EUGENE, Ore. – TrackTown USA will continue its work with Black Women Photographers for the third consecutive year to provide paid opportunities for photographers and videographers to cover select events this summer. This will be the first year that will include videographers in addition to photographers.
“TrackTown USA is proud to support the mission of Black Women Photographers,” said TrackTown USA CEO Michael Reilly. “What Black Women Photographers founder Polly Irungu has built is beyond incredible. We are proud to call her an alumna of our organization, and we agree that prioritizing the content itself and diversifying those creating that content are necessary for the advancement of our sport and events.”
The previous two years of the partnership resulted in contracting nearly one dozen talented Black Women Photographers who produced hundreds of images published by TrackTown USA, The Prefontaine Classic, and competingathletes.
“One of Polly’s first internships during her undergrad was working in the digital department at TrackTown USA. Now, collaborating with TrackTown USA to open the doors for talented creatives just like how TrackTown USA opened the door for our founder Polly is an honor and a full circle moment,” said Black Women Photographers Executive Director Beth Irungu. “We’re grateful for their support in our mission.”
Applications are being accepted now through Friday, March 8 at BlackWomenPhotographers.com/TrackTown-USA. Applicants are also encouraged to showcase their submitted work via Instagram by posting with the hashtag #BWPxTrackTown.
Together, the TrackTown USA and Black Women Photographers teams will review the submitted applications to make the selection of creatives hired to cover this summer’s events. Content created by the hired photographers and videographers will be utilized on the TrackTown USA and Pre Classic platforms for coverage of the events.
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About TrackTown USA, Inc.
TrackTown USA, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to setting a standard of excellence in hosting premier track and field events, creating a supportive environment for elite athletic performances, being a leader in sustainable sport practices, and inspiring the next generation of track and field athletes and fans. The organization was responsible for organizing the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, the 2015, 2022, and 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships, the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, and the 2016 and 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials—Track & Field. In partnership with USA Track & Field, the organization brought the 2022 World Athletics Championships to the United States for the first time. TrackTown delivers the Wanda Diamond League’s recurring Prefontaine Classic, recognized as one of the world’s best track and field meets.
About Black Women Photographers
Founded by Polly Irungu, and launched in July of 2020, Black Women Photographers (BWP) is a global community, directory, and hub of over 2,100 Black women and non-binary identifying photographers, spanning over 60 countries and 35+ U.S. states.
Black Women Photographers is a home for Black women to receive proper recognition, and, most importantly, get hired. Dedicated to providing a resource for the industry’s gatekeepers, it supports its members through promoting their work in an active database distributed to photo editors, directors, curators, and art buyers. The collective also offers free educational resources such as regular programming of webinars, workshops, training, grants, and portfolio reviews. To date, BWP has provided over $125,000 in financial grants to Black creatives, plus brand new mirrorless Nikon gear.
Through conversation, workshops, educational resources, virtual and in-person events, and an active directory of photographers available for hire, BWP is committed to providing a home for Black women-identifying photographers to increase access to professional and paid opportunities for Black creatives around the world.
