Call for Entries
Seeking 50 of the World’s Best Emerging Photographers
We’re excited to open this year’s Emerging Talent Awards, our search for the world’s best emerging photographers! We’re seeking entries from members of the global photography community who have yet to receive exposure on the world stage—our aim is to discover fresh and inspiring visions from the next great image-makers. Our international jury will select and showcase the work of 50 outstanding talents from all cultures, all points of view, with no age limit.
All 50 winners will be included in a gallery exhibition in New York City, projections at international photography festivals, and our second major book, The Best of LensCulture, Volume 2. Every entrant is also eligible for a free, written review of their submission as well as ongoing exposure to our audience of 2.5 million. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with the photography community—show the world your best work today!
Many things happened after being selected for the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2016! My works were featured and exhibited in various museums and galleries around the globe including: the ICP Museum (US), Ibasho Gallery (Belgium), and the Artwork Network Gallery (US). My series was also published in diverse magazines like GQ and PDN. This year my book will be published by STEIDL and a book launch will be held at Paris Photo, The Photographers’ Gallery and the Tokyo Artbook Fair.
Emerging Talent Awards 2017 International Jury
London, United Kingdom
www.theguardian.com
Sean O’Hagan writes about photography for The Guardian and The Observer and is also a general feature writer. He was named interviewer of the year in the Press Awards in 2003 for his profiles of footballer Roy Keane and musician Brian Wilson, among others. He is the winner of the 2011 J Dudley Johnston Medal from the Royal Photographic Society “for major achievement in the field of photographic criticism” for his writing.
Emilia van Lynden is Artistic Director of Unseen, the leading festival for contemporary photography. Exclusively focusing on what’s new in the photography world, Unseen provides a channel for up-and-coming talent to showcase their work; the festival also presents previously “unseen” work by established artists. Unseen is a year-round platform with physical events throughout the year alongside the main event, Unseen Amsterdam. Additionally, Emilia serves as Editor-in-Chief for the annual publication, Unseen Magazine, which was founded in 2014.
Chris Littlewood is the Photography Director at Flowers Gallery in London. Most recognized for its engagement with socio-cultural, architectural, political and environmental themes, the photography program has been curated by Chris for ten years. Running parallel to the main gallery, Chris has also staged exhibitions by invited artists and curators across a range of experimental photographic practices. Under his curatorship, the gallery now regularly exhibits at international photo fairs including Paris Photo, Unseen Photo Fair and Photo London.
Essays by Chris have been published in magazines including Hotshoe, 1000 Words and Aesthetica. He has lectured and tutored at UK and international institutions including University of the Arts London, Architectural Association London, Magnum Photos London, National Museum Cardiff and Fotografiska Museum Stockholm.
Chris Pichler founded Nazraeli Press in Munich, Germany in 1989. In 1997, the press moved to the United States and in 2002 opened a subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Nazraeli Press has published over 500 books on the fine and applied arts with an emphasis on contemporary photography. The books are distributed throughout the world. Pichler edits and designs most of the books published by Nazraeli. He is known for his unorthodox use of common materials—such as papers, wood, plastic, metals—and for introducing elements of handiwork into otherwise mass-produced objects. The press’s award-winning books have themselves been the subject of exhibitions and books about books.
www.muhammedmuheisen.com
Born in Jerusalem in 1981, Muheisen joined the Associated Press in 2001. As the former chief photographer for the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he covered major events across the region, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq and the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. He has also worked in China, Egypt, South Africa and across Europe. Most recently his work has focused on the refugee crisis and specifically the issue of stranded unaccompanied refugee minors for the National Geographic Magazine. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning phootjournalist and he’s the founder of the Everyday Refugees Foundation. He was also named TIME’s Wire Photographer of the Year in 2013.
Among other exhibitions, a collection from a decade of his work about life in war was shown at Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan, France. His work about refugees was exhibited at Festival des Libertés in Brussels, Belgium, and work about the displaced people was shown at THE FENCE in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Boston and Houston in the USA. He has served as a jury member in the 2016 Picture of the Year International, the 2015 World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass and the 2013 Visa D’Or for Visa pour L’image.
Debra Klomp Ching is the co-owner of the Klompching Gallery in New York. Since its founding in 2007, it has become well known for its dynamic roster of artists and exhibitions. Debra brings more than two decades of curatorial experience, and ten years as an art dealer and gallerist, to the jurying process.
Additionally, she is a freelance writer specializing in photography, and a photo editor for At Length magazine. As a freelance consultant, she works with emerging and mid-career fine art photographers, advising on creative and professional development. Since 2014, she has served as adjunct faculty at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.
