Joseph Sywenkyi Receives W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund’s Award For Humanistic Photography

On October 15th the the presentation of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial grant was held at the Centre of Visual Arts in New York. This year the fund received applications from more than 170 photographers in 37 countries. Total amount of the grant is $30,000. This year is was awarded to US citizen with Ukrainian roots, photographer Joseph Sywenkyi who has been studying Ukrainian culture for the last 10 years. His project “Verses from a Nation in Transition” is devoted to the psychological and economic impact of the crisis in the life of Ukrainians.

{ “img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/smith_02.jpg”, “alt”: ” “, “text”: “A wounded demonstrator receives aid during violent clashes with police forces in the center of Kyiv on Hrushevsky Street. The violence began after demonstrators marched toward parliament from Independence Square. They encountered police forces who blocked their path and the violence ensued. Hundreds were wounded and at least three demonstrators were killed over several days. January 19, 2014. ©Joseph Sywenkyj” },
{ “img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/smith_01.jpg”, “alt”: ” “, “text”: “Masha, 6 years old, was infected with HIV through her motherto child transmissin by birth, Odesa, Ukraine 2007” },
{ “img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/smith_03.jpg”, “alt”: ” “, “text”: “Sasha watches a video on his selphone with his chiled and grandson, Odesa, Ukraine, 2008” }

“The grant will allow me to continue my long-term documentation of Ukraine at this historic time of immense transition. The fact that the award went to a project that touches upon life in this nation will hopefully help create more awareness about the situation here and its effects on individuals and families,” Sywnkyi commented.
Also $5,000 Fellowship was received by Moises Saman for the project “Discordia: The Arab Spring” which features his four-year journey through Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria as there states drift from revolutionary throes to violent fallouts.
About The W.Eugene Smith Memorial Fund:
The W.Eugene Memorial Fund was established in 1979 to support photographers, who make projects about human rights and human freedom.