Perspective Is Power: Winners for the 5th Annual Leica Women Foto Project Award Announced

© Stasia Schmidt/Leica Camera

For a second year, Leica selected four winners from the US, UK, Mexico, and Canada.

Leica Camera has announced the recipients of its 5th Annual Leica Women Foto Project Award on International Women’s Day 2024. This year’s theme, “Perspective is Power”, encouraged applicants to share a photo essay connected to topics of reclamation, resilience, or rebirth, with four winners emerging from the US, UK, Mexico, and Canada. Creating a platform to reframe how we express and consume visual narratives, the Leica Women Foto Project continues to empower the feminine perspective and its impact on the way we witness, interpret and interact with our world.

This year’s awardees: Dola Posh from the UK, Stasia Schmidt from Canada, Luvia Lazo from Mexico, and Camille Farrah Lenain from the US were selected by a panel of notable judges ranging from award-winning photojournalists to renowned contributors to the world of photography. Each winner will receive a Leica SL3 camera, a Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH. Lens, and cash prize of $10,000 USD.

Since its inception in 2019, the Leica Women Foto Project has been a platform to cultivate a diverse, inclusive community through photography. To date the initiative has fuelled diversity in visual storytelling through grants and sponsorships with Women Photograph, Photoville, Las Fotos Project, and the ConnectHer Film Festival, while co-creating the Leica Women Foto Project Grant for the Leica Society International’s philanthropic efforts. Additional events around this year’s award includes a three-day festival taking place from 12th -14th April, 2024 at the Artspace PS109 on 215 E99th Street, New York City, in collaboration with Women Street Photographers.

“For this year’s Leica Women Foto Project, we encouraged applicants to share visual stories of reclamation, resilience, or rebirth,” says Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Art Director & Chief Representative Leica Galleries International. “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.”

Leica Women Foto Project Award recipients are determined by a panel of notable judges based on quality of photography, sophistication of project and a dedication to the medium of photography. The 2024 panel of judges is composed of:

• Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Director, Leica Galleries Worldwide
• Maggie Steber, Documentary Photographer & Guggenheim Grant Fellow
• Nikki Reed, Actress, Photographer, Writer
• Elizabeth Krist, Former Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic
• Natalia Jimenez, Senior Picture Editor, The Washington Post
• Laura Roumanous, Co-Founder, Photoville
• Artemis Moshtaghian, News Editor for CNN’s National Desk, Producer for CNN International
• Whitney Matewe, Photo Editor, Time Magazine
• Gulnara Lyabib Samoilova, Founder, Women Street Photographers
• Jennifer Pastore Hannah, Executive Photo Director at The Wall Street Journal
• Jessica Dimson, Deputy Director of Photography at New York Times Magazine
• Renee Mussai, Artistic Director, The Walther Collection
• Sara Rumens, Features Picture Editor at The Times
• Marissa Roth, Pulitzer Prize-winning Photojournalist

5th Annual Leica Women Foto Project Winners

Camille Ferrah Lenain, a French-Algerian documentary and portrait photographer, has crafted a remarkable body of work through her lens. Having honed her skills at l’ESA in Brussels and ICP in New York City, she previously imparted her knowledge as a Photography instructor at Tulane University in New Orleans. Lenain delves into long-term projects that challenge societal preconceptions, exploring stereotypes, collective memory, and plural identities. Her distinguished career includes being shortlisted for the Aperture Portfolio Prize in 2023 and attending the NY Portfolio Review. Lenain’s portfolio boasts renowned clients such as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and ELLE Magazine, with exhibitions at prestigious venues like the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Arab World Institute. Her winning project, “Made of Smokeless Fire,” sheds light on the often misunderstood and overlooked LGBTQIA+ representation within Muslim culture in France. Through her lens, Lenain captures the beauty of, and challenges faced by this community, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of their experiences.

© Camille Ferrah Lenain/Leica Camera

UK-based and Nigerian-born photographer Dola Posh delves into the complexities of selfidentity and postpartum depression, seamlessly blending strength and vulnerability through her lens. Beyond her photographic accomplishments, Dola Posh actively facilitates NHS workshops on mental health and postpartum depression, sharing her insights at Ravensbourne University, highlighting the intersection of women, photography, and technology. With an imaginative approach, Dola Posh continues to illuminate the narratives of Black women and mothers, infusing her work with unique stories of motherhood to inspire societal change. Her winning “OMO MI” series (a phrase meaning “my child”) explores the profound and transformative journey of becoming a new mother, capturing a delicate and life-changing essence that defines the experience of motherhood. Themes of self-discovery, resilience, and the renewal of feminine strength resonate throughout this evocative work.

© Dola Posh/Leica Camera

Luvia Lazo, a Zapotec indigenous photographer born in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico is a poignant storyteller who captures the essence of identity, generational shifts, grief, and the symbiotic relationship between human beings and spaces imbued with cultural and spiritual significance. Recognised for her talent, Lazo was a recipient of the Young Creators program by FONCA (National Fund for Culture and the Arts) in Mexico and earned the prestigious 2021 Indigenous Photograph award. Her work, featured in group and solo exhibitions across diverse locations like Mexico City, New York, and Barcelona, has been published in renowned outlets such as The New Yorker, Vogue USA, and Vogue Mexico. Luvia Lazo’s winning project, “Women from the Clouds,” is a profound series aimed at creating a mosaic of narratives surrounding contemporary indigenous women of different ages. Through this project, she endeavours to contribute to a rich and unique understanding of the diverse experiences of indigenous women, shaping a broader and more enriched perspective on womanhood as a whole.

© Luvia Lazo/Leica Camera

Hailing from Calgary in Alberta, CA, Stasia Schmidt is an acclaimed fine art photographer known for her keen eye for simplicity and form, as well as her meticulous attention to detail. Embracing unexpected surrealism in the natural environment, she skilfully layers subversive femininity with stark reality throughout her photographic process. Through the viewfinder, she embraces the untamed realm of imagination, using each photograph as an opportunity to deepen self-awareness and challenge perceptions. As a self-taught artist, Stasia taps into a deep well of inspiration, drawing from her love of music, dance, science fiction, and adventure. Her winning project, “Ephemerality,” is a testament to her ability to confront societal norms, specifically exploring the feminine presence in traditionally male-dominated adventure realms, prompting viewers to reconsider preconceived notions about women in these spaces.

© Stasia Schmidt/Leica Camera

To learn more about the Leica Women Foto Project Award, please visit the Leica website.