Image of Molly Oleson
Oleson will use the fellowship grant to produce her next photo project in Brazil.

Molly Oleson, a student in the Graduate School of Journalism, is this year’s winner of the Dorothea Lange Fellowship, on the merits of a five-photograph submission. Two photos taken in India arose from her Master’s degree project, which focuses on women’s education, independence and freedom. Five taken in South Africa were generated from Oleson’s internship in Cape Town last summer.

“This fellowship represents an incredible opportunity to continue to produce work as a documentary photographer, and to pursue a story that I’m passionate about and excited to share with the world,” said Oleson.  “I’m very grateful to UC Berkeley for offering the fellowship, and to the fellowship committee for selecting me.”

Oleson will use the $4,000 award to produce her next photo project, which will portray an indigenous tribe in the Brazilian Amazon.

The fellowship committee also selected Allison Allbee, a graduate student in Urban Planning, for an award of $2,000.

The Dorothea Lange Fellowship, in memory of one of the most outstanding documentary photographers of the 20th century, encourages the use of photography in the scholarly work of any discipline at UC Berkeley. The fellowship may be awarded to UC Berkeley faculty members, graduate students, and seniors who have been accepted for graduate work at Berkeley. Applicants must demonstrate outstanding work in documentary photography and provide a creative plan for future work.

Past Winners: 

2012       Tyler Orsburn, Journalism
2011       Vanessa Carr, Journalism
2010      Steve Saldivar, Journalism
2009     Rhyen Coombs, Journalism
2008     Adithya Sambamurthy, Journalism
2007     Jeremy Rue, Journalism
2006     Jakob Schiller, Journalism, and Timothy Wheeler, Journalism
2005    Tristan Spinski, Journalism

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Check out the article about Molly Oleson, published on UC Berkeley News Center.