BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A Kittitian documentary photographer is making a name for himself through his work, which represents a visual diary of his life’s journey that focuses on his relationship with communities overlooked by mainstream media.
He is Wayne Lawrence and is based in Brooklyn, New York.
Lawrence was among six individuals chosen from a field of 1 500 photographers as the 2013 winners of the Aaron Siskind Foundation’s Individual Photographers Fellowship, which honours the legacy of the legendary photographer and educator.
His success was highlighted by the world renowned TIME mag, which stated that the six photographers chosen for the Individual Photographers Fellowship grant were each awarded $8 000.
“We gave six instead of our usual five this year because we just couldn’t pare it down any further,” Charles Traub, President of Aaron Siskind Foundation said.
Traub said that Lawrence’s work documented the diverse experiences of African-American Orthodox Jews living in New York City. He also described the works of the other five photographers chosen.
He ended by saying that he thought that all the works were by wonderful photographers from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, from different parts of the country.
Describing the work of the six photographers, Traub said, “There was a great deal of technical competence and a kind of idiosyncratic look at life.”
The five other professional photographers chosen alongside Wayne for the grant are: Michelle Frankfurter, Takoma Park MD; Joshua Lutz, Katonah NY; Justin Maxon, Eureka CA; Jenny Riffle, Seattle WA; and Sasha Rudensky from New Haven CT.
The Aaron Siskind Foundation offers a limited number of Individual Photographer's Fellowship grants of up to $10 000 each for artists working in photography and photo-based art. Recipients are determined by a panel of distinguished guest judges on the basis of artistic excellence, accomplishment to date, and the promise of future achievement in the medium in its widest sense.
The Foundation seeks to support artists/photographers who demonstrate a serious commitment to the field, who are professionally active or employed in the field.
Judges for the 2013 Individual Photographer's Fellowship were: Natalie Matutschovsky, Senior Photo Editor, Time; Andrew Moore, Internationally-recognised fine art photographer and instructor; Tim Wride, William and Sarah Ross Soter, Curator of Photography, Norton Museum of Art.
Wayne Lawrence photos were featured on TIME mag's Lightbox, Facebook and Instagram feed as he proudly stands as one of the recipients of the very prestigious photographer grant.
