IAFOR Documentary Photography Award - submissions open

27 August 2018
© Kiana Hayeri. Grand Prize winner - IAFOR Documentary Photography Award 2017. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-10 | The kids put the photo of their father back on the wall. Their memories of him are blurred and is only shaped by the only photo that exist from him. Shakar (29) lost her husband to a suicide attack while he was on his way to work. Her youngest was only 3 months old when they brought her husband, better to say pieces of his body, home. Shakir works as a cleaner but had to pull her oldest daughter out of school so she can afford providing her children with their basic needs. The family belong to Ismaeili shia minority fear from the return of Taliban. “If Talib comes back, how am I going to feed my children?”
© Kiana Hayeri. Grand Prize winner - IAFOR Documentary Photography Award 2017. From the series, "Single Mothers of Afghanistan". KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-10 | The kids put the photo of their father back on the wall. Their memories of him are blurred and is only shaped by the only photo that exist from him. Shakar (29) lost her husband to a suicide attack while he was on his way to work. Her youngest was only 3 months old when they brought her husband, better to say pieces of his body, home. Shakir works as a cleaner but had to pull her oldest daughter out of school so she can afford providing her children with their basic needs. The family belong to Ismaeili shia minority fear from the return of Taliban. “If Talib comes back, how am I going to feed my children?”

This year's IAFOR (International Academic Forum) Documentary Photography Award is now inviting submissions on the theme: "Fearful Futures". In support of up-and-coming talent, the IAFOR Documentary Photography Award is free to enter. The submission deadline is midnight on September 12, 2018 (GMT). Prizes for the competition yet to be finalised, but will be similar to those on offer in 2017.

The 2018 theme – Fearful Futures

We live in a period characterised by rises in regionalism, nationalism and authoritarianism; a time of great global uncertainty and anxiety, as well as inequality and iniquity which both reflects and drives political divide, and undermines international systems of cooperation. Clashes of identities, beliefs and ideologies contribute to a feeling that humanity is spiralling out of control; that our relationships with each other, as well as with the earth and environment, have never been worse.

Yet, as humans, we are not conditioned by fear alone, but instead by a remarkable ingenuity, and a capacity for hope, self-reflection, activism and action. This agency to improve our own lives, and those of others, is the theme of this year’s IAFOR Documentary Photography Award, inviting us to consider the ways in which we contextualise and process the past, reimagining ourselves, our relationships, and our environments; driving positive change and reclaiming the future as a time we look towards with hope, and even optimism.

© Christian Werner/Zeitenspiegel. Second place. From the series, "Rubble and Delusion: A Journey Through Assad’s Syria". Syria, January 2017 - A boy has caught a cat in East Aleppo.
© Christian Werner/Zeitenspiegel. Second place. From the series, "Rubble and Delusion: A Journey Through Assad’s Syria". Syria, January 2017 - A boy has caught a cat in East Aleppo.
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2018 judges

Dr Paul Lowe

Founding Judge, Dr Paul Lowe is a Reader in Documentary Photography and the Course Leader of the Masters program in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, UK. Lowe is an award-winning photographer who has been published in TIME, Newsweek, Life, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Observer, and The Independent, amongst others. He has covered breaking news the world over, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela’s release, famine in Africa, the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, and the destruction of Grozny.

His book, Bosnians, documenting 10 years of the war and post-war situation in Bosnia, was published in April 2005 by Saqi books. His research interest focuses on the photography of conflict, and he has contributed chapters to the books Picturing Atrocity: Photography in Crisis (Reaktion, 2012) and Photography and Conflict. His most recent books include Photography Masterclass published by Thames and Hudson, and Understanding Photojournalism, co-authored with Dr Jenny Good, published by Bloomsbury Academic Press.

Lowe is an Emeritus Member of VII Photo Agency.

Maria Teresa Salvati

Maria Teresa is Founder and editor-in-chief at Slideluck Editorial, which exhibits a selection of the best photographic works and multimedia presented during Slideluck events worldwide, as well as works from guest artists.

Salvati conceived and curated the project Born the Same, a selection of ten different works exploring sub-cultures and micro-stories working as reminders that we are all born the same, despite cultural, emotional and political conditions. The project was first presented at Les Rencontres De La Photographie Arles 2017, during La Nuit de l’Année, and is now travelling globally.

She co-edited and co-curated Hungry Still, an exhibition and publication produced and designed by Slideluck London, FORMAT Festival and QUAD, and printed by AKINA Factory. The collective project showcases twenty-four of the best works that have contributed to the English platform, since its inception, with a selection of images combined with personal anecdotes and recipes.

Also a personal branding consultant, Salvati helps photographers find their “spot of beauty” and vision, advises them on how to build their identity, and helps them communicate via the most appropriate channels (i.e. social media). Now she teaches in Bari, Italy at F.Project School of Photography and Cinematography, in Rome at Officine Fotografiche, and as a guest lecturer at the London College of Communication (LCC).

Ziyah Gafic

Ziyah Gafic is an award winning photojournalist with 19 years of experience, focusing on societies in conflict and Muslim communities across the globe. He covered major news stories in over 50 countries. His work has appeared in TIME, Le Monde, The New York Times, GEO, The Sunday Times Magazine, La Repubblica, The Telegraph Magazine, and The New Yorker. He authored five books including Troubled Islam, Quest for Identity, and Heartland. His work won a plethora of awards, including multiple awards at World Press Photo, Visa pour l’image, Arles Rencontres de la photographie and grants from Magnum Foundation, Getty Images and Prince Claus Fund. Ziyah is member of VII Photo Agency and a TED Speaker.