70:15:40 Project UK Winners Announced

© Violeta Sofia

The 70:15:40 Project UK, which aims to help redress the barriers and challenges faced by women, trans and non-binary people in photography and videography in the UK, has announced its four inaugural winners.

The Project’s name reflects the fact that today, while women comprise 70% of photography graduates, only 15% of professional photographers are women – who earn an average of 40% less than men. 

The 70:15:40 Project UK is led by MPB who are supported by partners Peerspace, The Royal Photographic Society, The Centre for British Photography, SheClicks and UK Black Female Photographers (UKBFTOG).

The prizes include access to loans of cameras, lenses and accessories worth £25,000 from MPB, £2,500 credit to reserve production space on Peerspace, membership and workshops worth £1,500 from the Royal Photographic Society, and exhibition and one-to-one mentorship at the Centre for British Photography in London. 

The support also includes extensive promotion, zoom workshops on a number of topics, £5,000 to spend as the winners see fit in supporting and furthering their practice, and £500 in cash to spend on their photography.

In the ‘Professional’ category, the winners are Violeta Sofia and Hanna Ali while the winners of the ‘Emerging’ category are Roman Manfredi and Paloma Tendero.

More than 350 women, trans and non-binary people applied to the 70:15:40 Project UK. The partners shortlisted 21 submissions, which were considered by a panel of nine women, consisting of photographers and other leading figures from the industry. 

Find out more about the 70:15:40 Project UK on the MPB website.