“This award has helped further the reach of a project that is dear to my heart and also highlights an issue that is critical to the future of our planet. Since the award, the project has been featured in National Geographic Traveler in China and I have been invited to exhibit at the F2 Foto Festival in Dortmund, Germany. I have also showed my work at the London Business School Photography Awards exhibition. The goal of my career is to do important work and have it find an audience - the LensCulture Award has helped me in this and that is the greatest impact I could ask for.”

“After participating in the competition I was contacted by a number of respected publications with a proposal to publish my series including The Guardian, The Observer, Wired and a number of other websites for the arts.”

“I also did a solo exhibition in a gallery in Bogotá of the award-winning wok and selected to be the recipient of the Mary Ellen Mark memorial scholarship at ICP. I will be moving to NYC in August to study in the New Media Narratives program. After seeing the article that was published on LensCulture, I was contacted by a high school in Colombia and invited to review studio projects.”

“Most recently I started the ‘Artist in the Marketplace’ fellowship program at the Bronx Museum for the Arts. I think it was this work and the recognition of LensCulture that propelled me into this opportunity. I am launching my first solo exhibition this year at Kingswell Art Museum and [this week] an 8-page spread of my work was published in the SVA Visual Arts Journal, New York. It’s just been a whirlwind! I think the biggest thing that came out of it was that actress Zoe Saldana discovered my work via the exposure. She decided to showcase my work at her event and flew me out to LA. It’s all because of LensCulture is willing to recognize photographers and lens-based artists who are really pushing the narrative and addressing the stories being told by people of color. This award has me more confidence to take chances knowing that there are platforms like LensCulture that are not afraid to recognize and acknowledge my work.”

“Being part of one of the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards was a big part of my career as a photographer. I have been published in several digital and print magazines such as Photo World Magazine China, Blink Magazine Korea, This Colossal Magazine, among others. I was also selected for several international awards such as Voies Off Arles and Prix Levallois, both in 2019.”

“Since my LensCulture award in 2018, many things have been happening. An architecture studio and independent collectors have approached me, stating that they have long been interested in my artwork. My work ‘Studies on the Dignity of the Human Person’ was exhibited in Berlin during European Month of Photography. This year, a New York curator contacted me about a feature he was writing about new directions in street photography, he wants to write about my work. The LensCulture Award has definitely ‘unlocked the doors’ for me! I’ve started to be recognized in my professional career, and it seems everything has started flowing.”

“Since winning this award, I was invited to present a solo exhibition of my work at the 8th edition of FotoArtFestival in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, but entering is totally worth while even if you don’t win. Compiling your submission, choosing the images, determining the order, putting your project in words is already a good exercise in itself, especially if you imagine the impressive panel of jurors as your audience.”

“Winning has boosted my career and increased visibility. Articles have been published in international publications like The Guardian, HANT Magazine, FemmesPHOTOgraphes Magazine, Het Parool, DIE ZEIT etc. I have been approached by several galleries for solo exhibitions and by Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg.”

“It’s been an interesting year since winning the Emerging Talent award. The biggest news would be also winning a World Press Photo Award for the same project. The photographs were also published quite widely: The New Republic ran an 8-page spread and it was the cover story for Panorama, a major weekly magazine in Italy. The work was also selected for several festivals and exhibitions: at the India Photo Festival, Brazil Photo Fest and the Photolux Biennale in Lucca, Italy. That’s not to mention the 100+ cities where the World Press Photo exhibition will be shown.”

“After the Exposure Awards, my work was published in the following publications: İgnant, My Modern Met, Kwerfeldein, Art Upon, Fotoblogia, Lonely Planet, Fubiz and P3. I also exhibited my work at the following festivals: La Quatrieme Image International Photo Festival in Paris, France, and Shongzhuang Internatioanal Photo Biennale in Beijing, China. Finally, I was also selected as the 1st Prize Winner for The Independent Photographer Documentary Award 2017 as well as a Finalist in The Independent Photographer Emerging Talent Award 2017 and the Documentary Category in the 10th Pollux Awards. Culture Trip also included me in a list of the 10 best Turkish photographers.”

“Since being a winner in the Emerging Talents award, I won the Fourthwall Books African Photobook Award that will enable me to publish a first edition photobook of the “Education is Forbidden” project in an edition of 500. I was also selected to be among the 12 participants for the prestigious World Press Photo Joop Swart masterclass in 2017. The recognition from LensCulture helped me gain pivotal exposure for my work and gave me a validation that I was on the right path. Many thanks again for the opportunity!”

“I have had wide success since last year’s Emerging Talent. In terms of publication, the work was shown in National Geographic, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Der Spiegel, Wired, de Volkskrant and beyond. It was also exhibited at a range of festivals—Organ Vida (Croatia), FORMAT (UK), Fotofestival Naarden (Netherlands), Belfast Photo Festival (UK) and LianZhou Foto Festival (China). In addition, it was named the winner of the Portfolio Review at FORMAT.”

“After the Exposure Awards, my series picked up good speed. During this year I was a finalist in the International Photography Awards and included in its exhibition in London at the Royal Photographic Society. I was also shortlisted in the portrait category in the Sony World Photography Awards and received the National Award. I was also featured in a few important publications worldwide and in Lithuania. Of course, the main thing is that I got encouragement that the project was good. The feedback from the reviewer helped me to continue the project, as it is an ongoing series. I got some really great contacts and had the opportunity to meet them. I am working on my new series and I’m finding it much easier after the self-assurance I got from LensCulture.”

“Being recognised as a juror’s pick was really good for giving visibility to the project. Since the award, I have been able to connect with Corey Kellar at SFMOMA and show her more work, and National Geographic reached out to me about applying for a storytelling grant. Otherwise, the award has just given me some more visibility and encouragement to keep going, and knowledge that this story can be universal or speak to people other than just me and my family. I make art not just for myself but to be able to communicate something to other people, so to get the affirmation that LensCulture was really affirming.”

“Often artists stick work in a drawer and no one sees it. So many things that I’ve shot or that I’ve worked on, don’t see the light of day! So when my work gets national or international exposure is a real thrill. I’ve had an exhibition in Poland at the Museum of photography, had an exhibition in Belgium, so I’ve had some kind of international exposure but winning a LensCulture award is definitely a real highlight. My piece ’Surprise Inside, No More Crutches’ received a Gold Award in the, 2019 San Francisco Bay International Photography Exhibition on display at the ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, California.”