Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Prairie View A&M University Selected as Recipient of Getty Images Grant to Uncover and Digitize Rarely Seen Imagery from its Archival Photographic Library

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (January 25, 2022) – Prairie View A&M University today announced it is one four recipients of the inaugural Getty Images Photo Archive Grant for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), an initiative aimed at preserving and amplifying the invaluable visual history of HBCUs.

Funding from the grant will support the digitization of roughly 50,000 rarely seen archival photographs from Prairie View A&M’s library. Including stories of migration movements, voting rights, housing displacement, injustices, Black women in politics, and Black family life within Texas communities. It also includes the legacy of Elnora Teal and the Teal Portrait Studio, a rare look into the work of a Black female photographer. Claflin University, Jackson State University and North Carolina Central University were also selected as recipients of the grant.

Launching today on gettyimages.com, the “HBCU Photo Collection” will house the HBCU content and will see thousands of images added throughout 2022. Archivists and librarians from Prairie View A&M University will work alongside Getty Images’ team of archivists and Adnet Global, a renowned post-production agency that specializes in the digitization, restoration and discoverability of visual analog historic libraries, in the photo digitization process. 

“The applications submitted for the Getty Images HBCU Photo Archive Grant prove the wealth of American history which has yet to be explored,” said Cassandra Illidge, VP of Partnerships at Getty Images. “Getty Images is proud to partner with archivists at each of the four HBCUs to uncover rarely seen photographs of Black culture and ensure these historical artifacts are preserved and accessible to storytellers around the world.  This year’s Grant is just the beginning of our work helping to preserve HBCUs history and our commitment to the HBCU community.”

Grant recipients will retain all copyright of their photos and once digitized, the historical content will be placed in a newly created stand-alone photo collection dubbed the “HBCU Photo Collection,” which will be made available for licensing in early 2022.

All revenue generated from the images that are preserved through the Grants will be funneled back into impact programs: 50 percent will go to grant recipients; 30 percent of revenue will be used for a financial donation to a scholarship fund focused on furthering the education of students at HBCUs; and 20 percent will be reinvested to fund the Getty Images Photo Archive Grants for HBCUs each year.

The applications were judged by an esteemed panel which included:

• Dr. Deborah Willis, Academic Director, Professor & Chair at NYU Tisch School of the Arts

• Aba Blankson, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at NAACP

• Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, Professor of Sociology – The Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations at University of Pennsylvania

• Renata Cherlise, Founder of Blackarchives.co

• Raina Kelley, Vice President and Editor in Chief of The Undefeated

• Mercedes Cooper, Vice President, Public Programming at ARRAY

The Getty Images Photo Archive Grants for HBCUs is part of Getty Images’ commitment to anti-racism, inclusion, and dismantling discrimination, including bringing to market unseen historical content and creating revenue streams for organizations working to build a more inclusive society. It is part of the company’s wider grants program, which has donated over US$1.8 million to photographers and videographers around the world since its inception.                                                                                                                                                            About Getty Images:

Getty Images is a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace that offers a full range of content solutions to meet the needs of any customer around the globe, no matter their size. Through its Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash brands, websites and APIs, Getty Images serves over 1 million customers in almost every country in the world and is the first-place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with over 450,000 contributors and more than 300 content partners to deliver this powerful and comprehensive content. Each year Getty Images covers more than 160,000 newssport and entertainment events providing depth and breadth of coverage that is unmatched. Getty Images maintains one of the largest and best privately-owned photographic archives in the world with over 135 million images dating back to the beginning of photography.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

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