Getty Images Announces Stephen Ferry and Karen Kasmauski as Winners of Inaugural Grants for Good

NEW YORK & LONDON, June 25, 2009 — Getty Images is proud to announce Stephen Ferry and Karen Kasmauski as the first recipients of its Grants for Good. Each photographer will be awarded $15,000 to develop compelling new imagery that will strengthen the communications and elevate the awareness of a non-profit they support.

In its inaugural year, Getty Images received more than 403 proposals from photographers in 26 countries, who partnered with non-profits working in more than 55 countries. Jurors Dennis Freedman, Creative Director for W Magazine, Christopher Phillips, Curator for International Center of Photography and Lesley Martin, Publisher for Aperture Foundation, selected the winning proposals:

Stephen Ferry’s project for Human Rights Watch (HRW), “Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Widespread Threats and Political Violence Against Colombian Civilians,” will reveal the grave state of human rights in that country while honoring the bravery of many Colombians who struggle to create a democratic society at great risk to their own lives. The project will also document work by the Americas Division of HRW in the region. HRW will use the imagery to highlight Colombia’s human rights problems in a variety of ways such as a multimedia piece for its website, in print publications, and possibly through an exhibit to inform policy makers and the US public about continuing rights problems in a country that receives substantial US assistance.

Karen Kasmauski’s project for Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM) will document the role of an extraordinary American grass roots organization. SOCM’s story is one of ordinary people who were moved to do extraordinary things, as they fought and continue to fight to save their environment. Telling SOCM’s story illuminates the larger issue of the changes in Central Appalachia over the last 30 years. Kasmauski will create photos and a video essay to show a sense of the land and the people living upon it, as many of the organization’s members are aging and battling illness associated with life long exposure to coal dust and other toxic elements in their environment. In addition to the new imagery developed by the photographer, the group’s archives will enrich a video and oral history of the organization to improve SOCM’s website as they preserve their history as they continue to evolve and change their name this year to Statewide Organization for Community eMpowerment, still SOCM, but with a refined mission and a new face.

Both grant recipients have up to six months to complete their projects and to deliver their imagery to their non-profit partner. The grants are designed to be flexible for both the photographer and non-profit; should the photographer not require the entire $15,000 to produce their project, Getty Images will donate the balance of the funds to the non-profit. Getty Images introduced the Grants for Good in February 2009 as an expansion of its photographer grant program, to involve the creative community and support photographers who use imagery to promote positive change in our world. To view the winners’ projects and their portfolio of imagery, please visit www.gettyimages.com/grants.

“It is extraordinary to see that so many photographers and non-profits are teaming to develop new imagery on a wide range of social issues, including the arts, education, human rights, health, poverty, peace and the environment,” said Andrew Delaney, head of content for Getty Images.

In addition to the two grant winners, Getty Images and the judges wish to recognize a number of outstanding finalists and their innovative grant proposals benefiting non-profits from around the world:

* David Maisel in collaboration with Earthworks to create an aesthetic response to the despoiled landscapes in the American West.
* Diane Bondereff in collaboration with Arc Finance to document how the power of solar energy can lift people from poverty in Asia and Africa.
* Greg Constantine in collaboration with Medecins San Frontiers to document their work with the Rohingya people in Indonesia.
* James Wasserman in collaboration with Khmer Arts Ensemble to capture their rebuilding of Cambodia’s cultural heritage in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge.
* Kate Kunath in collaboration with Schools for Chiapas to create compelling imagery of the indigenous people of Mexico to create a GMO-free zone.
* Kirk Torregasso in collaboration with Orange Walk to document the work of the founders as they raise awareness for the victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam.
* David Fricke in collaboration with Both Your Hands to teach orphans in Uganda to become photographers and find work in the country’s rapidly expanding infrastructure.
* Arthur Klonsky in collaboration with Connecting Youth Around the Globe, a subsidiary of Life On Lens, to document the establishment of schools that teach children photography in Haiti and Kenya.
* Jon Vidar in collaboration with the Tiziano Project to develop citizen journalism in the Kurdish culture.
* Robert van Waarden in collaboration with Global Youth Action Network (in connection with Fired Up Media) to profile a global youth-driven movement to address climate change.

For more information on these finalists and their proposals, please visit www.gettyimages.com/grants. Those interested in supporting any of these exceptional projects can secure additional information by sending an inquiry to Grants2@gettyimages.com.

About Getty Images
Getty Images is the world’s leading creator and distributor of still imagery, footage and multimedia products, as well as a recognized provider of other forms of premium digital content, including music. Getty Images serves business customers in more than 100 countries and is the first place creative and media professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage images and other digital content. Its award-winning photographers and imagery help customers produce inspiring work which appears every day in the world’s most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and websites. Visit Getty Images at http://www.gettyimages.com to learn more about how the company is advancing the unique role of digital media in communications and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to life.