Women Photograph: 2024 Mentorship Projects

We are sharing work from our 2024 mentorship cohort! For seven years, we have paired a group of dedicated young photographers from all over the world with industry leaders. In its second year, our cohort received project grants to help finance their work. 

This year’s program was made possible thanks to Leica USA and the Leonian Foundation! 

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JULIANA YAMADA

US | @julianayamadaphoto | julianayamada.com

This project explores the influence and importance of culture regarding end-of-life care. I have spent the past year documenting life at J-Sei Home, a small residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) geared toward Japanese Americans in Hayward, California.

Juliana Yamada is a Japanese-American photojournalist based in Los Angeles, California.

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NORKOR NORTEY

Ghana | @norkor.nortey | norkornortey.com

This documentary photography project explores the process, personal stories, and women-led multi-generational practices of some of Ghana’s oldest and most cherished snacks and food items, a few of which are slowly disappearing from our food landscape.

Norkor Nortey (b. 1997) is a Ghanaian documentary photographer deeply curious about how African women navigate, take up space and thrive in today's world.

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ANGELA TOZZI

Italy | @angelatozziphotos | angelatozzi.com

The UN estimate 70% of the underwater meadows of Posidonia oceanica to disappear by 2050. At BsRC, a bioscience research center in Tuscany, Italy, a team of female scientists is studying how contaminants, specifically those contained in healthcare products, influence competition between this species and invasive algal species competing for the same territory, analysing a critical, yet under-explored, aspect of biodiversity loss. With their work, these researchers are also challenging the persistent gender gaps in Italy’s scientific community - where fewer than 30% of women hold prominent roles or get properly credited in papers.

Angela Tozzi is a photographer whose documentary work focuses on the environment, helping to facilitate data-driven conversations between scientists and the general public.

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NANA AKUA AGYEIBEA ASARE-BOYE

Ghana | @agyeibea_ | agyeibea.com

‘The Not So Ordinary’ is a project on the lives of my queer friends in Accra, Ghana which has transformed into testaments of the Ghanaian Queer Community during an uncertain and unpredictable time. This project embodies the colourful lives of my friends who are searching for love, hope, safety, community, acceptance and most importantly themselves.

Nana Akua Agyeibea Asare-Boye is a visual artist from Accra, Ghana, whose photographic journey began with the Impact Queer Ghana Photography Program. They graduated from the inaugural Photojournalism and Documentary Practice Program at Dikan Centre in December 2023. 

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IVA SADISH

Ukraine | @iva_sidash | ivasidash.com

Seeing the Unseen shows the Russo-Ukrainian war through the eyes of civilians, offering a perspective often overlooked—not about battles or military strategies, but the everyday lives of those caught in the middle. War is not just about death; it’s also about life—about those who fight to survive and care for each other.

Iva Sidash (b. 1995, Ukraine) is an independent photographer and visual storyteller based in Ukraine.

Women Photograph: 2023 Mentorship Projects

This week we’re sharing work from our 2023 mentorship cohort! For six years, we have paired a group of dedicated young photographers from all over the world with industry leaders. This year, our cohort received project grants to help finance their work. 

This year’s program was made possible thanks to Leica USA, as well as Adobe for providing our mentees with a year-long license to their editing suite! 

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MAUREEN GATHONI

Kenya | @maureenwild_

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Women in the Wild is a photo project that showcases the contribution of women in conservation with a key force on Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. This project is heavily inspired by my mother who was the first female ranger and radio operator at the conservancy.

Maureen Gathoni is a photographer and climate activist from Laikipia, Kenya. Through her images, she seeks to document conservation efforts and educate people about the need for conservation and inspire the next generation of conservationists.

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JUDITH CRICO

France | @judithcrico | judithcrico.com

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When a person comes into conflict with the law, the world of their loved ones undergoes upheavals impacting several areas of their lives, whether financial, emotional and stigmatizing burdens which these families must face. Don’t Worry About Me is articulated as a poem, visiting men and women who are locked outside and surrounded by invisible walls.  

Judith Crico is a French photographer exploring the notions of identity and collective memory, focusing on marginalized communities and their resilience in facing hardship. 

