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Here Are the Three Inaugural CatchLight Fellows

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Cadet students perform at a local theater in Sergiyev Posad, Russia.
Students from School #18 perform a show at the local theater in Sergiyev Posad, Russia, Dec. 15, 2016.Sarah Blesener
By Olivier Laurent

Photographers Sarah Blesener, Brian Frank and Tomas van Houtryve are the winners of the first CatchLight Fellowship. Each will receive $30,000 to complete a project that promotes social good.

Blesener won for her proposal to investigate the rise of nationalism among young Americans, continuing a project she started in Russia, where military-patriotic schools are increasingly popular. Frank will use the grant to document the activities of organizations that are working to provide viable alternatives to prison for people caught in the cycles of poverty and crime. And Van Houtryve will continue his documentation of the weaponization of photography — for example, the use of drones and infrared cameras by law enforcement — focusing this time on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Each of the three recipients will be paired with a media partner — the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Marshall Project and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, respectively — to help develop and publish the projects.

The fellowship was created as a response to changes in the media landscape. “Our mission at CatchLight is to magnify the power of visual storytelling as a force for good,” says CatchLight founder Nancy Farese. “We are all aware of the broken value chain of the traditional photography models, where the photographer was given resources by a media source, which included not only wages, but editing and distribution; that paradigm is essentially gone.”

For Blesener, the fellowship stands out from other opportunities because of its emphasis on collaboration. “The analytical context and lens that this fellowship offers — as well as the mentorship, support and teamwork along the way — is vital,” she tells TIME. With the grant, she hopes “to help facilitate a conversation about issues that are easy to generalize and overlook. Too often we place individuals in boxes and ‘other’ our subjects. I believe, as photographers, we should combat fear, not create it with our work.”

Plus, says Van Houtryve, the large amount of money offered by CatchLight allows for “a slow, in-depth approach to a highly ambitious photo project,” he says. The $30,000 will also let him revive ancient photographic processes from the 1850s “to question how imaging technology has twisted our understanding of history, contributing to racism and false ideas of heritage.”

Van Houtryve’s approach fits with the organization’s goals to use new storytelling tools to raise social awareness, says Farese. “While the social issues remain intransigent, there is a new breed of storytellers with access to a broad array of tools, and who bring an exciting diversity of perspectives and insights,” she tells TIME. “We believe that it’s never been more important to understand how to amplify these stories to raise awareness and engage public consciousness.”

Olivier Laurent is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @olivierclaurent

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From the project "Mass Incarceration" Brian Frank
From the project "Mass Incarceration" Brian Frank
From the project "Mass Incarceration" Brian Frank
From the project "Mass Incarceration" Brian Frank
From the project "Mass Incarceration" Brian Frank
From the project "Mass Incarceration" Brian Frank
Cadet students perform at a local theater in Sergiyev Posad, Russia.
Students from School #18 perform a show at the local theater in Sergiyev Posad, Russia, Dec. 15, 2016. Sarah Blesener
The Historical War Camp in Borodino, Russia.
Students train horse-back riding at the Historical War Camp, in Borodino, Russia. July 28, 2016. The project statement of the camp says: "To awaken in the younger generation a keen interest in the history of the Fatherland, the glorious deeds of our ancestors, to facilitate the expansion of military-historical knowledge."Sarah Blesener
Cadet students perform at a local theater in Sergiyev Posad, Russia.
Students from School #18 perform a show at the local theater in Sergiyev Posad, Russia, Dec. 15, 2016.Sarah Blesener
Students at the Inspection of Singing and Marching competition in Dmitrov, Russia.
Students compete at the "Inspection of Singing and Marching" competition at the gymnasium of School #6 for students in the Dmitrov region, a suburb of Moscow, Dmitrov, Russia, Dec. 14, 2016.Sarah Blesener
Cadet students perform at a local theater in Sergiyev Posad, Russia.
Students from School #18 perform a show at the local theater in Sergiyev Posad, Russia, Dec. 15, 2016.Sarah Blesener
From the series "Blue Sky Days - Drone War." Baseball practice in Montgomery County, Maryland.
From the series "Blue Sky Days - Drone War." Baseball practice in Montgomery County, Maryland.Tomas van Houtryve—VII
Blue Sky Days - Drone WarMilitary age males are seen assembling in a central courtyard of the Citadel in South Carolina. The complex was built in 1829 based on white fears of a slave insurrection.
Blue Sky Days - Drone War Military age males are seen assembling in a central courtyard of the Citadel in South Carolina. The complex was built in 1829 based on white fears of a slave insurrection.Blue Sky Days - Drone War Military age males are seen assembling in a central courtyard of the Citadel in South Carolina. The complex was built in 1829 based on white fears of a slave insurrection.
TVH20141104CityHeat007.jpg
Packing Heat - Democracy under surveillance. Manhattan, Grand Central Station. Temperature range: 21.7 to 40.2 degrees Celsius.Tomas van Houtryve—VII

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