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Maxim Dondyuk Awarded $40,000 Smith Fund Grant for Work in Ukraine
18 October 2022
The W. Eugene Smith Fund has announced the recipients of this year's grant in documentary photography, the recipient of the 26th annual Howard Chapnick grant and the Eugene Smith Student grant. In addition, it has also presented two finalist grants to photographers whose projects were deemed "exceptional and worthy of recognition" by the jury.
Maxim Dondyuk. Evacuation of civilians from Irpin town through a destroyed bridge. Ukrainian forces blew up a bridge near Kyiv to cut off one route for Russian tanks advancing on the city. Irpin city, Kyiv region, March 5.
Maxim Dondyuk, a documentary photographer in the Ukraine, has received the top grant of $40,000 for his project, Ukraine 2014/22, which chronicles Ukraine's tenacious battle for its independence, national identity and freedom from Russia.
"There are times when I experience hopelessness trying to be heard, to find funding for projects and sometimes you want to quit," Maxim Dondyuk admitted after being notified. "But something deep inside won't let you. I'm thankful to the organizers of the W. Eugene Smith Grant and to the judges for highlighting my work. It helps affirm that the work we produce as photojournalists matters and grants like this give us the voice we need to tell the stories on behalf of those who don't."
OTHER AWARDS
Mary F. Calvert (U.S.) is this year's recipient of the $10,000 Smith Fund Fellowship for her project, Left Behind: Military Sexual Assault and Suicide, which addresses the high rate of suicide among military sexual trauma victims in the United States.
""With the implosion of the newspaper industry and budgets for investigative journalism disappearing, it has become nearly impossible to get this kind of complex issue covered," Calvert said.
The judges also presented two finalist grants of $5,000 each to Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya (Kashmir) and Ta Mwe (Myanmar/Burma), whose projects were deemed "exceptional and worthy of recognition" by grant jurors.
Taniya Sarkar (India) received the $5,000 Eugene Smith Student grant for Nothing Left to Call Home, a visual research project unearthing women's narratives on the multi-faceted and complex communal events since India's partition and independence in 1947.
"In this work, memory is a form of resistance that will always be relevant as long as institutions attempt to marginalize certain histories and legitimize misdeeds," Sarkar said.
This year's $10,000 Howard Chapnick Grant was presented to Seydou Camara (Mali) for his ongoing educational project for visual and citizenship culture in Mali.
A NEW RECORD
This year, the Eugene Smith fund presented $75,000 in grants and fellowships, the most it has presented in a single year. Since its inception in 1979, the Fund has presented more than $1.3 million dollars to documentary photographers around the world.
For more information see the news release below.
Maxim Dondyuk Receives 43rd Annual W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for 'Ukraine 2014/22,' Documenting Country's Battle for Independence
Mary F. Calvert Receives Smith Fellowship with Special Awards to Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya and Ta Mwe; Howard Chapnick Grant Presented to Seydou Camara; Taniya Sarkar Receives Smith Student Grant
NEW YORK -- The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund is pleased to announce that Maxim Dondyuk (Ukraine) is the recipient of this year's $40,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his project, Ukraine 2014/22. Selected from a talented group of eight finalists, Dondyuk's project chronicles Ukraine's long-lasting battle for its true independence, national identity and freedom from Russia.
The W. Eugene Smith Grant, now celebrating its 43rd anniversary, will help Dondyuk continue to document Ukraine during its self-affirmation as an independent country, with focus on the ongoing actions and outcome, of the present battle between Soviet and European values. Dondyuk's project was selected from over four hundred entries from 72 countries. Since the Smith Fund's inception in 1979, it has awarded more than $1.3 million to photographers whose past work and proposed projects follow in the tradition of W. Eugene Smith's career as a photographic essayist.
"It's a great honor to become a part of the history of this grant and a huge responsibility!" Maxim Dondyuk exclaimed after being notified. "There are times when I experience hopelessness trying to be heard, to find funding for projects and sometimes you want to quit. But something deep inside won't let you. I'm thankful to the organizers of the W. Eugene Smith Grant and to the judges for highlighting my work. It helps affirm that the work we produce as photojournalists matters and grants like this give us the voice we need to tell the stories on behalf of those who don't."
