May 3, 2010: Photojournalist Stephen Dupont is the first Australian to be awarded the prestigious Robert Gardner Fellowship in Photography from Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
Dupont (pictured right, by Brendan Beirne) is a self-taught photographer who has created photo essays from some of the world’s most dangerous regions including Afghanistan, Angola, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Congo, East Timor, Iraq, Israel, Rwanda and Somalia.
As part of the Award prize, the Fellowship funds an ‘established practitioner of the photographic arts to create and subsequently publish through the Peabody Museum a major book of photographs on the human condition anywhere in the world.’
Dupont has chosen to travel to Papua New Guinea where he will spend 12 months working on what will be a book titled, Guns and Arrows: The Detribalisation of Papua New Guinea. Over the past six years, he has travelled to Papua New Guinea to photographically document its changing face and the powerful impact of globalisation on the fabric of its traditional Melanesian society.
‘Guns and Arrows will be an in-depth study of cultural erosion as well as a celebration of an ancient people,’ he said.
As part of his project he will also produce a major book profiling his Papua New Guinea photographs; conduct an exhibition and lecture at the Peabody Museum; as well as produce an interactive web presentation.
Dupont will be a Fujifilm guest speaker along with veteran war photographer Tim Page at the PMA Australia 2010 Digital Life Expo on Sunday, June 6.
He has been an advocate of Fujifilm Professional films through his career, inclusing FP-100C 5 x 4-inch instant colour film, Neopan ACROS black-and-white film and Velvia colour transparency.
Dupont has earned many other prestigious photography awards including a Robert Capa Gold Medal citation from the Overseas Press Club of America; a Bayeux War Correspondent’s Prize; plus first places in the World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, the Australian Nikon-Walkley Awards and the Leica/CCP Documentary Award.
In 2007, Stephen was also awarded the W. Eugene Smith Grant for Humanitarian Photography for his ongoing project in Afghanistan.
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