It is the announcement that the photographer Nadia Shira Cohen is the recipient of the inaugural Getty Images Women Photograph Grant. The $10,000 grant will support Cohen’s project “Yo No Di a Luz” that explores the complete prohibition on abortion in El Salvador, and the many ways in which the criminal abortion ban affects the country’s women.
“The Getty Images Women Photograph Grant really spoke to me because of its focus not only of elevating the voice of women photojournalists but also that the recipient would be someone who has a personal connection with the community they are capturing,” said Nadia Shira Cohen, winner of the 2018 Getty Images Women Photograph Grant. “El Salvador is known as being a volatile place, but I feel confident with my connection to the community there and the funding from the grant that I can continue to shine a light on the dramatic repression of reproductive rights of the women of El Salvador.”
Selected by an industry leading panel, Cohen’s work was chosen from more than 400 entries from women photographers in dozens of countries. Through funding and mentorship, the $10,000 grant aims to promote gender diversity within professional photojournalism and is awarded to a professional photojournalist who has demonstrated long-term commitment to their story.
Sandy Ciric, Director of Photography at Getty Images said,“Nadia Shira Cohen’s work on the impact of the criminal ban on abortion in El Salvador is at once informative and impactful, and also beautifully rendered with a compassionate eye. Although the topic of reproductive rights is not a new one, Cohen shines a fresh light on the hardships facing El Salvador’s women.”
“We are confident that awarding Nadia Cohen the Getty Images Women Photograph grant will allow her to expand on her powerful work to include topics of imprisonment and rape, and to create traveling exhibitions and town halls to educate women in remote parts of the country about reproductive rights and erase old stigmas.”
Daniella Zalcman, Photographer and Founder of Women Photograph said, “Women Photograph’s grants program was created to provide additional support to independent women and non-binary photojournalists in the field to continue to amplify their voices as storytellers. As we work towards a truly inclusive industry, partnerships like this with Getty Images are crucial to advancing our mission.”
http://wherewestand.gettyimages.com/gi_grants/women-photograph-grant/#how_to_apply
