Getty announces recipients of inaugural reportage grants

25 September 2018

Getty Images has announced the inaugural recipients of the Getty images reportage grants program.

Rose Marie Cromwell/Getty Images. Since the early 2000’s Coco Solo residents have fought to be relocated. After years of fruitless meetings with housing authorities, some community members resorted to frequently closing the road that leads to Coco Solo and the port terminals. These protests sometimes led to violent clashes with police. Eventually the Panamanian government sold the Coco Solo land to one of the port authorities, which then began to lobby for relocation.

The getty images reportage grant awards three photojournalists grants of $15,000 to pursue long-term documentary projects of both personal and journalistic significance, as well as offering further editorial support from the company. The 2018 recipients are:

Rose Marie Cromwell for King of Fish, which aims to bring attention to the effects of rapid globalisation on small communities, focusing on the community of Coco Solo in Panama specifically.
Giulio Di Sturco for Aerotropolis, The Way we Will Live Next, a body of work which explores the rise of post-modern cities.
Leonard Pongo for The Uncanny, which captures daily life in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Speaking on the 2018 recipients, Senior Vice President for Content, Ken Mainardis said that the winners demonstrate remarkable talent.

“We are delighted to be able to support and foster this further, by providing funding to enable Rose, Giulio and Leonard to bring these thought-provoking and important international issues to light – issues that without funding, may otherwise remain unseen.”

Leonard Pongo/Getty images. for The Uncanny. The Uncanny documents daily life in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From following local TV news teams on the ground, to covering weddings, parties, church services and locally relevant events, the project authentically depicts the Congolese experience. Pongo’s focus for this project is to alter the usual narrative of the country by providing a better understanding of everyday life in the Congo.

The Getty Images Reportage Grant recipients were selected from a global pool of over 450 entrants, judged by an esteemed judging panel which included David Guttenfelder, Zara Katz, Wayne Lawrence, Amy Pereira, and Vaughn Wallace.

Giulio Di Sturco/Getty Images. for Aerotropolis, The Way we Will Live Next. An Aerotropolis is a model of a city driven by a combination of business needs and state control. These cities capture the breadth of themes running through civilisation, from the re-appropriation of the natural landscape to our unquestioning faith in technology, set in the backdrop of architecture refined in elegance and logic. It is the post-modern city. A vision, or perhaps a mirage, it is a window of opportunities to solve the dilemma of modernity: reconciling economic development and sustainable growth. Di Sturco aims to capture the scale and beauty of an Aerotropolis while simultaneously capturing the alienation and loneliness of its inhabitants.

Getty Images Reportage Grants form part of the wider Getty Images Grants program, which supports and enables the world’s photographic and photojournalism community to tell important world stories. Since the inception of the program 14 years ago, the company has awarded in excess of US$1.4 million.

Visit Where we Stand for further information.