Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt’s lifelong love of photography has finally taken him back to Cuba more than 50 years since he shot his original iconic images and candid close-ups of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro during an assignment for Newsweek.
This new body of work will be created to announce the inaugural ‘Elliott Erwitt Havana Club 7 Fellowship’, which will be awarded annually to an exceptional photographer who will then travel to Cuba to create a unique body of work that captures the soul of Cuba and the essence of Elliott Erwitt’s unrivalled style of photography.
Invited to join Magnum Photos by Robert Capa in 1953 Erwitt has been a member of the prestigious agency ever since and has served several terms as its president. A visual poet and humorist of everyday life, he has created some of the most memorable images of our time including some of iconic personalities such as presidents John Kennedy and Richard Nixon, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, Marilyn Monroe on the set of the film The Misfits and Truman Capote’s epic 1966 Black and White Ball.
On the Fellowship, Elliott Erwitt says ‘It is so important to document Cuba at this time because this will become their legacy and it is inspiring that Havana Club 7 have taken the initiative in creating this opportunity.’
Ten editions of a selection of seven images will be sold in support of the Fellowship to fund the next photographer being awarded, alongside a yearly contribution of €25,000 EUR from Havana Club – thereby offering each successive photographer the opportunity to benefit the next in line in order to continue the legacy of Elliott Erwitt and celebrate the culture, history and tradition of Cuba.
The Elliott Erwitt Havana Club 7 Fellowship will be run in conjunction with Havana Club, the world’s leading Cuban rum brand, which embodies the heritage and supremacy of the Cuban rum-making tradition.
The Elliot Erwitt Havana Club 7 Fellowship was launched on November 1st 2015. For more information and to purchase limited edition prints, please visit www.havana-fellowship.com
http://www.elliotterwitt.com
http://www.magnumphotos.com/ElliottErwitt
