The winning photographs of this years inaugeral 1854 Media, (publisher of British Journal of Photography), Female in Focus award (in collaboration with United Photo Industries) are as forward thinking as they are arresting. Both the Stories Categories winners (Katinka Schuett and Priya Kambli – the first 4 images in the slideshow) as well as the rest of the winners will be exhibited in a group show at United Photo Industries Gallery in opening 22 October 2019 through 15 November 2019.
The award seeks to bridge photography’s gender imbalances and to elevate the work and careers of female professionals across the globe. The artists behind the two winning bodies of work are Priya Kambli and Katinka Schuett.
Kambli’s series, Buttons For Eyes, explores issues of loss, memory, and the
photographer’s hybrid cultural identity, by physically manipulating old family photographs and then rephotographing the altered artefacts.
Schuett’s series, Cosmic Drive , questions how contradictory spheres of fantasy and hard science can be made visible.
These series and the 20 winning single images that will accompany them in the exhibition have all been captured by a multitude of diverse feminine perspectives.
Female in Focus is a new award from 1854 Media, running for the first time in 2019. The aim of the award is to highlight the exceptional quality of work by female photographers around the world. It’s their way of addressing the gender imbalance in the industry. Our mission is to open up the world of photography to diverse talent, and to empower women and those who identify as women to step behind the lens.
This year’s award has been judged by:
● Brandei Estes, Director, Head of Photographs Department, Sotheby’s
● Devika Daulet Singh, Director, PHOTOINK
● Laura Roumanos, Co-Founder, United Photo Industries
● Veronica Sanchis Bencomo, Founder, Foto Feminas
● Cécile Montigny, Co-Founder APAR. TV
● Neo Ntsoma, Photographer & Educator
● Hannah Starkey, Photographer
United Photo Industries
16 Main St. #B, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Through November 15th
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