YPA Student Awards and Benefit Auction October 13 in New York

For many students passionate to express their vision through photography, the spiraling costs of higher education and demise of public school art programs create barriers that are difficult to overcome. Besides the adverse affect on individual students, left unchecked this lack of support is likely to have a long-term negative impact on the future of professional photography as a whole.

In spring 2009, photo industry professionals Deborah Free and Jerry Tavin formed The Young Photographers Alliance (YPA) as an educational foundation to provide deserving students with opportunities for advancement. Through college scholarships, mentoring, internships and educational seminars YPA is establishing itself as a global community where emerging photographers can connect with the inspiration, resources and contacts they need to build successful and sustainable careers as great artists and communicators of the future.

For the 2009-2010 academic year, YPA awarded three photography scholarships and two honorable mentions to exceptional college students. Administered in cooperation with the Worldstudio AIGA Scholarship Program, which offers scholarships in nine other categories of art and design, an upcoming award ceremony will highlight YPA’s inaugural fundraising gala at New York City’s Metropolitan Pavilion on Tuesday, October 13 from 7 – 10 pm.

School of Visual Arts junior Julianne Jamora will be presented with a $2,500 scholarship as the YPA Alamy award winner, Pratt Institute freshman Khrystyna Chekhlata and Academy of Arts University freshman Bonnie Mills will receive $2,000 scholarships, while Ringling College of Art & Design freshman Shannon Soule and Pratt Institute graduate student Nicole Nolan will be recognized with honorable mentions.

The event will also feature cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, live jazz, a raffle and silent auction, with signed prints from YPA scholarship recipients and the work of many highly coveted professionals up for the bidding. Benefit tickets are available for $85 in advance or $100 at the door.

This evening gala will open the annual photo industry event, Picturehouse, which connects photography buyers and suppliers in an all-day professional trade fair on Wednesday October 14. During this fair the five winning students will have an opportunity to present themselves to registered attendees in a special location on the event floor.

For future scholarship applicants, new forms will be available here in December 2009 and students can begin uploading portfolios in January, with a deadline of Friday April 2, 2010.

Keep in mind that submissions are judged on the following five criteria: quality of work, academic record, recommendations, financial need and a written statement of purpose.

“I have made a conscious decision to make a life committed to the community and the youth,” wrote YPA Alamy award winner, Julianne Jamora in her scholarship statement. “Everything moves in cycles, and it will eventually be my time to pay homage to the ones who have inspired me, and I can think of no other way than to better my community,” she concludes.

To read the statements from other awardees and to learn more about the YPA’s additional programs and volunteer outreach, visit these links.