The Magnum Foundation provides grants, training, and support to documentary photographers to produce impactful visual stories that foster social change. It was established in 2007 by photographers from Magnum Photos, a cooperative photo agency known for shaping perceptions of world events since 1947. The Foundation champions in-depth, independent photography through various programs that provide funding, education, preservation of archives, and new forms of storytelling.

1. MAGNUM
FOUNDATION
Magnum Foundation
champions in-depth,
independent documentary
photography that fosters
empathy, engagement, and
positive social change.

2. HISTORY
Magnum Photos is renowned for producing iconic images
that have shaped our perceptions and understanding of world
events since 1947. The photographers of Magnum Photos
established the Magnum Foundation in 2007 to uphold the
highest standards in journalism and artistic excellence.
ABOUT US
With more cameras, phones, and images than ever imagined,
the world is now exposed to a constant stream of content —
often times lacking important context. The media landscape
has changed rapidly over the last decade, and with it, resources
have diminished for independent documentary photographers
to create in-depth, thoughtful work in the public interest.
Magnum Foundation embraces the challenges of this shifting
paradigm. We provide documentary photographers with what
they need to produce meaningful, high-impact visual stories.
We are grant-makers, collaborators, and thought leaders
who believe in the use of photography as a tool for global
engagement and social change. Transcending issues, borders
and disciplines, the Magnum Foundation is bringing together
a network of support and inspiration to sustain dedicated,
creative, and critical eyes on the world.

3. Our Programs
○ The Emergency Fund enables documentary photographers
to investigate social justice stories and produce in-depth
projects by providing grants, editorial guidance, technical
assistance, and distribution facilitation.
○ The Photography and Human Rights program provides
regional photojournalists and activists with scholarships and
intensive training in the ethical use of photography in the
advancement of human rights.
○ The Magnum Foundation Fellowship offers mentorship
and stipends to photojournalism graduates at a critical
moment in their development as photographers.
○ Photography, Expanded stimulates documentary
photographers to expand their storytelling beyond the still
image through intensive labs, fellowships, panel discussions,
and conferences.
○ BE SEEN sparks community engagement and thoughtful
debate through partnerships and the innovative use of
documentary images in cross-disciplinary exhibitions and
events that highlight pressing public concerns.
○ Legacy preserves the rich photographic history of the greater
Magnum Photos community, making this extensive visual
archive of nearly 70 years available through new publications
and as a resource to historians, scholars, and the public.

5. In the face of endless occupation, everyday
moments of humor and beauty still persist
in Palestine. It is these simple pleasures
that Tanya Habjouqa documented with her
Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund grant.
The long-term project, Occupied Pleasures, has
been made into a book, and offers an important
counter-narrative to the dominant media
coverage of the conflict. Habjouqa continues
to mentor MF grantees in the Arab region.
Magnum Foundation
champions in-depth, independent
documentary photography that
fosters empathy, engagement, and
positive social change. PHOTOGRAPH BY TANYA HABJOUQA

7. Pete Pin began documenting Cambodian
communities in the Bronx, NY as part
of his Magnum Foundation Fellowship.
More than three decades after the Killing Fields,
the Cambodian diaspora still copes with
the shadows of genocide and resettlement.
Pin’s work has expanded into a national
workshop-based collaboration with Cambodian-
American youth, bridging the silence across
generations to give voice to a collective story of
trauma and resilience.
Magnum Foundation
champions in-depth, independent
documentary photography that
fosters empathy, engagement, and
positive social change. PHOTOGRAPH BY PETE PIN

9. The images from Paul Fusco’s RFK Funeral Train
series make up a profound record, conveying
the emotional weight and unity across race and
class that manifested in the wake of Robert F.
Kennedy’s assassination. Fusco’s commitment to
reporting on political issues and injustice spans
decades. His extensive visual archive is accessible
within the Magnum Foundation Legacy program,
revealing a multi-faceted account of landmark
events, while bringing new significance and
broader context to our world today.
Magnum Foundation
champions in-depth, independent
documentary photography that
fosters empathy, engagement, and
positive social change. PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL FUSCO

11. Notes containing questions, ideas, and concerns
line the wall at a Magnum Foundation
Photography, Expanded workshop, where
photographers, designers, activists, technologists,
and educators worked together to map the process
of creating community-based photography
projects. These collaborative, hands-on events
give practitioners insight to engage with new
multi-platform approaches to social justice stories.
Magnum Foundation
champions in-depth, independent
documentary photography that
fosters empathy, engagement, and
positive social change. PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEX SCOTT

13. Final Embrace portrays victims of the April
2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh,
which captured the world’s attention and
galvanized public outcry over labor practices.
Years after her Magnum Foundation
Photography and Human Rights fellowship,
Taslima Akhter continues to use photography to
advocate for garment workers, enact reform,
and hold factories accountable.
Magnum Foundation
champions in-depth, independent
documentary photography that
fosters empathy, engagement, and
positive social change. PHOTOGRAPH BY TASLIMA AKHTER

15. La Ruta, a cross disciplinary installation and
immersive theater experience, was staged within
the walls of a moving semi-truck to enact the
harrowing journey of crossing a border illegally.
A part of the Magnum Foundation BE SEEN
program, this partnered initiative showcased the
work of both Magnum photographers and emerging
voices supported through Magnum Foundation’s
fellowships in a non-traditional format to foster
dialogue and community engagement around the
urgent issue of immigration.
Magnum Foundation
champions in-depth, independent
documentary photography that
fosters empathy, engagement, and
positive social change. PHOTOGRAPH BY RUTH PRIETO ARENAS

16. magnum foundation
Telephone 212.219.1248
info@magnumfoundation.org
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