NEW YORK, March 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Shutterstock, Inc.
(NYSE: SSTK) a leading global creative platform offering
full-service solutions, high-quality content, and tools for brands,
businesses and media companies, today announced the launch of
"Through Their Eyes," a $10,000 grant
to champion underrepresented female and non-binary creators, and
their creative projects across photography, visual journalism,
videography, illustration, 3D modeling, and writing.
Launching on International Women's Day, the grant was
established to celebrate and embolden the diverse perspectives of
female and non-binary artists, by highlighting their visual
stories, and providing a glimpse into their thoughts, experiences
and perceptions of the world as portrayed in their art. Moving away
from stereotypical content and towards more inclusive works,
"Through Their Eyes" focuses on the female gaze at a time when
women and non-binary artists are increasingly taking hold over
their own narratives.
"Shutterstock is powered by storytelling from its diverse global
contributor community, and with "Though Their Eyes," we aspire to
empower and elevate women and non-binary people in the arts," said
Kristen Sanger, Senior Director
of Contributor Marketing at Shutterstock. "Diversity,
authenticity and representation are themes that echo the collective
spirit at Shutterstock, and the "Through Their Eyes" grant enables
these talented female and non-binary artists to create and exhibit
visually stunning content that is both relevant, and reflective of
their experiences."
The $10,000 grant will be awarded
in three prizes: a first prize of $5,000, with second and third prize each
receiving $2,500.
Female and non-binary artists including photographers,
videographers, illustrators, 3D artists or writers are open and
encouraged to apply. Applicants must submit a project proposal,
examples of their work, and a short biography by 5 p.m. EST on April 22,
2021 to be considered for the three grants. Applicants are
encouraged to outline how their submitted projects will add to the
narrative of the female and non-binary perspective. Grant
recipients will be selected by a diverse panel of expert judges who
are knowledgeable in the various genres of grants Shutterstock will
be offering. All artists selected for a grant will be provided an
outlet to license their work, either via Shutterstock, Shutterstock
Editorial, Premium Beat or OFFSET.
The Create Fund, a $300,000 artist
grant, was established by Shutterstock in December 2020, to fill content gaps and further
diversity and inclusion within its content library and contributor
network.
At launch, the first three grants offered through The Create
Fund included:
- Create for Climate: Drawing awareness to global climate
change by supporting artists who use their talents to depict
climate change, environmental protests, and our changing
landscape.
- Support Invisible Illness: Promoting artists who create
visual stories and representations that break the stigma around
mental health, portraying a more inclusive view of mental illness
around the world.
- The Senior Creatives: Supporting our community of senior
creatives—those over 50 who have had years to hone their craft and
want to share their experiences and perspectives through creative
means.
In addition to launching the "Through Their Eyes" grant, we are
thrilled to announce the recipients of these three grants:
- Create For Climate: João Esteves, Portugal
"My goal with this project is to create a short-documentary film at
this pivotal moment, to feel the pulse of the Fridays for Future
movement and other climate activists in Portugal."
- Supporting Invisible Illness: Aaliyah-Janay Williams, U.S.A
"Through film, I intend to show the emotional and mental toll that
self-exploration can have, especially when an individual is
unlearning habits, behaviours, and patterns that do not serve
them."
- The Senior Creatives: Erkin Bolzhurov, Kyrgyzstan
Erkin's son Bektur has cerebral palsy, and Erkin began to document
his life and the lives of others with disabilities through
photography.
"I want to show their lives, and relationships with their
relatives."
To learn more about the "Through Their Eyes" grant, visit
https://www.shutterstock.com/explore/create-fund
About Shutterstock
Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK), is
a leading global creative platform offering full-service solutions,
high-quality content, and tools for brands, businesses and media
companies. Directly and through its group subsidiaries,
Shutterstock's comprehensive collection includes high-quality
licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations, videos, 3D models and
music. Working with its growing community of over 1.6 million
contributors, Shutterstock adds hundreds of thousands of images
each week, and currently has more than 360 million images and more
than 21 million video clips available.
Headquartered in New York City,
Shutterstock has offices around the world and customers in more
than 150 countries. The Company also owns Bigstock, a
value-oriented stock media offering; Shutterstock Studios, an
end-to-end custom creative shop; Offset, a high-end image
collection; PremiumBeat, a curated royalty-free music library;
Shutterstock Editorial, a premier source of editorial images and
videos for the world's media; Amper
Music, an AI-driven music platform; and TurboSquid, a
leading 3D content marketplace.
For more information, please visit www.shutterstock.com and
follow Shutterstock on Twitter and on Facebook.
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SOURCE Shutterstock, Inc.