Disability in Focus: Navigating Work Life Creative Grant

Disability in Focus: Navigating Work Life Creative Grant is sponsored by Getty Images, Verizon, and National Disability Leadership Alliance (NDLA). This grant provides financial support and mentorship to artists committed to authentically representing people with disabilities, specifically focusing on their roles in the workplace.

Disability: Navigating Work - Grants Site - Getty Images Getty Images’ mission is to move the world with images. Since the inception of the Getty Images Grants program in 2004, the company has donated over $2. 6 million to photojournalists and creative photographers, furthering our commitment to the craft of photography and bringing attention to important stories that may otherwise remain unseen.

In a time when authentic visual storytelling has the power to shape perceptions and inspire change, Getty Images continues to support and nurture creative talent with the financial freedom to pursue projects of significance.

According to Getty Images’ VisualGPS research, 2 out of 3 Americans believe that seeing people with a range of abilities and personal characteristics in media and advertising has a positive impact on understanding one another. Unfortunately, 3 out of 4 visuals featuring people with disabilities take place in a healthcare setting rather than at home or at work.

Building on our mission, Getty Images is partnering with Verizon and the National Disability Leadership Alliance (NDLA) to promote diversity within creative commercial photography and videography. Together, we aim to elevate the work and voices of people thriving in various settings, including in the workplace.

The Getty Images Disability in Focus: Navigating Work Life Creative Grant provides financial support and mentorship to artists committed to authentically representing people with disabilities. This year’s theme, Disability in Focus: Navigating Work Life shines a spotlight on people with disabilities in the workplace.

While much of today’s visual content portrays people with disabilities primarily in domestic or familial contexts, this grant seeks to challenge those limited narratives by celebrating their contributions as professionals, leaders, and innovators.

The goal is to highlight people with disabilities in the workplace—depicting their roles as active participants in the workforce, leaders within their industries, and collaborators driving progress and innovation. Through this grant, we seek to create imagery that expands representation to reflect their professional achievements and contributions to society.

Judges will evaluate submissions that showcase: Authenticity in the Workplace: Imagery that highlights people with disabilities as skilled professionals working alongside their nondisabled peers across diverse industries, highlighting their expertise and contributions. Leadership and Collaboration: Stories that capture disabled individuals as leaders, decision‑makers, and team players shaping their organizations.

Representation in All Roles: Visuals that celebrate the diversity of careers and contributions made by people with disabilities, from entry‑level positions to the C‑suite. Workplace Inclusion: Narratives that reflect accessible work environments and conditions that enable people with disabilities to thrive and perform jobs effectively, like anyone else.

Balancing Work and Life: Photos that demonstrate the dynamic balance of professional ambitions and personal lives, showcasing disabled individuals as whole, multifaceted people. This initiative is an extension of The Disability Collection, launched in 2018 by Getty Images, Verizon, and NDLA to authentically represent people with disabilities in media.

The Collection now features thousands of curated images and videos devoted to this mission, and this grant will continue to advance these efforts. One first place recipient: $10,000; one second place recipient: $7,000; one third place recipient: US$3,000. The successful recipients will be invited to license their award‑winning content through GettyImages.

com and iStock. com at a 100% royalty rate for imagery created within their proposed project ( please see T&Cs for details ). This is subject to you entering into a separate agreement with Getty Images allowing for the distribution of your content.

Guidance and mentorship from one of Getty Images’ award‑winning Art Directors, as well as a feature on the Getty Images Creative Insights website, in addition to promotion on relevant Getty Images and iStock social channels. Please note, this additional support is not a requirement of the Disability in Focus: Navigating Work Life Creative Grant and choosing to take advantage of this opportunity is at your discretion.

Links to existing portfolio of work online. The submission must include: a 200‑500 word summary of the project proposal and an explanation highlighting people with disabilities in the workplace—depicting their roles as active participants in the workforce, leaders within their industries, and collaborators driving progress and innovation through commercial photography and videography.

A short biography detailing who you are and what you’ve done. All the required fields indicated on the application found on the Submittable website . The applications must be in English.

All submissions must be digital. Prints, books, slides or transparencies or other such materials will not be reviewed by judges nor returned to applicant. 2024 Getty Images Grant Winner Visual Artist / Activist / Educator Photographer / Disability Rights Activist Senior Manager, Creative Content Chief Accessibility Officer Apply to be a contributor Premium Access Resource Center Apply to be a contributor Premium Access Resource Center