New York, NY—In celebration of the community’s one year anniversary Nikon Inc. and the Black Women Photographers collective announced a new grant partnership. The grant includes funds totaling $40,000 as well as $10,000 in cameras and lenses.
Moreover, judges for the grant include celebrity photographer Jessy J Photo; Danese Kenon, director of Photography at the Philadelphia Inquirer; and Nikon Ambassador Audrey Woulard.
“I am immensely grateful that Nikon has taken that chance on me and this community. This grant fund will change the lives of so many Black women and nonbinary photographers. It is an honor to do this work with Nikon’s full support,” said Polly Irungu, founder of the collective.
The grant partnership with Nikon Inc. is the latest in a yearlong relationship between the iconic photography brand and the collective. Past initiatives include a series of six portfolio reviews between Nikon Ambassadors; social features of BWP members; and a camera giveaway of a Nikon mirrorless camera kit.
“It’s an honor to support Black Women Photographers in their mission to foster opportunities and make positive changes within the photography community,” added Jay Vannatter, executive vice president, Nikon Inc.
“We’re inspired by the incredible work of this organization to amplify and empower Black women and nonbinary content creators. We look forward to watching the collective continue to grow and thrive in the years to come.”
Black Women Photographers
The collective has had other successes in the last year. Starting with a $14,000 Covid-19 relief fund distributed to Black female photographers impacted by the pandemic last July, Irungu set her sights high from the very beginning.
In addition, the collective has entered into partnerships with VSCO, Nasdaq, CreativeLive, Camera Bits (makers of Photo Mechanic), Adobe, Flickr and Moment. It has also worked with photo editors from Reuters, the Guardian, the Associated Press, National Geographic, NPR, Bloomberg as well as the New York Times. 
Launched by photographer Polly Irungu in July of 2020, Black Women Photographers has grown to a community of more than 700 active members from around the world. The collective’s mission is to help get Black women photographers hired.
Moreover, it supports its members through promoting their work in an active database distributed to photo editors and art buyers. The collective also features education and support for its members through webinars, workshops, training and portfolio reviews.