Arianna Rinaldo is a freelance professional working with photography in a wide variety of ways. Since 2012, she has been the artistic director of Cortona On The Move, an international photography festival in Tuscany, Italy. She is also curator of photography for PhEST, a new festival of art on the Mediterranean, taking place in Monopoli, Italy. In 2014 she was appointed guest artistic director for DOCfield, the documentary photography festival in Barcelona.
Arianna has previously worked for Magnum Photos, COLORS magazine and D, the weekend supplement of La Repubblica. She was the director of OjodePez magazine, a bilingual documentary photography quarterly published by La Fabrica for 7 years. She collaborates with major publishing houses for special projects and is a regular participant in portfolio review events and jury panels worldwide, as well as speaker and lecturer. Based in Barcelona since 2012, Arianna continues to develop photography projects at an international level and is intrigued by storytelling photography wherever that may take her.
Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper organizes annual international photography events, travels around the world to meet with photographers and review their portfolios, curates art exhibitions, writes about photography and culture, lectures, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror and nominator for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations. He serves on the board of directors at SPE, the Society for Photographic Education, the world’s largest association of photography educators.
Career-Launching Awards
Benefits for All
Jurors’ Picks
Each of our 8 judges will personally select a photographer to receive a $2,500 grant.
Top 50 Emerging Talents
Our jury will select 50 outstanding emerging photographers—from all cultures and all points of view, with no age limit.
Free Submission Review by
Industry Professionals
Enter the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2017 and get a free Submission Review of your work. This is an opportunity for you to receive critical and constructive feedback on your photography from top photo editors, curators, publishers, gallerists, educators, critics, consultants, and other industry professionals. These reviews not only help you have more success in future photo competitions but provide major insight into moving forward creatively and professionally.
Participate. Engage. Share. Connect.
Our photography competitions are different. We believe every photographer who participates deserves an opportunity for global recognition and professionally-written feedback. The sooner you enter, the more opportunities you will have to gain international exposure and to engage with our worldwide community of emerging talents. And remember, you can edit your submission all the way up to the deadline. So, get started today!
Who’s an “emerging” photographer? Anyone who has not yet received significant international recognition. Please see our FAQ for more details.
We’re open to ALL types of photography,
all points of view, all countries, and all ages.
FINE ART • PORTRAIT • LANDSCAPE • ARCHITECTURE • INTERIORS • ALTERNATIVE PROCESS • PHOTOJOURNALISM • DOCUMENTARY • CONCEPTUAL • STILL LIFE • B & W • NATURE • STREET PHOTOGRAPHY • ABSTRACT • EXPERIMENTAL • STAGED
Career Changing Exposure
For over a dozen years, LensCulture has been committed to helping photographers of all levels move forward creatively and professionally. In that time, we have heard from hundreds of photographers who were able to achieve breakthroughs in their careers though participation in the LensCulture community. Here are six examples of LensCulture award-winners moving forward—
-
Roderick McNicolAustralia
Roderick McNicolA Portrait Revisited: 1986, 2006Juror’s Pick ,
Portrait Awards 2016Having established some local recognition here in Australia for my quiet, somewhat obsessive portrait photography, I was keen to see if I could encourage a broader international profile for my work. So I decided to ‘fire an arrow into the dark’ and send in an entry to LensCulture. I am so glad I did! As an award winner, I was immediately given my own LensCulture profile page, and my series—A Portrait Revisited: 1986, 2006—was widely disseminated through the broad LensCulture network. Along with the other Portrait Award winners, my work was then exhibited by LensCulture at Photo London. I even took the long flight from Australia to see my work in person at the Somerset House. In the end, I was delighted with the response my work received—thousands of shares and likes from all around the world. My arrow into the dark really had hit its mark! Thank you LensCulture!
-
Frank HerfortGermany
Frank HerfortFairy Tale from RussiaWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2016After receiving the Emerging Talent Award, I received immense feedback from people around the world. This helped me to finally sell some fine art prints via my online print shop. Several magazine publications of the work were followed by hundreds of blogs and online magazines. I then went on to sell some large gallery prints in Moscow. LensCulture gave me the confidence that I can turn my passion of image-making into a full-time pursuit and be less dependant on commercial work. That’s a great feeling. Doing your own stuff and working every day on your ideas is much more satisfying than focusing on commercial work. Thanks for everything LensCulture does!
-
Jonghun LeeSouth Korea
Jonghun LeeBeyond the WallWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2016I have been very busy since last year’s Emerging Talent Award. It was a tremendous thing for me to have been a winner in the competition. After the announcement, a Korean news channel showed great interest in reporting about the award and my work. Many gallery representatives then expressed interest in my photography. The same work will be exhibited in Europe next year and in Korea in the future. Thus, it was a wonderful opportunity to be selected for this prize—I give my infinite gratitude to LensCulture for making all this possible.
