Boyd’s Station is proud to announce the 2018 Reinke Grant for Visual Storytelling recipients are Ohio University’s Michael Swensen and University of Kentucky’s Arden Barnes.
Thirty-four student and emerging visual documentary photographers applied for this inaugural grant awarded through the Boyd's Station 306.36 Visual Documentary Project. Starting in May, the recipients will experience a 12-week intensive documentary experience by photographing the people and places inside the 306.36 square miles surrounding Harrison County, Kentucky.
Submitted applications and portfolios were evaluated by Rob Carr of Getty Images, Nikki Kahn, formerly of the Washington Post, Stephen Crowley, formerly of the New York Times, Michael Keating, formerly of the Cincinnati Enquirer and Jack Gruber, USA Today staff photographer and Boyd’s Station’s executive director.
This grant is named in honor of Ed Reinke, an award-winning Associated Press photographer and mentor to countless photojournalists over the years. Ed died in 2011 following an injury he suffered while covering an Indy Car race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.
These grants would not be possible without the generous support from AdoramaPix and the Northern Kentucky Clyde N. Day Foundation along with nearly 100 professional photojournalists who graciously donated their work in a true grassroots effort to successfully fund this visual documentary project.
Through additional support The Troy Foundation & the Oskar and Charlotte Buschmann Fund along with generous donations from Sonny Bell and Nancy Baird, Boyd’s Station happily awarded two Reinke Grants for Visual Storytelling for the summer of 2018.
Michael Swensen, Ohio University
“ I truly believe that this twelve-week opportunity could be one of the most decisive and pivotal points in my life as an emerging visual storyteller. The Reinke Grant for Visual Storytelling is unlike, and unmatched, by any internship opportunity that I have come across…..building long-lasting relationships and earning the trust of a community is one of the most humbling parts of being a documentarian and a part that I not only value but I also want to continue striving for in my profession. While embarking on this visual journey in Harrison County, Kentucky, I plan to show the same level of respect and wholeheartedness that the late Ed Reinke once shared with the people and places of Kentucky.”
Arden Barnes, University of Kentucky | Resident of Harrison County, Kentucky
“I believe people are more helpful, empathetic and understanding when they are given the truth about a situation—and it is up to journalists to present that truth. Then, once they have the truth, humans can reach their own conclusions and act upon those conclusions. Photojournalism, in my opinion, is the best way to document and present the truth that people need.
For full details on Boyd’s Station, The Reinke Grant for Visual Storytelling, and the 306.36 Visual Documentary Project, visit http://www.boydsstation.org/.
Boyd’s Station - a Kentucky nonprofit 501c(3) organization - promotes a rural and serene environment in Boyd, Kentucky, to “live free and create” through various programs to pursue individual craft without distraction in a supportive community of creators all working to create self-sustaining careers in the arts.