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—
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.