-
Marcus DeSienoUnited States
Marcus DeSienoSurveillance LandscapesEmerging Talent ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2016Because of the press from the Emerging Talent awards, I had my work featured in the New Journal of Zurich, one of the oldest newspapers in the world. My series was also written about in a number of publications, from Fast Company to Wired. I was also fortunate to show the work at the Aperture Foundation in their Summer Open exhibition, titled “On Freedom.” Next month I’ll be showing at Candela Gallery in Richmond for an exhibition “The Theory of Place.” Lastly, I’m working with Daylight Books on the production of my first monograph due out next summer, "No Man’s Land: Views from a Surveillance State."
-
Sheng Wen LoTaiwan
Sheng Wen LoWhite BearWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2016I have had wide success since last year’s Emerging Talent. In terms of publication, the work was shown in National Geographic, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Der Spiegel, Wired, de Volkskrant and beyond. It was also exhibited at a range of festivals—Organ Vida (Croatia), FORMAT (UK), Fotofestival Naarden (Netherlands), Belfast Photo Festival (UK) and LianZhou Foto Festival (China). In addition, it was named the winner of the Portfolio Review at FORMAT.
-
Philip KanwischerCanada
Philip KanwischerInhospitably OursWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2016Since the award, I am actively selling fine art prints and frames on my website. I have also shown my work in a number of exhibitions recently, including solo shows at Resolve Photo (Animals on Display, 2017) and at Holy Grill 2017. My largest solo show to date was held at the Southern Jubilee Auditorium (Inhospitably Ours, 2017). I also have had a number of online interviews as a result of my LensCulture exposure including Tabi Labo, a Japanese online publication and Feature Shoot. In the fall, I will be starting my MFA at NSCAD in Halifax where I will continue to deepen my photographic practice.
-
Rahima GamboNigeria
Rahima GamboEducation is ForbiddenWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2016Since being a winner in the Emerging Talents award, I won the Fourthwall Books African Photobook Award that will enable me to publish a first edition photobook of the “Education is Forbidden” project in an edition of 500. I was also selected to be among the 12 participants for the prestigious World Press Photo Joop Swart masterclass in 2017. The recognition from LensCulture helped me gain pivotal exposure for my work and gave me a validation that I was on the right path. Many thanks again for the opportunity!
-
Ofir BarakIsrael
Ofir BarakMea ShearimWinner ,
Magnum Photography Awards 2016Winning the Magnum Photography Awards has been a really powerful experience, as it should for an award of such magnitude. I received a warm recognition from local press and international media. Opportunities from different organizations and publications appeared at my doorstep and increased my popularity. But I think the most beneficial part from winning the award was that I was able to translate virtual connections to real life relationships. These contacts have pushed me to become a better photographer. So, I would highly recommend entering to any fellow photographer. Work hard, dream big and apply.
-
Annabel OosteweeghelThe Netherlands
Annabel OosteweeghelEverlastingFinalist ,
Exposure Awards 2015Since my latest project “Everlasting,” which was named a finalist in the Exposure Awards 2015, a lot has happened! My work was published in different newspapers, magazines and online magazines. I was interviewed by a Dutch radio program and then invited onto Dutch television! After this, I was ask to make a new project by the Museum Hilversum—the museum even paid all the costs to make this new project! The exhibition was shown at Hilversum and is now going to travel to Rotterdam and then Med Photofest in Sicily.
-
Joshua Rashaad McFaddenUnited States
Joshua Rashaad McFaddenAfter SelmaJuror's Pick ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015A lot has happened since becoming one of the Emerging Talents in 2015! I have won additional awards, including an International Photography Award (IPA Award) 1st place: Social Cause for "After SELMA". I also won the Society of Photographic Education Award and Scholarship (South East Region) for After SELMA. I have traveled all over the USA doing talks about After Selma. I have been accepted into the New York Times Portfolio Review 2016.
-
Laura HospesThe Netherlands
Laura HospesUCP-UMCGWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015It started with an e-mail from the Daily Mail, after they had seen the article on LensCulture and Spiegel. They asked a couple of questions and put it on their website. After that, a bomb exploded in my mailbox. I got interviewed by The HuffingtonPost, Redbook, Feature Shoot, Refinery29, WunderWeib and many more. Then, I found myself on the frontpage of Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Empowering Woman and so many more…This media attention resulted in the sharing of my story world-wide as well as selling many prints and books. I’ve even been offered an opportunity to exhibit in New York City!
-
Matej PovseSlovenia
Matej PovseRefugees on the Balkan RouteFinalist ,
Exposure Awards 2015When I won a LensCulture Exposure award, it was a confirmation of my work, that I’m on the right path. The announcement was followed by much more than I expected—the opportunity to participate in discussions, submission reviews and exchange views with industry professionals as well as other photographers. Later, I discovered how these awards are respected by editors and curators around the world. Many of them are interested in publishing or exhibiting my work, all because it was acknowledged and awarded by LensCulture. It goes without saying: the entry fee has paid for itself several times.
