Earlier this year, Dove announced it would be teaming up with Getty Images to grant two female, female-identifying or non-binary photographers $5,000. The winners of the #ShowUs Grant have just been announced to two photographers who have pursued stories that shatter the stereotypes and celebrate women and aging.
Now in its third year, Project #ShowUs looks to honor the diverse experiences of women in their 50s, 60s and 70s who are under or misrepresented in mainstream media. It encourages photographers and videographers to unveil the modern-day reality of women and female-identifying who live, active, healthy and fulfilling lives in a more authentic way.
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The winners of this year's grants are Irene Baqué, a film director and photographer who tells real human stories and Virginia Kluiters, a fashion, beauty and fine art photographer based in New York who works with brands and publications to produce dynamic content.
On winning the award, Irene said, “I am so grateful to have won the Getty Images x Dove bursary. This is the second time I’ve applied, and it will allow me to spend some time researching and developing a photography project that feels very personal and that will allow me to work with creative freedom. As a documentarian, I feel it's key to spend time with my subjects, gaining their trust and getting to know them to portray them in the best possible way, and thanks to this grant I will be able to do it. My photo series Sporty Woman is based in Madrid, where I recently moved, so this is a great opportunity to get to know the city!”
As a former copywriter, Virginia Kluiters appreciated the art of storytelling and her work has a narrative focus using color and light to create ethereal scenes. She is passionate about telling women’s stories and endeavors to celebrate feminine diversity through her work.
“Winning this grant gives me the amazing opportunity to invest more into my ongoing project exploring diversity within femininity and womanhood. Photoshoots can be very expensive, so I can’t always fully realize my creative visions due to budget. But with this grant, I will be able to bring creatives onto the team to produce elevated imagery without financial constraints. As an artist, I am very grateful for that!”
The competition was judged by a panel of industry experts and creatives including Dove's global vice president Leandro Barreto, Barbara Shipley, the senior vice president and brand integration at AARP, Negate Leklye, an educator and influencer and photographer Meryem Slimani.
Both winners will also be invited to have their work licensed on Getty Images and iStock and receive 100% of the royalties for content created within their proposed project. Getty Images founded the grants program in 2004 and since it has helped emerging photographers and videographers with over $2.4 million in grants.
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