To celebrate Women’s History Month, we’re featuring items from the PWP Archives* each day on this blog. In looking back, we see not only where we started, but how far photography, women, and the world have come since 1975.

In 2005, under President Fran Dickson, PWP developed a Student Awards program to encourage and support young women interested in photography. “Not having a physical location,” she wrote, “we decided to offer cash awards to young women photographers….The program started with junior and seniors in NYC schools and soon expanded to all high school students in the New York metropolitan area.”

Though the development of camera phones allowed for constant casual snaps, the PWP Student Awards helped focus the young photographers’ attention, and gave them the chance, often for the first time, to see their work on a gallery wall.

Many of the early images were black-and-white, but soon exploded into vivid color:

The reception was always a joyous occasion, filled with pride on the part of the young photographers and their teachers.

– Catherine Kirkpatrick

*The PWP Archives were acquired by the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library of Emory University

Links to all the 30 For 30 Women’s History Month blogs:

Help Me Please! Hopelessly Waiting…

Exhibition and Anger

Spreading the Word

Early Ads On Paper

Cards and Letters

A Lady, a Truck, a Singing Dog

Women of Vision

A Show of Their Own

Taking It To the Street

Sisters of Sister Cities

Sold!

Education and More

Face of a Changing City

Digital Enabling

Expanding Walls and Other Possibilities

A Wonderful Life–Lady Style

Branding–the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Great Change Sweeps In

PWP Goes Live!

Honoring the Upcoming

Continuity Through Change

Reaching Out

Eye a Woman Naked

Rapidly Multiplying Alternative Options

Women In the World, As Themselves

Kudos!

Friends Who Overcame and Inspired

Reversing the Gaze

Photography and More

Chicks Telling It Like It Is

Looking Back With Thanks