NEW YORK, NY.- WeTransfer today announced Refocus, an exhibition at
Aperture Foundation spotlighting three midcareer photographers who were provided grants by WeTransfer, which is on display this September at Aperture in New York. Selected by a panel of judges convened by WeTransfer, including Alessia Glaviano, senior photo editor at Vogue Italia; Michael Famighetti, editor of Aperture magazine; and Yumi Goto, independent photography curator, the three photographersSiân Davey, Janet Delaney, and Joe Nishizawareceived $10,000 grants to produce new work, all of which explores physical and psychological landscapes. New work by Siân Davey and Joe Nishizawa debuts at the exhibition, and a series from the 1980s by Janet Delaney is being exhibited for the first time in New York.
With a user base that overwhelmingly identifies as creatives and a file-sharing platform used to send digital imagery, WeTransfer is dedicated to serving photographers and spotlighting underrepresented groups in the community. Since its founding in 2009, WeTransfer has supported artists and creatives in a variety of ways, from providing them with free advertising space to commissioning new projects. Similarly, Aperture Foundation seeks to continually innovate in the ways the organization explores and enables new horizons in the discipline and supports the field. WeTransfer and Apertures partnership on this exhibition shines a light on a gap in funding that both organizations were seeking to address: support for midcareer photographic artists who have new and compelling perspectives to share.
The three photographers whose work is included in this exhibition come from different continents, contexts, and professional backgrounds, but all use photography as a way to explore and understand the world around them, providing a fresh and nuanced perspective on space, relationships, and the effect of the built environment. These artists include:
Siân Davey (United Kingdom, 1964) is a psychotherapist who, in the past five years, has returned to her roots in the fine arts to explore themes that have resonated throughout her life and career. This project, like much of her work, centers on her family, exploring psychological landscapes of those around her.
Janet Delaney (United States, 1952) is a Bay Area photographer whose work balances on the intersection between fine art and the document. Most recently, she has been recording the rapid transformation of the SoMa district of San Francisco, an area that was the focus of her earlier photographic project, South of Market 19781986.
Joe Nishizawas (Japan, 1967) work explores life and industry in contemporary Japan, especially in the aftermath of environmental disaster. One of his most compelling series to date documents the nuclear plant in Fukushima before and after the 2011 disaster; his project in this exhibition will dive further into this process, documenting the research facility where nuclear waste is discarded.
Lucy Pike, Content Lead at WeTransfer, notes: As a tool thats used by millions of creatives from a wide range of backgrounds, we are always trying to tell a diverse set of stories. Age often gets left out of the discussion about diversity, so we are delighted to help bring that to light with this years grant. Its a real pleasure to work with Aperture and bring these three amazing photographers to our audience.
Following the Aperture exhibition in New York, the works of Joe Nishizawa, Siân Davey, and Janet Delaney will be presented on WeTransfers digital platform to engage a broader public of practitioners and enthusiasts around the globe.