Commission of Refugees, Mercy Corps and The Carter Center. In 2008, on a photo shoot with the International Rescue Committee at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, I was awed by the efficiency, dignity, and compassion pervading the work around me. While I could not build latrines, or feed thousands, I could play a vital role in accelerating the means through which photography was used to amplify stories.
I created the PhotoPhilanthropy Activist Awards to reward excellence in photography linked to social agencies, anywhere in the world. In five years, we amplified the work of hundreds of photographers shooting photography that matters in 88 countries in collaboration with more than 400 social agencies.
PhotoPhilanthropy has since evolved into CatchLight, and our organization is dedicated to accelerating the social impact of visual storytelling. We recognize the very real fact that social issues are challenging and we need art to sort through the visual clutter and fight the oversimplification of the nuanced world around us. Our mission is expressed through a series of fellowships, programs, and exhibitions. We seek partnerships that enable us to reach new audiences and nurture innovative forms of distribution.
CatchLight acts as an incubator for the best of a new breed of storyteller, surrounding them with resources, networks, and leadership support to amplify their stories. The CatchLight Fellowship annually recognizes three individuals who demonstrate artistic excellence, a social focus, and creative leadership potential. We provide resources to amplify their capacities and to reach new audiences.
Named in April 2017, our inaugural Fellows are Sarah Blesener, Tomas van Houtryve and Brian Frank. Each was paired with a media partner—The Pulitzer Center, The Center for Investigative Reporting REVEAL and The Marshall Project, respectively. Together, the Fellows and their partners are breaking new ground in the arena of photography for social good.
In 2018, the $30,000 CatchLight Fellowship will again be awarded to each of three creative leaders. The Fellowship is open to working professionals of any age and from any country who have demonstrated excellence in working with visual storytelling and a commitment to effecting social change. Applicants may work in a broad range of visual formats including photography, video, audio, motion or VR. The application will open on catchlight.io on January 1, 2018 and the deadline for submissions is January 31.
CatchLight’s newest program, Everyday BayArea, is based on a curated Instagram feed. We are using new media tools to see and understand the San Francisco Bay Area community across identities, demographics, and geographies, encouraging a wide variety of new photography perspectives to expose the depth and breadth of people living their version of the California Dream. Partnering with CalMatters and KQED we hope to tell a more complete story of everyday life in the Bay Area.
Vital to our mission is live engagement, so in 2018 we’ll roll out a series of exhibitions, media and public dialogue, using images to connect around social issues and identity.
We are at a moment of profound challenge and opportunity, and I think of Teddy Roosevelt’s call to recognize people who “get in the arena” and take up the great challenges of our time. That’s what we do at CatchLight; we amplify the capacity of people with great courage, talent and integrity who take on the great social challenges of our time.
I am inspired every day.
Nancy Farese
Nancy Richards Farese is the Founder and Board Chair of PhotoPhilanthropy, a San Francisco-based non-profit that rewards and promotes the work of photographers globally who work with community organizations using visual storytelling to show the most critical issues of our time. Nancy Farese is also a social documentary photographer known for creating evocative and dignified images of critical non-profit work.
More information at www.catchlight.io.
