(Another) Ohio University student wins grant to support long-term photo project
Akash Pamarthy plans to make a photo book and short documentary film explorig Indian Sikh culture in Ohio.
Pamarthy, a graduate student at Ohio University ’s School of Visual Communication, won a $1,000 grant from The Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar to support the project: the 2024 Dave Martin Student Grant, named in honor of longtime Associated Press photographer Dave “Mullet” Martin.
“As I embark on my MFA thesis journey,” said Pamarthy, “I am set to travel across Ohio, exploring the vibrant Indian Sikh culture, one among the diverse cultures hailing mainly from Punjab, India.”
“The goal with the project is to provide insights into the community’s cultural practices, dispel prejudices, avoid misidentification, and to explore the assimilation issues and celebrate the diaspora’s triumphs in merging into the American society as they preserve their Sikh roots.”
Pamarthy’s project to document Sikh culture was honored by the most recent College Photographer of the Year competition as Finalist in the International Picture Story category.
The Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar was held November 15-16. Eighteen Ohio University students participated, along with alumni and three OHIO faculty members. The speaker line-up on November 15 featured three OHIO alumni.
The prestigious seminar in Atlanta includes awards for outstanding photography. Ohio University alumnus Joseph Scheller won honorable mention in the Feature Picture Story category for documenting end-of-life caregiving. Scheller is a photojournalist at The Montana Standard in Butte.
Scheller won the Dave Martin Student Grant from the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar in 2021.