-
Camille MichelFrance
Camille MichelThe Last MenWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015After being published on LensCulture, my work received a lot of attention — the good news came one after the other! I received other awards such as "Sony Photo Magazine" award and the "30 Under 30 Women Photographer 2016." The project was published in magazines, books, as well as in newspapers such as La Croix (France), CityZine (China). The series was exhibited or projected in several places in France, England, Argentina, United States, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, and Russia. And my work will be exhibited at the Filature Scène Nationale de Mulhouse in France in 2017 for my first major personal exhibition! So, thank you to LensCulture, as the award enabled me to get introduced to many interesting people, to spread my work, and to pursue my projects.
-
Eugenio GrossoUnited Kingdom
Eugenio GrossoHeavily LoadedWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014Since I won the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards, my series "Heavily Loaded" won the Flash Forward Magenta Foundation 2015 and has been featured in its catalogue. The work has also been shortlisted for the BarTur Photobook Awards in 2015 and I had the chance to present it at The Photographers Gallery in London...To win the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards gave me high visibility and now I can see the results. I am glad I applied for it and would definitely do it again.
-
Andreas OlesenDenmark
Andreas OlesenEstateWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014Being chosen for a LensCulture Award resulted in a huge and immediate jump in the amount of attention my work receives. I was photographing on a small island north of Sardinia when I got the news, and by the time I got back to my computer, my inbox was flooded with mails from well-wishers and print purchase inquiries. Within a few weeks, I had gotten several interview requests, a publishing request and hefty jump in traffic on my website. Since then, I have organized an exhibition of the work in California and I think that winning the award definitely helped me secure this show.
-
Ian HughesUK
Ian HughesAround the Floodlit GroundsWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015Being named an Emerging Talent in 2015 was the best thing that has happened to me in my 30 years as a photographer. Before that, my pictures had only really been looked at by friends, family and occasionally been shown in various publications...but I woke up one morning to messages from friends congratulating me on having my photos in their UK morning newspapers like Metro and The Daily Mail. They went viral online overnight. Gemany’s two main magazines Spiegel and Stern both ran long interviews with me about them and so did Grazia in France. I recommend anyone who is serious about their photography to enter this year’s competition. It really does provide much needed exposure and the LensCulture team are extremely supportive. I can’t thank them enough.
-
Lucy HilmerUSA
Lucy HilmerBirthday SuitWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014For decades I kept my photographs in boxes in a closet, or at best, on walls of my small, apartment living room. Now, thanks to LensCulture’s amazing international reach, one of my projects, “Birthday Suits: A Woman, Her Camera & Time” is known all over the world. At my age, it’s such a gift nowing that what I’ve spent a lifetime doing has touched others. I’m still getting emails from women and men of all ages and countries thanking me for what I’ve done. Wow! What a gift that is, and without you and your wonderful website, none of this would have been possible.
-
Joan AlvadoSpain
Joan AlvadoSchool of ShepherdsWinner ,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015Just after LensCulture published my work, I received an inquiry to publish the story in the Washington Post InSight photo section. Thanks to that, a filmmaker from NYC found me and proposed to make a movie about the School of Shepherds—we are into filming that movie right now! So the exposure has been high and produced real results very fast.
-
Susana CabañeroSpain
Susana CabañeroAddis Ababa: The EpiphanyFinalist ,
Street Photography Awards 2015Being named a finalist and getting published on LensCulture has given me international exposure and recognition. I was contacted by an important press photo agency and my projects have been featured in magazines like Xataka Foto, Vision Magazine and exhibited in galleries and festivals in Spain (PhotoEspaña), Greece (Athens Photo Festival) and Turkey (Second Documentary Photography Days). The award gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep on working and show my work, all thanks to LensCulture.
-
Alia AliYemen
Alia AliLibertyFinalist ,
Exposure Awards 2015Since the LensCulture Exposure Awards and the exhibition at PhotoLondon, quite a lot has happened! I was exhibited in group shows in Jordan, Vietnam, Malaysia the UK and the United States in galleries, festivals and academic settings. I was also accepted to a series of residencies, stretching from Mexico to Japan and then Hanoi. Finally, I won a special award from my university, as an alumnae of Wellesley College!
WE RESPECT ARTIST’S RIGHTS
All photographers retain full copyrights for their own work. Period.
Emerging Talents and Jurors’ Picks grant LensCulture limited, restricted use of winning photos only to promote the photographers themselves and in connection with marketing LensCulture Awards competitions. LensCulture editors will select and feature hundreds (but not all) of submissions during the competition in our online gallery and social media albums (always with copyright credit noted for each participating photographer).
Details can be found in the
Competition rules
.