Four creatives collectively awarded US$25,000 in grants to promote ongoing efforts to break visual stereotypes faced by the LGBTQ+ community, specifically focused on the Chosen Family
New York – January 24, 2023: Getty Images, a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace, along with GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, have today announced the recipients of US$25,000 in creative grants focused on the Chosen Family.
Getty Images’ VisualGPS global research shows that less than 1% of visuals in media and advertising show members of the LGBTQ+ community, with those that are included mainly focusing on Pride celebrations. This grant aimed to elevate photographers and videographers working to capture a broad range of people and groups that are part of ‘chosen families’, including new family norms and cultural traditions as they relate to LGBTQ+ communities.
In addition to the three core recipients, a special grant was also awarded by the Getty Images’ LGBTQIA+ Alliance employee resource group, acknowledging exceptional work to bring to life the theme of Chosen Family.
First‑Place (US $10,000): Imani Dennison ‑ Imani Dennison is a multidisciplinary lens‑based artist and curator based in Brooklyn, NY. Imani’s work interrogates histories of Black culture in the South and African diaspora. As part of her focus, she is using analogue photography to archive and reimagine Black queer freedom.
The below image is from a separate project of Imani’s, titled African Space Travel, that was created to showcase stories and oral histories of the African Diaspora.
New York – January 24, 2023: Getty Images, a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace, along with GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, have today announced the recipients of US$25,000 in creative grants focused on the Chosen Family.
Getty Images’ VisualGPS global research shows that less than 1% of visuals in media and advertising show members of the LGBTQ+ community, with those that are included mainly focusing on Pride celebrations. This grant aimed to elevate photographers and videographers working to capture a broad range of people and groups that are part of ‘chosen families’, including new family norms and cultural traditions as they relate to LGBTQ+ communities.
In addition to the three core recipients, a special grant was also awarded by the Getty Images’ LGBTQIA+ Alliance employee resource group, acknowledging exceptional work to bring to life the theme of Chosen Family.
First‑Place (US $10,000): Imani Dennison ‑ Imani Dennison is a multidisciplinary lens‑based artist and curator based in Brooklyn, NY. Imani’s work interrogates histories of Black culture in the South and African diaspora. As part of her focus, she is using analogue photography to archive and reimagine Black queer freedom.
The below image is from a separate project of Imani’s, titled African Space Travel, that was created to showcase stories and oral histories of the African Diaspora.
Second‑Place (US $7,000): Cai Thomas ‑ Cai Thomas is a documentary filmmaker and DP telling stories at the intersection of location, self‑determination, and identity about Black youth and elders. Based in Chicago, IL, she is currently developing a documentary film following a Black lesbian couple’s journey to having a child, highlighting the challenges and lack of resources that exist.
Third‑Place (US $3,000): Alex Webster ‑ Alex "Lexi" Webster is a Black, queer, non‑binary photographer based in Brooklyn, NY whose work aims to elevate stories of Black queer and trans people in their many ways of being. They use photography to create a space of healing and liberation for Black queer and trans people.
Getty Images LGBTQIA+ Alliance Recipient ($5,000): Todd Danforth ‑ Todd Danforth is a documentary and editorial portrait photographer and writer based in Los Angeles, CA. His photographic work is deeply informed by loss and explores themes of memory and legacy through the lens of family–both biologic and chosen.
Recipients were selected by an esteemed panel of judges, including Monica Trasandes ‑ Director of Spanish Language and Latinx Media & Representation at GLAAD; Alex Schmider ‑ Emmy®, Peabody, and Critics Choice Award nominated film producer and the Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD; Abdool Corlette – GLAAD Creative Director; Myles Loftin – Artist, storyteller, and creative collaborator; Landyn Pan – Trans non‑binary photographer and video producer; LaQuann Dawson – Photographer, filmmaker, writer and visual director; Joon Park – Cultural strategist and founding member of GLAAD’s Campus Ambassador program; Thaddeus Coates – Artist and storyteller.
The Getty Images Creative Grants are a core piece of the wider Getty Images Grants program, collectively aimed at supporting the world’s photographic and photojournalism community. Since the inception of the program in 2004, the company has awarded in excess of US $2.5 million, furthering our commitment to the craft of photography and bringing attention to important stories that without funding, may otherwise remain unseen. Further details on the Getty Images grants program available at https://grants.gettyimages.com.
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About Getty Images:
Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) is a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace that offers a full range of content solutions to meet the needs of any customer around the globe, no matter their size. Through its Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash brands, websites and APIs, Getty Images serves customers in almost every country in the world and is the first‑place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with over 507,000 contributors and more than 300 content partners to deliver this powerful and comprehensive content. Each year Getty Images covers more than 160,000 news, sport and entertainment events providing depth and breadth of coverage that is unmatched. Getty Images maintains one of the largest and best privately‑owned photographic archives in the world with millions of images dating back to the beginning of photography.
For company news and announcements, visit our Newsroom.
The Getty Images Creative Grants are a core piece of the wider Getty Images Grants program, collectively aimed at supporting the world’s photographic and photojournalism community. Since the inception of the program in 2004, the company has awarded in excess of US $2.5 million, furthering our commitment to the craft of photography and bringing attention to important stories that without funding, may otherwise remain unseen. Further details on the Getty Images grants program available at https://grants.gettyimages.com.
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About Getty Images:
Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) is a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace that offers a full range of content solutions to meet the needs of any customer around the globe, no matter their size. Through its Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash brands, websites and APIs, Getty Images serves customers in almost every country in the world and is the first‑place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with over 507,000 contributors and more than 300 content partners to deliver this powerful and comprehensive content. Each year Getty Images covers more than 160,000 news, sport and entertainment events providing depth and breadth of coverage that is unmatched. Getty Images maintains one of the largest and best privately‑owned photographic archives in the world with millions of images dating back to the beginning of photography.
For company news and announcements, visit our Newsroom.
