Getty Images Grant : knife culture in Glasgow, escape from Darfur, those affected by the Iraq war

The winners of the Getty Images grant for editorial photography have been announced: Lynsey Addario, David Gillanders and Eugene Richards. In addition to financial support of 20,000 US Dollars each, the winners will be helped in the realization of their projects by the Getty Images directors of photography.

David Gillanders’ “Glasgow” project documents the large number of violent knife crimes in Glasgow as a legacy of the Scottish clan culture. The knife attacks have earned Scotland’s largest city the title “Murder Capital of Europe”. David’s grant funded project will take a closer look at the lives of the families he has met who are involved with “knife culture”. He wishes to create a strong profile of the contemporary Scottish clan system.

In her “Darfur” project, Lynsey Addario examines the ongoing conflict in western Sudan, which began in early 2003. An estimated 200,000 deaths have occurred since, the results of violence, sickness and hunger, while approximately 2.5 million people have been forced from their homes. Lynsey who lives in Istanbul, first photographed the situation in 2004 and has returned to cover it for at least one month each year ever since.

Eugene Richards began work on his “War is Personal” project in 2006. It is a series of photo and text essays focused on the lives of people in the US who have been profoundly affected by the war in Iraq. “Eight photographic essays are now completed,” he commented. “With the help of a grant I will undertake at least seven more.”

The winners’ work was selected from over 153 entries from 26 countries. The selection was made by Monica Allende, picture editor of the Sunday Times Magazine, Great Britain, Ruth Eichhorn, director of photography, GEO Magazine, Germany, Jean-Francois Leroy, director general, Visa Pour l’Image, France and Tom Stoddart, photojournalist, Getty Images, Great Britain, amongst others.

To find out more, including how to enter the 2009 grant competition, go to www.gettyimages.com/editorial-grants.