Graham Dickie of Tsinghua University (Beijing)and the University of Texas at Austin has won the 2018 Alexia Student Grant for “How Life Is: Rap in Rural Southeast Louisiana,” a project combining a film and a photo series. The Alexia Foundation announced the news today.

“For the first time, a film received top honors in the student category and that entry also included strong still images. That’s a reflection of how the profession is moving and one we’re proud to reflect,” said jury moderator and Syracuse University photojournalism professor Mike Davis in a prepared statement.

Dickie’s project focuses on hip-hop artists and culture to explore social conditions and build understanding across class and race lines. “Rap is profoundly entwined with life in rural Southeast Louisiana and helps express what it means to be young and black in the South today,” he explained in his grant application.

Dickie, who is pursuing a master’s degree at Tsinghua University, will receive funding for a semester of study at Syracuse University, plus a $1,000 cash grant.

Alexia Student Grant Awards of Excellence went to Jordan Gale of the University of Iowa, Boyuan Zhang of the London College of Communication, Swastik Pal of Jadavpur Univeristy, and Gabriel Scarlett of Western Kentucky University. Each will receive a $500 cash grant and a $1,500 tuition voucher to attend a workshop at Syracuse University.

Jurors included Washington Post director of photography MaryAnne Golon, photographer Zun Lee, and Visura CEO Adriana Teresa Letorney.

Earlier this week, the jurors award the $20,000 Alexia 2018 Professional Grant to photographer Rena Effendi for her “Spirit Lake” project.

The Alexia Foundation supports photographers working on projects to expose social injustice and affect change.

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Rena Effendi Wins $20K Alexia 2018 Professional Grant