Celebrating the visual stories of marginalised communities
- Text by HUCK HQ
- Photography by Curtis Essel/ 33 Bound (main image)
In the opening sequence of Lift Like A Girl, a woman stands over a barbell loaded with weight plates. After taking a moment to gather composure, she bends and steadies herself, before clasping her hands firmly around the bar and lifting it up onto her shoulders and over her head in one seamless movement.
The film, directed by Egyptian filmmaker Mayye Zayed, is one of four projects awarded the Getty Images ARRAY Grant, an initiative with the aim of elevating the visual narrative of underrepresented ethnic communities.
Launched in May this year as a collaboration between Getty and ARRAY Alliance – a creative collective founded by filmmaker Ava DuVernay – the grant awards each winning submission a prize of $5,000.
“At Getty Images we believe it is our responsibility support and enable photographers, filmmakers and content creators that are pushing the industry forward, and are especially proud to award these grants to four creatives who are challenging the visual norm and evoking new conversations,” said Andy Saunders, Senior Vice President, Creative Content.
“The creative talent, powerful storytelling and overall quality of work received through this process has been second to none.”
Fellow winners include AGYA, a film – directed by visual artist Curtis Essel – that explores the concept of fatherhood, as well as Lamba and Church of Broken Pieces, documentary photo projects courtesy of Miora Rajaonary and Shawn Theodore respectively.
“There are underrepresented images of considerable beauty made within communities of color. Our creative collective was founded on the premise that the visions and voices of marginalized artists must be amplified,” said Mercedes Cooper, ARRAY’s Director of Marketing.
“This grant collaboration with Getty has not only fostered the discovery of talent across gender, ethnicity, religion, subject and culture, but also supported ARRAY’s continued celebration of visual work from creators around the world that reflects authentic and artful storytelling.”
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
Exploring the impact of colonialism on Australia’s Indigenous communities
New exhibition, ‘Under a Southern Star: Identity and Environment in Australian Photography’ interrogates the use of photography as a tool of objectification and subjugation.
Written by: Miss Rosen
My sister disappeared when we were children. Years later, I retraced her footsteps
After a car crash that saw Magnum photographer Lindokuhle Sobekwa hospitalised, his sister ran away from their home in South Africa. His new photobook, I Carry Her Photo With Me, documents his journey in search of her.
Written by: Lindokuhle Sobekwa
Inside New York City’s hedonistic 2000s skateboarding scene
New photobook, ‘Epicly Later’d’ is a lucid survey of the early naughties New York skate scene and its party culture.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Did we create a generation of prudes?
Has the crushing of ‘teen’ entertainment and our failure to represent the full breadth of adolescent experience produced generation Zzz? Emma Garland investigates.
Written by: Emma Garland
How to shoot the world’s most gruelling race
Photographer R. Perry Flowers documented the 2023 edition of the Winter Death Race and talked through the experience in Huck 81.
Written by: Josh Jones
An epic portrait of 20th Century America
‘Al Satterwhite: A Retrospective’ brings together scenes from this storied chapter of American life, when long form reportage was the hallmark of legacy media.
Written by: Miss Rosen