ART WORKS Projects (AWP) is a Chicago and The Hague-based visual arts non-profit dedicated to advancing social justice and human rights through documentary film and photography. Founded in 2006, AWP’s projects have been presented on five continents, in 35+ countries, with 225 partners, and in collaboration with more than 200 artists to produce visual advocacy tools which produce action on human rights crises at the grassroots, media, and policy levels.
AWP’s aim is to support the development of community-centered visual storytelling through programs such as the Emerging Lens Fellowship. Now entering its 10th year, this NEA grant funded program provides unrestricted stipends, professional mentorship, editorial and production support to emerging visual storytellers across the globe working to document social justice and human rights issues in their own backyards and around the world.
The 2023-24 open call for submissions invited projects exploring Climate Change, Pollution, and Environmental Justice and will introduce the work of the three finalists selected for the fellowship: Natalia Favre (Argentina/Cuba), Oyewole Lawal (Nigeria), and Edwin Ndeke (Kenya) this fall. The next open call for submissions will be announced in August 2024. You can learn more at www.artworksprojects.org.
Emerging Lens: Safety, Visibility, Justice, and Hope for the Future is an interactive multimedia exhibition developed by Chicago and The Hague-based visual advocacy non-profit ART WORKS Projects, which explores the ways new and emerging documentary photographers covering underrepresented stories across the globe have pushed the boundaries of traditional photojournalism and storytelling to address pressing and under-reported human rights issues around the world and connect them to local communities.
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