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RENATA MONTENEGRO

Mexico | @rennata_mg | renatamontenegro.com

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"Home for a zopilote*” is a photo project made in collaboration with other women from her community about the practices of witchcraft, using Mariana's testimony as a starting point: a woman from Mexico City who found in witchcraft as a way of survival, after 10 years of domestic violence crisis, this project explores the collective imaginary of witchcraft as a space where resistance, desire and longing come from the magical.

Renata Montenegro is a photographer, based in Mexico City, who explores stories that originate from a personal place, allowing her to deepen in the perception and construction of collective and individual identity.

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AZIZIAH DIAH APRILYA

Indonesia | @aziziahprilya | aziziahprilya.com

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Mattude is a collecting-clams practice that passed down by coastal women in Mariso, an area in the west coast of Makassar, Indonesia. This practice has slowly disappeared since massive reclamation occurred on the coast. 

Aziziah Diah Aprilya is a photographer and researcher based in Makassar, Indonesia.

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ALLIE COLLIER

USA | @alliecollierstudio | allielcollier.com

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This project, "Mother of All Living Things," comes from Genesis 3:20, a Bible verse in which Adam names his wife "Eve" effectively crowning her as the caretaker and mother of "all living." In the American evangelical tradition, specifically in the Baptist tradition, girls are taught from a young age about their pending fates as a mother and a tool for men's personal growth and benefit. Deep in Trump country, this ideology prevails. I am deconstructing my so-called evangelical “role” as a woman, and through photographing people and places that I love in my hometown of Tennessee, I wonder what this means for them.

Allie Collier is a photographer and writer from Nashville, Tennessee currently residing in Richmond, VA.

Statement on Member Withdrawal

The staff and board of Women Photograph want to share a message that we sent to our members last night in response to a group of photographers choosing to withdraw from our community over our lack of a statement regarding Israel’s war on Gaza. We are deeply sorry for the hurt our silence has caused many of our members; please see our message below:

Most importantly, we are sorry. Above all else, we have tried to make Women Photograph a space for caring and safe community, and we deeply regret that we didn’t do enough to support members experiencing unimaginable loss right now, alongside everyone else grieving and standing in solidarity with Palestinians.

At the heart of our work is a desire to support our members. We didn’t issue a statement earlier because we were collectively at a loss. We also worried that adding to the cacophony of voices on social media and elsewhere would obscure the voices that most need to be heard. We understand now that we neglected to think about how a statement would have made many of our members feel validated and heard.

So no one doubts where we stand: we are outraged by the targeted killing of journalists and civilians by Israeli forces. We all — as individuals and as an organization — join the call for a ceasefire and an end to this violence. 

We are working on a joint statement with partner affinity groups which will publish soon, but we wanted to prioritize reaching out to our community first. 

We remain steadfast in our belief that statements are only a first step and our words will always fall short in the face of such violence. We continue to feel that our most vital work is in building and advocating for an inclusive community of photojournalists and other media professionals, who will produce a nuanced, accurate, and complete record of our global history. That said, we understand that in extraordinary moments like this, it is important for organizations such as Women Photograph to be vocal in supporting the safety and security of journalists and to take a stance against war crimes.

We want everyone in this community to know that we are always available to be in dialogue with you if you have concerns and want to reach out. We are a small team, and that’s why your engagement and guidance are important. The more perspectives that can inform our decision-making, the stronger we are together. 

New Women Photograph Members

Thank you so much to everyone who responded to our first open call for new members this past December!

We received nearly 2,000 applications and were absolutely blown away by the response — we're honored and thrilled that so many women and nonbinary visual journalists want to join our community. A giant thank you to our selection committee, Elizabeth Krist, Danese Kenon, Gael Almeida, Valentine Umansky, Preston Gannaway, Jennifer Samuel, and Sara Ickow, who pored over every application, website, portfolio, and instagram account over the past couple months.

We have accepted 311 new photographers into the Women Photograph database, who will join our existing 1,050 members. We're so sorry to not be able to accommodate more photographers this round, but thank you for understanding that we are trying to be intentional about how we grow our membership, which revolves around a supportive internal community. We will continue to hold open calls every December (please sign up for our newsletter to make sure you're up to date on our latest news!), and can't wait to continue to expand our membership with each passing year.

Please join us in welcoming the newest members of Women Photograph, who come from 76 nations and territories and will be incredible additions to our community. Onward!

