Reuters has awarded eight grants to help nurture a new generation of photojournalists. Hailing from Alexandria to Zanzibar, here are the winners.
To succeed in its vital mission of representing the world as it truly is, journalism needs a broad spectrum of backgrounds, vantage points and ideas. To that end, Reuters recently awarded eight US$5,000 grants to emerging photographers whose work will help the news agency – and the industry at large – develop a diverse new generation of photojournalists.
“The Reuters Pictures grant program gives a rare opportunity to eight photojournalists from diverse backgrounds and from around the world to work with Reuters and develop their talent,” said Yannis Behrakis, a senior editor of special projects for Reuters who will mentor the recipients. “I will be dedicating plenty of time to mentor each of them and help them understand in depth the needs of the industry in the digital age.”
Behrakis was a member of the Reuters Pictures team that won the 2016 Breaking News Photography Pulitzer Prize for its work covering the immigration crisis in Greece.
The eight recipients are:
Daro Sulakauri
Daro Sulakauri, based in Tbilisi, Georgia, has been previously recognized at the Vienna Photo Festival and was a 2016 winner of the EU Prize for Journalism in the “Best Photo” category. Sulukauri’s work includes documenting a hidden narrative of the Chechen conflict and a story on early marriages in Georgia.
“I am really honored on being chosen as one of the Reuters grantees,” she said. “As a Georgian photojournalist, it opens opportunities that will allow me to further enhance my work by challenging me with new assignments from unfamiliar parts of the world.”
Thomas Nicolon
Thomas Nicolon covers wildlife conservation and environmental issues in Central Africa. His work has appeared in Africa Geographic, National Geographic France and Le Monde. He settled in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2015, where he now documents conservation in conflict zones.
“I’m very grateful, since this grant will allow me to carry out my project on illegal wildlife trade in the Congo basin,” he said.
Heba Khamis
Heba Khamis is an Egyptian visual researcher and photographer based in Alexandria. After volunteering in Uganda, she took an interest in using photojournalism to concentrate on “social issues that are sometimes ignored.” Her recent work has featured breast ironing in Cameroon, gay prostitution among refugees in Germany and life for transgender people in Egypt.
Loren Elliott
Loren Elliott has worked for the Columbia Missourian, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Tampa Bay Times. In 2017, his portfolio placed third in Picture of the Year International’s “Newspaper Photographer of the Year” category. Now based in Houston, Texas, United States, Elliott has focused much of his work on the U.S.-Mexico border, where he has tried to show what immigration looks like in the increasingly politicized Rio Grande Valley.
“The Reuters grant will afford me the opportunity to dig into a story of inequality and injustice in my own backyard,” he said. “I’m honored and grateful to receive the support of Reuters in telling this story and getting it in front of as many eyes as possible.”
Nicky Woo
Nicky Woo divides her time between Zanzibar, Tanzania and New York City. Before enrolling at Parsons School of Design, where she is now a visiting professor, Woo studied psychology. Her work has appeared in Marie Claire, Men’s Health and Interview magazines.
Manuel Seoane
Manuel Seoane works for Qamasa newspaper in La Paz, Bolivia. He covers events of note, including stories involving the migrant communities in Bolivia’s capital.
“To receive this Reuters grant is to open that much-desired door to worldwide photojournalism,” he said. “It is a unique opportunity to push a professional career in the right direction. I am thrilled and honored.”
Gabriel Scarlett
Gabriel Scarlett, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., has worked for The Denver Post and Los Angeles Times. He studies photojournalism, Arabic and emergency medicine at Western Kentucky University.
Ekaterina Anchevskaya
Ekaterina Anchevskaya works in Turkey and her native Russia. Her work often chronicles the distinctive character of her homeland.
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