Sebastián Liste has been awarded the The Alexia Foundation‘s $20,000 professional grant for 2014 for his project “The New Culture of Violence in Latin America.” The work — part of which was commissioned by TIME — sees Liste investigate crime and security in Latin America. Finalists in this grant category included Pau Coll Sánchez and Stephen Dupont.
In the student category, work by Iran-based Mehran Hamrahi portraying the daily lives of Iranian youth — called “Iranian People, Ordinary or Criminals.” — took first place. Hamrahi receives tuition for the Syracuse University London program, a $1,000 grant towards further developing the work, and other prizes. Second place went to Shahria Sharmin, with Farzana Hossen, Andrew Renneisen, and Sarah Ann Jump receiving excellence awards.
The Alexia Foundation has supported photojournalism and social documentary projects through their annual student and professional grant programs since 1991. Named after Alexia Tsairis, a Public Communications student at Syracuse University who died tragically in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the foundation fosters photographers whose work raises awareness around complicated and often overlooked political and humanitarian issues.
Richard Conway is Reporter/Producer for TIME LightBox. Follow him on twitter @RichardJConway