The Open Society Foundations (OSF) has announced the winners of its 2013 Audience Engagement Grants. The annual grants, which vary in dollar amounts, supports projects that provide ways for audiences to take a more direct role in making change happen. The grantees partner with organizations to present the work. Most grantees collaborate with the communities they’ve covered to create and share the work.
The winners are:
Jason DaSilva in partnership with AXS Lab
Filmmaker Jason DaSilva, who has multiple sclerosis, and AXS Lab have created an online tool, AXS Map, which allows users to review and rate businesses’ accessibility. A new feature on their platform enables users to upload photographs when sharing feedback.
Elyor Nematov in partnership with Central Asia on the Move
Elyor Nematov, who has documented life in foreign cities for fellow Kyrgyz, is working with Central Asia on the Move to help Kyrgyz youth to understand their rights before leaving Kyrgyzstan. Nematov will exhibit his photographs in the southern cities of Batken, Jalalabad, and Osh while distributing resource guides on the legal, medical, and social services in Russia.
Peter DiCampo in partnership with Austin Merrill, the Learning About Multimedia Project, the Bronx Documentary Center, and Unchartered Digital
Photographer Peter DiCampo and his partners are creating a curriculum for New York City students using images from Everyday Africa, an online collection of cellphone images taken by photographers based in Africa. Students will learn how to document their own neighborhoods, families, and culture as they are taught media literacy, and will be able to upload images to an interactive website.
John Willis in partnership with Lakota Circle Village, Lakota Peace Making Court, and KILI Radio Voice of the Lakota Nation
Photographer John Willis and his partners are working to counter the negative effects of outsider representations of Lakota people and culture on Lakota youth. They will use images from Willis’s Views from the Reservation as a catalyst for intergenerational dialogue on what Lakota values are missing from mainstream narratives. Through community forums and storytelling workshops, youth will use elders’ knowledge of Lakota history, language, and traditions to help guide them in creating their own narratives of what it means to be Lakota today. These projects will be exhibited at community centers throughout Pine Ridge Reservation; participants will share their experiences on KILI Radio.
More information can be found on the Open Society Foundations website.
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Open Society Announces 2012 Audience Engagement Grant Winners