Tim Hetherington (photographer and filmmaker 1970 ~ 2011) inspired a generation with his grass roots innovations as a contributor to global media.  The Tim Hetherington Trust continues his mission for this and future generations.  To this end the Visionary Award introduces visual storytellers working in many different disciplines, each with a nugget of knowledge that will inspire and enlighten.  Tonight’s discussion will explore the work and ideas of the journalists and artists shortlisted for the 2019 Visionary Award, culminating in the announcement of the award itself.

Stephen Mayes, Executive Director of the Tim Hetherington Trust will be joined by two of the judges of this year’s award to introduce the work:

Francis Hodgson - Professor In The Culture of Photography, University of Brighton

Dan Archer - Founder and Principal of www.empatheticmedia.com

 

Six extraordinary projects are shortlisted for this year’s Visionary Award from the Tim Hetherington Trust. 

Gadi Habumugisha, Mussa Uwitonze & Bizimana Jean

HUMANITY LOST, HUMANITY FOUND: 25 years after Rwanda's genocide.  Part photography and part national therapy, the project led by three survivors who were themselves orphaned in the 1994 genocide, traces and talks to other survivors, perpetrators and their children in an attempt to shore the foundations for continued growth and healing.  

More information about Humanity Lost Humanity Found here

More information about Through The Eyes Of Children here

 

Christina Simons

RUNNING TO NOWHERE - the Central American Refugee Crisis.  Christina has applied for funding to produce a book of her four-year reportage that has explored the refugee crisis from many different angles.  The book will form the hub of a dynamic transmedia distribution strategy that includes an exhibition tour through Central America, using social media and traditional media to reframe the crisis.  

More information about Christina Simons here

 

Christopher Nunn 

UKRAINE.  Having spent several years documenting Europe’s only current live conflict Christopher will share equipment and training with a young friend in the region to create a collaborative study of what it’s like to be a child of war.  The work will ultimately be shared as an installation that recreates a home that has come under artillery bombardment, bringing viewers directly into the experience of civilians caught in conflict.

More information about Christopher Nunn here

 

Debi Cornwall

NECESSARY FICTIONS: Pineland.  Debi is developing an extraordinary documentary voice that uses factual records of fictional events to explore our relationship with truth at a time when the traditional media doesn’t know how to respond to a heaving ocean of disinformation.  The two-screen production proposed for the Visionary Award is an installation piece with potential to influence key media players who are struggling to express modern complexities and meanwhile would be essential viewing for anyone trying to make sense of what we see in the media.

More information about Debi Cornwall and Necessary Fictions here

 

Hannah Reyes Morales

LIVING LULLABIES. Based in Manila, Hannah has been investigating the conditions afflicting displaced women and children.  This multimedia document explores how caregivers prepare children for sleep in environments that are often fraught with hazard and the unique role of the lullaby as a vector for sense- and place-making.  

More information about Hannah Reyes Morales here

 

Peoples Culture

FIREFLIES: A Brownsville Story.  Using game technology this innovative project uses the power of immersive storytelling and gameplay to break down barriers and foster community in the Brownsville public housing developments in Brooklyn.  In an environment where physical movement is fraught with threat and violence the project works to expand horizons and introduce neighbors using gaming technology on computers built by the participants.  

More information about Fireflies here

More information about Peoples Culture here 

 

The evening will also include a progress report on last year’s Visionary Award:

Laia Abril

A HISTORY OF MISOGYNY, Chapter 2: On Rape. This project is the second chapter in an extended study of misogyny, the first chapter having looked at the repercussions of abortion controls in many different cultures.  Laia Abril commented on the award, “It’s been hard to find the strength to continue my project a History of Misogyny, after working on the first chapter for more than two years, documenting, analyzing and conceptualizing the repercussions of not having access to abortion in the world.    But On Rape Culture felt too relevant to not face it. I’ve been researching, which is the base of my methodology of work, and every day, every story, every injustice, is getting more and more unbearable.”

More information about Laia Abril here

 

About the jury

We owe enormous thanks to the jury who brought their expertise and careful judgment (and many hours) to evaluate the project proposals submitted for this year’s Visionary Award

Dan Archer - Founder and Principal of www.empatheticmedia.com.   Dan is a thought leader in the VR/AR/interactive storytelling space and founded Empathetic Media in 2015. He is a 2016 fellow at the Tow Center at Columbia University and was a Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow (University of Missouri, 2014) and a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University (2011).

Anna Dickson - Visual Lead, Image Search, Google.  At Google, Anna manages a team of image professionals who specialize in imagery at scale. From curation to creation, her team works with products to understand their imagery needs, provide expert guidance, assist with imagery gaps and help to train classifiers to improve image results.   Prior to Google, Dickson led photography teams at The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal and IHeartRadio.  Dickson’s interests lie in the changing visual media landscape, our understanding of imagery, how we organize it, and how we utilize it to communicate worldwide.

Francis Hodgson - Professor In The Culture of Photography, University of Brighton.  Francis has worked for many photographic businesses and was for many years the photography critic at the Financial Times.  He was also head of the photographs department at Sotheby’s and is one of the founders of the Prix Pictet.              

Idil Ibrahim – an award-winning filmmaker based in New York but working worldwide. Idil has worked on and produced film projects that have gone on to screen at the top international film festivals such as the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Toronto International Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Cinéma du Réel in Paris, and Sundance Film Festival, among others. A graduate of UC Berkeley, her work has led her around the world and extensively throughout Africa. She is a recipient of the prestigious 92Y’s Extraordinary Women Award for 2017 and was selected as one of OkayAfrica’s “100 Women” for 2018

About the Visionary Award

The Visionary Award is designed to foster innovative approaches to storytelling and supports visionary individuals who we hope will offer inspiration to others by example.   The award seeks out visual artists and journalists whose thinking and process reaches beyond the limitations of conventional media practice to create engaging and dynamic communications using any appropriate technology to create and distribute stories that inspire audiences and bring a fresh understanding of the chosen subject.

The successful candidates demonstrate personal vision, artistic ability, ethical integrity and have the necessary craft skills to execute their project effectively.  The award particularly favors projects that can be augmented by the application of new skills or technologies and in addition to the £20,000 cash grant we will find mentors to help expand the scope of the project beyond initial expectations.  Openness to new ideas and willingness to work in partnership are key characteristics for eligibility. 

Image Captions

"Perpetrators" from the project THROUGH THE EYES OF CHILDREN:  Rwanda, The Next Generation.

"Dara Lam Village" from the project NECESSARY FICTIONS, Pineland  ©Debi Cornwall

Eastern Ukraine from the project UKRAINE © Christopher Nunn

From the project RUNNING TO NOWHERE © Christina Simons: Rebecca (one-year-old) sits on the bed that she and her mother Sandra share in Ixtapec. They are from El Salvador and are fleeing the violence in their country. Rebecca had two uncles who were murdered by the mara gangs and one who was recruited into a mara gang - they have not seen him again since that day. They await papers at a refugee centre, known in Mexico as an alberge.

Manila City Jail from a previous project © Hannah Reyes Morales: Inmates sleep by a small shrine with the image of the child Jesus and Virgin Mary in the Manila City Jail, Philippines. Since President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent antidrug campaign began in 2016, Philippine jails have become increasingly more packed, propelling the overall prison system to the top of the World Prison Brief’s list of the most overcrowded incarceration systems in the world.

From the project FIREFLIES: A Brownsville Story © Peoples Culture