Systemic Change Photography Prize
SDN is partnering again with the Foundation for Systemic Change for the third year. SDN awards one photographer the ZEKE Award for Systemic Change to recognize their outstanding visual stories documenting systemic changes leading to sustainable solutions to important issues affecting the world today.
All ZEKE Award recipients will be exhibited in the SDN/ZEKE exhibition at Photoville this June in Brooklyn; exhibited at the Bridge Gallery in Cambridge, MA, April 13-May 25; and featured in the spring issue of ZEKE magazine.
In partnership with Social Documentary Network (SDN), the FSC has created the Systemic Change Photography Prize for the 3rd year in a row.
The 2024 Systemic Change Photography Prize goes to Sarah Fretell for Guardian of the Forest, Peru
At the end of their patrol, the Santa Rosillo Forest Guardians strip down, put on a few traditional accents, and excitedly ask for a portrait. They are proud of what they do and the status it has given them in the community. Since being recognized by local officials, it has forced the campesinos to treat them and the land with more respect. With so much out of their control, the patrol has been an opportunity for empowerment and self-determination. This image was taken in the buffer zone of Cordillera Azul National Park outside of Santa Rosillo, San Martin, Peru in December 2022. Photo by Sarah Fretwell.
ABOUT GUARDIAN OF THE FOREST
Apu Quinto Inuma was a former lumber trafficker turned park ranger turned rogue Forest Guardian. He became a tireless international advocate for the environment and Native rights and his community of Santa Rosillo in the Amazon of Peru.
To prevent the devastation of land, logging, and drug cartels operating in neighboring communities, Quinto organized other Natives to patrol the forest even after the government denied their ancestral rights to the territory. They worked to protect their children's future and “their brothers who could not speak” — the trees of the forest.
With old guns, machetes, and rubber boots, the volunteer Forest Guardians risk their lives to monitor the buffer region of Cordillera Azul National Park beside their village in San Martin. On patrols, they look for new burn and grow areas, document it with cell phones, and send the notes back to local officials. Struggling to survive in this remote region, many people here work for illegal logging and drug cartels.
In November of 2023, Quinto was shot and killed in retaliation for his environmental work.
His spirit still lives on in the forest.
ABOUT SARAH FRETWELL
Political scientist, director, and photographer, Sarah Fretwell looks deeper into the intersection of the environment, people, and business with one question: “What if the new bottom line was love?”
Her award-winning work explores the lives of everyday people with extraordinary stories. Her storytelling creates the human connection needed for understanding, international engagement, and solutions for change.
Clients, publications, and exhibits include The World Bank Group, United Nations, USAID, USAID Indonesia, Tara Expeditions Foundation, BioCarbon Fund, SXSW Interactive, TEDx, The Royal Academy of Engineering, The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, Human Rights Watch, CNBC, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Social Documentary Network (SDN), Blue Earth Alliance, and Photoville.
Sarah is a graduate of VII Masterclass, Arles 2022 - 2023. She is a current documentary storyteller with The Center: Visual Storytelling and Documentary Photography Projects.