Judith Fox: I Still Do and Sea of Dreams, Exhibition Opening and Book Signing- Thursday, March 4th, 5:00 to 7:30

You are invited Thursday, March 4th for an opening and book signing with Judith Fox. We are excited to exhibit two bodies of work by Fox: “I Still Do: Loving and Living with Alzheimer’s”, a powerful, poetic and universal portrayal of aging, loving, humor, mortality and hope, also the subject of a touching photographic memoir published by powerHouse. We also present, “Sea of Dreams”, an abstract depiction of haunting beauty that explores the powerful turbulence beneath the surface calm of the ocean. Seen together, these images offer both direct and metaphoric representation of deep emotion and the resilience of the human spirit. Ms. Fox will be present and signing her new book. Books available for purchase at the gallery.

WHEN: Thursday, March 4th, 2010

TIME: 5:00 to 7:30 pm

WHERE: FiftyCrows Gallery

49 Geary St, Suite 225

San Francisco, CA 94108

For more information on Judith Fox and FiftyCrows, click here.

If you would like a personal invitation please email: exhibitions@fiftycrows.org

Documentary Photography Grant

The Photocrati Fund

The 2010 Photocrati Fund competition is now open. Deadline for application submissions is March 15, 2010 (by 11pm GMT).

What is the Photocrati Fund?

The Photocrati Fund offers $5000 grants to non-professional photographers to undertake important humanitarian and environmental photography projects. Our goal is to identify outstanding, up-and-coming photographers and give them the resources necessary to pursue projects that will have a tangible and positive effect on the world.

We will offer one grant in 2010. The application deadline is March 15, 2010, and the award will be announced in June 2010. Awardees become Photocrati Fellows for the calendar year from the announcement of their award until the announcement of the following year’s award.

Award decisions will be made by the Photocrati Fund Board, a prestigious panel that includes some of the world’s best-known environmental and cultural photographers. The Photocrati Fund Board and judges for the competition are:

Steve McCurry
Michael “Nick” Nichols
Art Wolfe

Note: The Photocrati Fund and Photocrati.com are administered by Frontier Digital Media, LLC. Photocrati and the Photocrati Fund are sometimes hereinafter referred to collectively as Photocrati.

http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2010/01/get-5k-for-your-documentary-photo-project/

http://www.photocrati.com/photocrati-fund/

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Fifty Crows is dedicated to providing social documentary photographers with the tools and resources to sustain their passionate work.

Bear Guerra – Before the Quake

Whether it was the day the earthquake hit in Haiti, post aftershock or from six months prior to the natural disaster, when looking at images of the island, the abject poverty, despair, and chaos is apparent and abrasive. In the fall of 2008 photographer/reporter team, Bear Guerra and Ruxandra Guidi traveled to Haiti with a International Reporting Project fellowship from Johns Hopkins University to report on the efficacy of aid. With billions of dollars of aid invested into Haiti, the question on their minds was why no concrete and sustainable improvements had been established for the Haitian people. Together, Ruxandra and Bear created a multimedia piece which contains his black and white photographs and poignant interviews with several officials on Haiti.

What makes Bear and Ruxandra’s work so pertinent post-disaster, is the examination of Haiti’s socio-economic background as the root of the destruction that we see today. In one interview, Anne Hastings, Director Fonkoze, Alternative Bank for the Poor which provides aid to Haiti foreshadows current events when she says, “God forbid the day [a hurricane] hits Port-au-Prince head on because it is going to be really disastrous.” In writing, Bear makes the point that, “Haitians have been left out of the discussions about their own destinies for far too long. If the international community is serious about wanting to help the country rebuild, it must first listen to those who are most affected by their policies.” The multimedia piece concludes with a photographic stare down from the Haitian people, allowing no escape from the penetrating glare of people who need help.

haiti_burden_of_aid

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By Bear Guerra and Ruxandra Guidi

Many people are aware that Haiti’s history is a troubled one. Since becoming the first black republic in 1804 after a successful slave rebellion, it has known few periods of social, economic, and political stability. What many people aren’t aware of, however, are the roots of Haiti’s current situation. Its complex history traces back to the US’s refusal to recognize the country’s independence for more than 50 years, and there is no doubt that the relationships that Haiti has had with France, the United States, and the international community have had a direct and lasting influence on shaping the country’s current situation.
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This slideshow, and the stories we produced after our 2008 trip, represent the first parts of an ongoing project. Bear will be returning to Haiti over the coming months to document the clean-up and reconstruction, as well as reporting on more smaller projects to help Haitians escape extreme poverty.

Look at more multimedia stories from Bear and Ruxandra at Fonografia Collective.

Benedicte Kurzen – South African EVE Photographer

Benedicte Kurzen is a co-founder and member of Eve Photographers and part of the VII Mentor Program. Other projects she has been involved in include a video piece with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) called Shattered Lives about victims of sexual violence and the physical and psychological services that are offered at MSF clinics. This Day of Change is an incredible collaboration project that involved the photographs from 132 photographers from around the world and their images from 1.20.09, the day the Barack Obama was became the president of the United States. Benedicte’s personal portfolios looks at politics, violence and culture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as AIDS transmission between mother and child in South Africa.