Press release -

Call for photographers to shine a light on masculinity

Recent UK figures show that men are three times more likely than women to take their own life, and less likely to talk to anyone about going through a period of depression [1]. The Calm Photography Movement (TCPM) has been founded in partnership with LYNX to spark conversation about masculinity, mental health and self-expression through photography.

The movement will raise awareness and funds for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), an award-winning charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK. 

Amateur and professional photographers are invited to submit images which shine a light on the limitations of traditional masculinity for a chance to be exhibited at the prestigious Getty Images Gallery in Central London, to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week in May.

Entries will be judged by an esteemed panel of professionals, including Rankin and Nick Knight, who will be looking for images which express what it is to be a modern man in today’s fast changing world.

Photographers wishing to get involved have until Monday 17 April 2017 to submit their entries, details of which can be seen at www.calm.photography.

The winning photographs will be on public display at Getty Images Gallery in Central London on 10-19 May 2017, with key photographs used in print and social campaigns as well as being curated into a catalogue available for purchase in support of CALM’s work preventing male suicide.

TCPM founders Scott Shillum and Steve Wallington said: "We have founded The Calm Photography Movement to raise awareness of the role that photography can play in shining a light on men’s mental health after losing close family and friends to suicide in the recent past. We are thrilled to have the support of Rankin and Nick Knight, along with the generous support of LYNX, Getty Images and TOPMAN."

Simon Gunning, CEO of CALM said: "Self-expression plays an important role in opening up, and photography can be such a powerful tool for this. We're interested in how images can tell stories about our experiences of masculinity, what it means to be a man, and how we can tackle that old stereotype of needing a stiff upper lip. This is central to CALM's mission to create a culture where men face no shame in opening up and seeking help."

Related links

Topics

  • Cinema, Film, Photo

Categories

  • professional photography
  • amateur photography
  • open entry
  • competition
  • topman
  • lynx
  • male suicide
  • mental health awareness week
  • gender
  • male
  • london
  • exhibition
  • getty
  • getty images
  • images
  • art
  • nick knight
  • rankin
  • masculinity
  • photography
  • men
  • suicide
  • mental health

[1] In 2015, 75% of UK suicides were male (ONS). Research conducted by CALM in 2016 (available at http://bit.ly/masculinity2016) showed that whilst 67% of females who felt very depressed said they talked to someone about it, only 55% of males said the same. Men were much more likely (30%) than women (21%) to feel too embarrassed to talk about being depressed, and less likely to go to their friends to discuss the problem.

CONTACT: Neil Wood, Communications Officer – 07738 160 434 / neilwood@thecalmzone.net

ABOUT CALM: The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is an award-winning charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK. CALM provides support for men through a helpline and webchat service and campaigns for culture change so men feel able to seek help when they need it. Find us at www.thecalmzone.net and @thecalmzone.

ABOUT THE CALM PHOTOGRAPHY MOVEMENT: The Calm Photography Movement (TCPM) has been founded by lifelong friends Scott Shillum and Steve Wallington who have both lost close family and friends to suicide in the recent past. Photography has been a big part of both of their professional and personal lives which led to the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for CALM.

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PARTNER INFO

Title sponsor is LYNX, with additional support from Getty Images. Our awareness partner is TOPMAN. Also supported by visual communications agency VisMedia and Fuse, a marketing agency within the Omnicom Media Group.

LYNX - LYNX, a leading male grooming brand, is committed to fighting the limitations of toxic masculinity and liberating guys from the labels, pressures and stereotypes that make guys dangerous to themselves and others. LYNX wants to inspire guys to define ‘man’ for themselves and express their own individuality. The brand has been working with CALM since 2015 to raise awareness of male suicide.

GETTY IMAGES - Getty Images is the most trusted and esteemed source of visual content in the world, with over 200 million assets available through its industry-leading sites www.gettyimages.com and www.istock.com. The Getty Images website serves creative, business and media customers in almost 200 countries and is the first place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with over 200,000 contributors and hundreds of image partners to provide comprehensive coverage of more than 130,000 news, sport and entertainment events, impactful creative imagery to communicate any commercial concept and the world’s deepest digital archive of historic photography.

TOPMAN - TOPMAN has over 250 stores in the UK, with a further 154 international franchises operating in 31 countries. TOPMAN’s social reach is vast with over 1 million Facebook fans, 115,000 twitter followers, 480,000 Instagram followers and active on snapchat. The TOPMAN Design catwalk show has opened London Fashion Week Men’s (previously London Collections: Men) for the past five seasons and attracts press, buyers, celebrities and influencers from all over the world. The celebrity link does not end there with TOPMAN’s official brand ambassadors including Nick Jonas, Douglas Booth, Nick Grimshaw and James Bay. TOPMAN are also a proud supporter of emerging design talent and supported the NEWGEN MEN British Fashion Council run scheme for over 5 years with a total of 25 designers including Christopher Shannon, Craig Green and Christopher Raeburn launching businesses through the program.

FUSE - Fuse is a marketing agency within the Omnicom Media Group. The agency creates partnerships and experiences for brands that make a difference to the people who share in them and the brands that benefit from them. This is done by focusing on the things that people care passionately about; sport, entertainment, cause and culture. Fuse specialise in strategy, activation and evaluation and offer seven core services: strategic consulting, partnership marketing, experiences, PR, content, data and insight. With a team of over 100 in the UK and 250 across Europe, Fuse works with some of the world’s top brands, including Disney, Enterprise, KPMG, McDonald’s, Nissan, Nike, Pepsi, Renault, Royal London, Specsavers, Starbucks, UniCredit and Visa. We are proud that our work won two silver Lions at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity 2016 and to have been named UK Sponsorship Awards 'Consultancy of the Year' two years in a row, 2014 and 2015. Follow us @FuseSportEnt Find us on LinkedIn.