NEW YORK, NY — July 22, 2010 — Young Photographers Alliance (YPA), a 501(c)3 educational foundation dedicated to developing the talent of young photographers, has launched an international mentoring initiative that pairs talented college students and recent graduates with leading photographers from the US, Canada and England to collaborate on a photo essay around a compelling social theme. This year’s theme is “Answering Adversity.”

“The world is facing economic hardship not seen since the Great Depression,” explained Deborah Free, YPA co-founder. “Unemployment, home foreclosures, and the loss of savings and retirement funds are leaving communities, businesses, families and individuals with tough choices. This initiative will send teams of photographers and their mentors into the field to photograph stories of innovation, determination and courage during hard times—much like the WPA and FSA photographers did during the Great Depression.”

The mentees’ photo essays will be published online in August/September 2010, and their work will be exhibited in New York City on October 13-14 and elsewhere thereafter.

The program has been developed with the support of a grant from the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)—the leading trade association for commercial photographers. Renowned photographers George Anderson (Columbus), Stewart Cohen (Dallas), Don Cochran (Rochester), Vicki Couchman (London), Yuri Dojc (Toronto), Richard Kelly (Pittsburgh), Dan Lamont (Seattle), Stephen Mallon (NYC), Trinette Reed (San Francisco), Justin Sutcliffe (London), Edie Tobias (Los Angeles) and Nevada Wier (Santa Fe) have volunteered to mentor a total of forty students and recent graduates of leading photography programs, from twenty colleges across the US, UK and Canada.

YPA is actively seeking additional sponsorship and the support of volunteers to help with organizing photographic and multimedia exhibitions around the country, the annual award ceremony and benefit auction in October in New York City (at which the mentees’ work will be exhibited), and ongoing development and fundraising for the organization.

To find out more or discuss opportunities, please visit www.YoungPhotographersAlliance.org/mentoring or contact Deborah Free at 585-768-7880 or [email protected].

About YPA
Young Photographers Alliance is a global community where young photographers connect with the inspiration, resources and contacts they need to build successful and sustainable careers as the artists and communicators of the future. The foundation brings together a wealth of industry experience through its board and membership, and offers real-world knowledge, insight, experience, and contacts to help students and other emerging photographers develop their artistic skills and business acumen as photography professionals. Likewise, through its programs, YPA helps established photography professionals connect with the next generation of innovative image-makers. For more information, visit www.YoungPhotographersAlliance.org.