"We were extremely impressed with the quality, sensitivity and passion that went into all of this year's submissions, which made the selection extremely difficult but the overall review incredibly rewarding," explained Michelle Dunn Marsh, chair of this year's Smith Grant jury of three including award-winning photojournalist Eli Reed and Naveen Kishore, founder of Seagull Books. "Maxim Dondyuk's images of Ukraine unanimously resonated with the jury. Dondyuk's body of work and personal commitment to return to Ukraine to document this ongoing invasion speaks to the tenacity, photographic excellence and depth of character that this grant honors,"
W. Eugene Smith Fellowship
The Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, a longtime supporter of the Eugene Smith Fund, increased their contribution to the Fund, allowing its Fellowship grant to increase from $5,000 to $10,000 and its two Finalist grants from $2,500 to $5,000, beginning this year.
Mary F. Calvert (U.S.) is this year's recipient of the $10,000 Smith Fund Fellowship for her project, Left Behind: Military Sexual Assault and Suicide, which addresses the alarming rates of suicide among Military Sexual Trauma victims in the United States. Since 2001, over 30,000 U.S. service members have died by suicide, four times more than those who died in combat.
"I am very honored to be awarded the W. Eugene Smith Fellowship for this project," said Mary F. Calvert. "With the implosion of the newspaper industry and budgets for investigative journalism disappearing, it has become nearly impossible to get this kind of complex issue covered. It is extremely gratifying that the W. Eugene Smith Fund continues to support photographers in their quest to tell these neglected stories."
The judges also presented two finalist grants of $5,000 each to Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya (Kashmir) and Ta Mwe (Myanmar / Burma), whose projects were deemed "exceptional and worthy of recognition" by the jury.
W. Eugene Smith Student Grant
Taniya Sarkar (India) received the $5,000 Eugene Smith Student grant for Nothing Left to Call Home, a visual research project unearthing women's narratives on the multi-faceted and complex communal events since India's partition and independence in 1947.
"It's an honor for me to receive the most respected Eugene Smith Student Grant, giving me significant support for my long-term project Nothing Left to Call Home, which aims to provide women's perspectives on Bengal's riots, partition and mass migration since 1946," explained Taniya Sarkar. "In this work, memory is a form of resistance that will always be relevant as long as institutions attempt to marginalize certain histories and legitimize misdeeds," she added.
"Taniya's dedication and commitment to her work are palpable. One frame after another was exceptionally strong -- it was remarkable to see both form and content so aligned," said Noelle Flores Théard, Smith Fund board member and chair of this year's jury. Other jurors joining Flores Théard were Emmeline Yong, the co-founder and director of Objectifs, a visual arts space in Singapore that focuses on film and photography and their value to society and Whitney Hollington Matewe, a queer visual storyteller of color and photo editor, producer and creative, currently at TIME.
Howard Chapnick Grant
This year's $10,000 Howard Chapnick Grant was presented to Seydou Camara (Mali) for his ongoing educational project for visual and citizenship culture in Mali. "I am proud to be selected for this award," said Seydou Camara. "It will help me continue to realize my dream which is to democratize photography in Mali and use photography as a teaching tool for children and young adults in my community."
"Seydou Camara's vigor to make visual culture possible and link it to citizen culture, is of critical importance for those who otherwise would not have access to these important discussions and ability to express themselves through photography," explained John Fleetwood, Smith Fund board member and chair of this year's jury. "We hope that this grant will encourage him and the many other great applicants to continue their important work and their ability to inspire others."
Joining John Fleetwood this year were Akinbode Akinbiyi, photographer, curator and writer based in Berlin and NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, the co-founder and Artistic Director of photo.circle, Nepal Picture Library and Photo Kathmandu, working at the intersections of visual storytelling, research, pedagogy and collective action.