by Ashley Gilbertson / VII for UNICEF
Two years ago, Aleksey was heading to the pond when he picked up an object that had fallen from a passing military convoy. He thought it was a pen, he said, until it exploded up in his hand. “My first feeling was shock and pain,” Aleksey says, “I looked down and saw the fingers were hanging from my hand. My whole life changed. I can’t chop the wood, it’s hard to tie the fishing line, and it’s hard to set the traps to catch animals. Sometimes I’m getting upset up until the moment when I break into tears.” This is Europe today.
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News & Education
Maggie Steber spoke to Ben Smith on A Small Voice Podcast about changing career directions, education, Haiti, the warrior ethos, and her alter ego, “Lily LaPalma.”
Nichole Sobecki was awarded silver in the “Prix de la Photographie, Paris” (P×3) “Feature Story” category for her project “A Climate for Conflict.”
Tomas van Houtryve appeared as a guest judge on SKYTV’s Master of Photography. Stay tuned this season for more guest appearances by VII photographers.
The Open Call for the VII Masterclass in Warsaw ended today. Selected participants will be notified directly, and their names will be published on the VII Masterclass webpage and VII Photo Agency’s social media accounts before the beginning of the Masterclass. Check out more upcoming workshops below!
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VII Agency is pleased to report that we will be honored by the Josephine Herrick Project (JHP) at its 2018 Spring Photography Auction and Party on June 5, at Aperture Gallery, 47 West 27th Street in New York City. JHP is a New York City-based charity dedicated to helping underserved communities to express themselves through photography, working with disabled military veterans, youth at risk and from new immigrant and refugee families among others. JHP was awarded the 2017 Lucie Humanitarian Award, the first non-profit organization to be given this prestigious honor. Both of our organizations believe in the power of partnership, cooperative effort, and of photography to transform lives.
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Check out our February 2018 newsletter featuring an announcement on new educational initiatives, recent publications, exhibitions and more!
VII came under new direction in May 2017 and since then has been working hard to nurture an agency environment that is dynamic, productive and free of harassment, and one that creates more opportunities for diverse voices in the media.
We have long recognized that there are too few opportunities in the industry for non-male, non-Western and non-white voices. VII will continue to address this issue through education and mentoring.
Last autumn we set ourselves the task of adding important new voices to VII that better represent the diverse world that we live in. The photographers we invited into membership are men and women who are inspirational leaders in our industry.
We have also created an internal female-led reporting structure that can be used to report inappropriate behavior inside the agency, as well as out in the field, free of retaliation.
It is in the area of education and the creation of new opportunities that we feel we will be able to make the greatest impact. Our education initiatives are wide-ranging and our ambition is extensive. Every mentor at VII has committed to working in accordance with a new code of ethics, setting a rigorous standard for ethical behavior in the industry.
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VII will be accepting applications for the Mentor Program from February 8 through March 10, 2018.
The VII Mentor Program is the first mentor program of its kind and has developed some of the brightest new talent in the profession since it began in 2008. The program seeks to provide professional development for photographers whom the Members consider to be emerging new talents in the industry. For two years, each selected photographer will work with a senior member of VII to build and polish necessary skills and to expand his or her own professional practice. VII Photo Agency will distribute the photographers work for the duration of the Mentor program.
The photographers selected for the VII Mentor program are selected by the VII Member photographers. Photographers who join this program will work with one of the VII Member photographers for two years.
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