Getty Images Awards $20,000 to Global Storytellers Reshaping Disability Representation
From St. Louis to Zimbabwe, this year's recipients are dismantling old frameworks—and building new ones through imagery.
NEW YORK, May 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Getty Images, a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace, in partnership with the National Disability Leadership Alliance (NDLA), today announced the recipients of their latest $20,000 creative grant aimed at advancing authentic representation of the disability community in professional settings.
According to Getty Images' VisualGPS research, 71% of global consumers want to see people with disabilities represented in everyday social and professional settings. Yet currently, the majority of visuals - 3 out of 4 - depict people with disabilities primarily in healthcare environments. This highlights a meaningful opportunity to expand how disability is portrayed in visual content. By showcasing more authentic and multi-dimensional representations — including people with disabilities at home, at work, and in leadership roles – brands and media can better reflect the realities of todays' modern life.
"We're honored to elevate these visionary creators who are transforming the visual language around disability," said Dr. Rebecca Swift, Senior Vice President of Creative at Getty Images. "Through their work, they are not just capturing images – they're building a world where everyone can see themselves visualised."
Meet the creators putting a spotlight on the talent, determination, and leadership of people within the disability community:
First Place: Elizabeth Rajchart
Photographer and disability advocate Elizabeth Rajchart brings a bold and nuanced lens to the professional lives of disabled individuals, drawing from her lived experience and work across St. Louis, New York, and Los Angeles. The imagery for her winning project ‘Scene Change: Disability in Media', will center inclusive fashion, performance, and leadership, challenging narrow tropes and emphasizing creativity, autonomy, and innovation.
Second Place: Nasreen Alkhateeb
An award-winning cinematographer based in Los Angeles, Nasreen Alkhateeb has documented some of today's most significant cultural moments—from Kamala Harris' Vice Presidential campaign to Netflix and NASA productions. Her work centers intersectional identities and reframes disability leadership through cinematic storytelling. With this grant, she plans to create a visual archive for her project ‘Reframing Us', that disrupts myths and redefines what professional success looks like through a disability-led lens.
Third Place: Charmaine Chitate
A Zimbabwe-based photographer and communications specialist, Charmaine Chitate focuses on the social identity of individuals in the context of health, education, and climate change. Her project, ‘unaltered.unfiltered', will explore how inclusion and exclusion manifest in everyday professional life across Zimbabwe, aiming to close a significant gap in local disability imagery.
Recipients were selected by an esteemed panel of judges from the public and private sectors, including:
- Samantha Tokita: Award winning photographer and 2024 grant winner
- Jen White Johnson: Artist and activist
- Tom Olin: Social documentarian
- Maria Town: President and CEO, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
- Fred Moltz: Chief Accessibility Officer, Verizon
- Sarah Foster: Senior Creative Content Manager, Getty Images
This initiative builds on The Disability Collection, launched in 2018 to authentically represent people with disabilities in media. Getty Images' wider grants program, established in 2004, has awarded over US $2.6 million to date—underscoring the company's longstanding commitment to elevating underrepresented voices and telling stories that matter.
Media Contact:
Alex Lazarou
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/08cbbd66-0c55-427a-b8cf-70f3253d7777
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05980e1e-25df-4b4b-a881-f74f3c426574
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9824ced8-ecac-46fb-91b8-d9cdf9d17173
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/138a5d0f-cb9c-4ddc-a9a7-16ba685412f3
