Leica Women Foto Project Award Winners Celebrate Feminine Strength
Leica has named the four recipients of its fifth annual Leica Women Foto Project Award, celebrating photographers whose work embodies reclamation, resilience, and rebirth.
This year’s winners hail from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, like last year. They will all receive a Leica SL2-S camera, a Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH lens, and a $10,000 cash prize.
The awardees are American photographer Camille Farrah Lenain, Stasia Schmidt of Canada, Mexican photographer Luvia Lazo, and Adenike Sogsbesan, also known as Dola Posh, from the United Kingdom.
The winners were selected by a panel of acclaimed photojournalists and members of the international photography community, including Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, director of Leica Galleries worldwide, and photo editors from some of the most prominent publications like National Geographic, The Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, and many more.
“For this year’s Leica Women Foto Project, we encouraged applicants to share visual stories of reclamation, resilience, or rebirth,” says Karin Kaufmann. “Through these lenses, the Leica Women Foto Project continues to empower and amplify the voices that capture these profound narratives, adding depth to our collective visual tapestry while reflecting our commitment to celebrating the power of visual storytelling.”
Without further ado, this year’s Leica Women Foto Project Award winners.
Camille Farrah Lenain
With French-Algerian roots, Camille Farrah Lenain is a documentary and portrait photographer focusing on long-term projects that challenge societal and cultural preconceptions, stereotypes, collective memory, and identity.
She honed her photography skills at l’ESA in Belgium and the International Center of Photography in New York City before teaching photography at Tulane University in New Orleans.
Lenain’s prior awards and accomplishments include being shortlisted for the Aperture Portfolio Prize last year and having worked alongside clients like The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Elle Magazine. She has also exhibited at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Arab World Institute.
A particularly notable project in her repertoire is Made of Smokeless Fire, which grappled with the misunderstood and overlooked LGTBQIA+ experience within Muslim culture in France. Lenain’s beautiful and powerful images deliver a nuanced and poignant representation of these experiences.
Luvia Lazo
Luvia Lazo, a Zapotech indigenous photographer born in Oaxaca, Mexico, looks at the essence of indigenous identity, generational shift, grief, and the relationship between people and their space, especially when that space has cultural and spiritual significance.
Noted for her talent from an early age, Lazo has previously received the Young Creators program by the National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA) in Mexico and the prestigious 2021 Indigenous Photograph award. Her work has been showcased worldwide, including in Mexico City, New York City, and Barcelona.
Lazo’s winning project, Women from the Clouds, is a mosaic of stories of contemporary indigenous women across a wide age range. The photographer’s goal is to create a richer understanding of the diverse experiences of indigenous women.
Stasia Schmidt
Canadian photographer Stasia Schmidt of Calgary, Alberta, is an acclaimed fine art photographer. The self-taught artist focuses primarily on surrealism within natural environments and is noted for her use of form in compositions.
Her winning project, Ephermality, tackles societal norms concerning femininity and masculinity. By placing feminine subjects in traditionally male-dominated spaces, like the wilderness and other adventurous locations, Schmidt encourages viewers to reconsider how they think about women and rugged strength.
Adenike Sogbesan, AKA Dola Posh
Nigerian-born British photographer Dola Posh’s work looks at self-identity and postpartum depression through beautiful portraiture. When not shooting, Dola works with the NHS to facilitate workshops concerning mental health and postpartum depression, helping women through the challenge.
Dola’s photography combines women, health, and technology in creative ways and showcases the experiences of Black women and mothers. Her winning Omo Mi series, which means “my child,” looks at the larger journey of becoming a mother, focusing on self-discovery and feminine strength.
More from the Leica Women Foto Award
Since its inception in 2019, the Leica Women Foto Award has provided a much-needed and very respected platform to help share a more diverse range of visual stories. The award focuses on creating more inclusion through photography.
This year’s awards will be showcased during a three-day festival from April 12th in New York City as part of Women Street Photographers.
In the coming weeks, PetaPixel will chat with this year’s winners and showcase more of their work and stories.
Image credits: Leica Women Foto Project Award, 2024