Women Photograph 2020 Grants — Jury Feedback

ICYMI: This month, we announced the six recipients of the 2020 Women Photograph Grants! You can read more about their incredible projects here. We asked the jurors for any general feedback they’d want to pass along to all applicants, and these were some of their suggestions:

1. Read the instructions.

Even if you have a stellar application, not following instructions might make your submission significantly harder to process or chance disqualifying you completely, if the grant administrators are sticklers. Don’t take that risk — make sure that you’ve properly named your files, you’ve resized photos as necessary, you’ve added embedded captions if necessary [if you’re not sure how to do that, check out this video from Diversify Photo co-founder Brent Lewis], and you’ve satisfied any other logistical grant requirements. And that includes making sure you can meet the submission deadline — don’t risk needing to ask for an extension, not every organization will be able to grant you one!

2. You do not need to submit the maximum number of images required for a submission.

If an application calls for a maximum of 25 images in a submission portfolio and you have 19 very strong photos, that’s okay — just submit 19 images! Stick to your strongest possible edit, and don’t try to pad your submission because you think you need to accommodate the upper limit. Remember: your application portfolio is only as strong as your weakest image. Prioritize a tight edit that shows off your strength and versatility as a photography, and ditch the rest.

3. Submit 1-2 stories rather than a portfolio of singles.

For open calls like this year’s Women Photograph + Getty Images Scholarship that request general portfolios (not necessarily related to a specific project proposal, for instance) — judges usually express a preference for seeing one or two stories rather than a selection of single images. Stories allow juries to see what kind of work you’ve dedicated time to, what you care about, and it’s an opportunity to demonstrate the depth (rather than breadth) of your work.

4. Seek out feedback from colleagues.

Use your fellow photographer friends as a sounding board for your grant applications: Does it make sense? Does it feel cohesive? Does the photo edit support the proposal in the best way possible? Have you done a spelling + grammar check? If you’re not a native speaker to the language you have to submit your application in, do you know someone who could give your proposal a quick read for clarity? If you can, try to get a second pair of eyes on your applications to make sure you’re expressing your ideas clearly.

5. Is your point of view clear?

Judges expressed a strong preference for applications where the voice and perspective of the photographer was present and clear. Why is this project important to you? What is your relationship to the story? What is some of the broader historical and cultural context that might be relevant? In other terms: why are YOU the best person to be working on this project? Make sure we understand your personal connection, your expertise, or your existing dedication to this idea.

Women Photograph COVID-19 Emergency Fund

Thanks to contributions from over 180 individuals and the generous support of the Women in Journalism Workshop at the University of Missouri's Reynolds Journalism Institute, Women Photograph was able to disburse $30,000 in emergency funds to 73 photographers critically in need of support. We received over 1,000 applications in 5 days — totaling roughly $460,000 in requests — and badly wish we could have provided support to every photographer who reached out.

”I have juried many awards in my career but never anything as emotionally difficult as the Women Photograph Emergency Fund,” said Amy Yenkin, a member of the selection committee who helped to read through all 1,000+ applications alongside Women Photograph Board President Elizabeth Krist and Women Photograph member and grantee Bethany Mollenkof. “Choosing the final group of grantees was extremely difficult and there were hundreds of applicants we would have supported if we had additional funds. It is abundantly clear that although the Women Photograph grants are small relative to the need, they are vital and moving funds quickly into people’s hands at this critical moment.”

Cost of living expenses made up the overwhelming majority of requests, but there were also recurring applications for healthcare and COVID-related costs, from single parents and sole household breadwinners who had seen their income collapse, caretakers of elderly parents, and students and photojournalists who had been stranded far from home with no ability to work or pay for daily expenses. It was painfully apparent that women are bearing very heavy economic, professional, and psychological burdens of this pandemic.

We are now fundraising for a second round of Emergency Fund grants — we have kept all applications received on file for review and the application portal remains open for any other women and non-binary photographers who would like to apply, while we work to collect enough funding for a second cycle of stipends. We understand that the needs of our community are only going to escalate in the months to come and are doing everything we can to continue to provide support.

If you would like to donate to the Emergency Fund, you may do so here — any organizations or corporations who would like to discuss more large-scale support can reach out to daniella@womenphotograph.com.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your incredible support and solidarity. We’re all in this together. Stay well and safe.