Stanley Greene went where he wasn’t supposed to go. As a Black American man, he defied these expectations and photographed places, people, and stories he was not expected to; the early days of the West Coast punk scene, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 1993 October Coup in Russia, the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Ukraine, and the conflict that defined his career, the first Chechen war. 

It was a path he never would have taken, because he never could have imagined it. 

Stanley’s career began in earnest when he left the United States, and for many years, his work was published mostly by European outlets. 

If there was anything that Stanley hoped to see, it was a diversification of the perspectives. But realizing that vision would require not only a diversification of who gets to tell the story; but a diversification of who gets jobs to tell the story.

As part of the second edition, the Stanley Greene Legacy Prize and Fellowship continues to follow the steps of Stanley’s life. It was the fall of the Berlin wall that inspired him to become a photojournalist, and by consequence to wonder behind what used to be the Iron Curtain.

This chapter of the fellowship prize will focus on supporting the work and professional aspirations of visual storytellers who are from and based in the following countries:

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

We highly encourage photographers and visual storytellers working on projects following the steps of Stanley Greene in their work to apply. We are looking for candidates documenting forgotten topics, and for authors who are not afraid, just like Stanley, to be vocal about human rights, and transcend the rules of traditional storytelling, mindful of the ethics of their storytelling.

Stanley’s perspective was informed by his travels - he left home and went outside his comfort-zone in order to highlight the injustices of the world. But we will equally consider people who work in their own communities and engage with their surroundings to fight political oppression and strive for social impact.

The one-year fellowship under the stewardship of Stanley’s colleagues at NOOR includes training, grant- writing support, and networking with media industry leaders to open pathways for the fellow’s work to reach wider international audiences.

NOOR will promote and distribute the fellow’s body of work around the world during that year.

The fellow will receive a €10,000 prize fellowship plus travel expenses for field reporting or research up to €2500 and a Nikon mirrorless camera and one lens. The application portal will open on June 5th and close on August 6th.

Applicants should be early-career visual storytellers, in the first ten years of their professional career, who show great promise and an unquenchable desire to practice photojournalism with a purpose.

The fellow will be assigned a mentor from NOOR and will be expected to check in regularly with their mentor, as well as engage with industry leaders in meetings arranged by NOOR.

Early-career photographers (within the first 10 years of their career) who fit the above criteria in terms of their geographical location and their work are welcome to submit applications.

Access to the application portal will open on June 5th, 2021.

Candidates are asked to provide a current website, Instagram feed or 20 images to show their work and style. They are also asked for a description of 2000 characters followed by an Artist’s Statement of 1500 characters, describing why they are interested in being a photographer, what topics they are drawn to, and what their dream assignment would be.

The shortlist and laureate of the Stanley Greene Fellowship will be announced in September 2021.

For more information or questions regarding the Stanley Greene Legacy Prize & Fellowship, please contact us at fellowship@noorimages.com.