Visualizing the Experiences of Communities Around the World

Applications Open for the 2023 Eyewitness Photojournalism Grant

The Pulitzer Center and Diversify Photo are excited to open applications for our annual Eyewitness Photojournalism Grant. This grant is for global independent photojournalists who have been historically underrepresented in the media. The Eyewitness Photojournalism Grant began in 2020 as a response to the ongoing challenges of the time and an evolving media landscape. Over the past two years, we have supported six photojournalists from Ohio to Peru. The Eyewitness grantees have produced striking visual storytelling dealing with complex and nuanced themes.

Our 2021 grantees sought to capture the experiences affecting their communities during an unpredictable time in the world. For Vox, Joana Toro documented the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the costumed street performers of Times Square in New York City, many of whom are immigrants. Sarahbeth Maney photographed the challenges of childbirth as a woman of color in San Francisco, California. Eli Hiller's work captured the intersections of the pandemic and the opioid crisis throughout Ohio. 

Around the globe, our current grantees are capturing the strength of communities: the impact of oil fields on Black and brown communities in the Los Angeles area; collective memory and resilience of multigenerational families in San Jose de Gracia, Mexico; and Peru's glacier guardians. They showcase how visual storytelling can promote a more intimate understanding of the world we share.

As our partnership with Diversify Photo enters its third year, we seek to continue our support of photography projects and stories told by historically underrepresented journalists. This year, we are proud to continue building on the success of past years by offering our recipients the opportunity to be mentored by other professionals in the field of visual storytelling. As we continue to build on the accessibility and growth of our grants, the Eyewitness grant is available to journalists worldwide.

We hope you will share this opportunity with your communities and networks.

IMPACT

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) decided against supporting a highway project based in Peru because of its potential to disrupt Indigenous territories and facilitate drug trafficking routes.

In 2021, Rainforest Investigations Network grantee Ivan Brehaut published his project Illegal Road Construction During the Pandemic Threatens Indigenous People, on construction of the Nueva Italia-Yurua road in the Peruvian jungle. The project received widespread attention and was shared by actor Leonardo DiCaprio on Instagram.

Brehaut told the Pulitzer Center that he met with the IADB to present the findings of his investigation. According to the grantee, the bank concluded the meeting with indications that it would not fund the road. Days later, the IADB delivered an official letter announcing that the bank would not finance the road or any other in Ucayali.

This message first appeared in the May 5, 2023, edition of the Pulitzer Center's weekly newsletter. Subscribe today.

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