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Female in Focus Award Winners Announced
1 March 2025
The British Journal of Photography, in conjunction with Nikon, has announced the winners of the 2024 Female in Focus award, dedicated to championing the work of women photographers.
Najla Said. Single Image Winner.
Margarita Galandina and Alice Poyzer are the series winners this year and BJP is introducing a People's Choice category for one outstanding image in the award.
"As we approach International Women’s Day, we celebrate the power of visual storytelling in amplifying women’s voices, perspectives, and experiences. This year’s theme, Renewal, explores the transformative process of rejuvenation and rebirth – capturing the essence of new beginnings, whether through personal growth, environmental restoration, or societal change," the editors noted.
"At Nikon, we believe in the transformative power of photography as both a storytelling medium and a tool for cultural reflection," added Nikon's Ruby Nicholson. "We are proud to have partnered with the British Journal of Photography for Female in Focus 2024, celebrating the extraordinary talent and diverse perspectives of female and non-binary photographers from around the world. Their work not only exemplifies creativity, vision, and technical excellence but also underscores the vital role women play in shaping impactful visual narratives that inspire change and challenge societal norms."
For more information see the news release below and visit the 1854 site for all the winning images.
Introducing the 2024 Female in Focus Award Winners
By Diane Smyth
Margarita Galandina and Alice Poyzer are the series winners of BJP's 2024 Female in Focus x Nikon; and this year, BJP is introducing a People's Choice category for one outstanding image in the award
"I adore these projects individually but as a pair, they complement each other beautifully," says editor and curator Naoise O'Keeffe. "While each explores themes of identity, history, self portraiture and performance, they do so through entirely different photographic styles, shaped by the distinct perspectives of the artists behind thema.... Most importantly, these projects are silent protests challenging colonisation, resisting societal expectations of women and reclaiming space in their own ways."
She's discussing BJP's 2024 Female in Focus award and in particular its two series winners -- Margarita Galandina and Alice Poyzer. Female in Focus is designed to support women artists and image-makers in an industry in which they are still underrepresented and O'Keeffe helped judge it this year along with Danielle Jackson, co-founder and former co-director of the Bronx Documentary Center; Heather Agyepong, artist and performer; and Gwen Lee, co-founder and director of DECK Photography Art Centre and Singapore International Photography Festival. The theme of this year's edition is Renewal, delving into the transformative process of rejuvenation and rebirth.
Poyzer's series Other Joys taps into her lived experience of autism, a condition often under-diagnosed in women. Tapping into her intensely-felt special interests via self-portraits, documentary shots and constructed images, the project helps both Poyzer and her audience better understand autism and traits such as the "heavy sensation of warmth, euphoria and excitement" when following special interests, the need for routine and the ability to 'mask' or disguise these inclinations. Poyzer is currently studying for an MA in Photography at the University of the West of England and is due to graduate in 2025; last year, she was selected as one of four Paris Photo Carte Blanche Awardees.
Galandina's project is titled Ovoo after the sacred totem poles used by the Buryat to mark spiritually significant land; the Buryat are an indigenous group native to southeastern Siberia and, as well as being born in Buryat, Galandina has maternal Buryat heritage. Using self-portraits, archival material and family photographs, she seeks to challenge conventional narratives of the Buryat, recontextualising their complex and often hidden history. Galandina is now based in the UK and holds an MA in Photography from the London College of Communication.
"Galandina's series was a fascinating encounter and more widely a really interesting way of exploring the relationship between photography and indigenous cultures, photography and legacy and memory, spirituality and ritual, connected to her own maternal ancestral heritage," says Charlotte Jansen, journalist, curator, photo critic at The Guardian and another one of the judges.
Galandina and Poyzer have each won a spot in a group show at London's 10.14 Gallery and in Glasgow's Gallery of Photography, along with 20 photographers from the single image category. Galandina and Poyzer also each receive a Z Series mirrorless camera and two Nikkor Z lenses of their choice, courtesy of Nikon.
The selected single images include a self-portrait by Asma Elbadawi, who successfully campaigned for the international basketball federation to lift their hijab ban and a collaborative project by Matilde Piazzi and Nadia Del Frate with the female workers of La Perla, who campaigned to keep their jobs when the luxury lingerie brand went into administration. Other selected single images include Camilla Greenwell's portrait of the artist Gertraud Platschek and Victoria Ruiz Prado's tribute to the Venezuelan people.
"A single image has to say a lot with a little and the narrative needs to be approached differently. It needs to be more immediate, striking and get you in the gut!" explains Jansen of judging the two categories. "With the series, I was looking for different visual approaches and strategies when confronting the topic, the pacing, rhythm and variety and how much the artist/photographer was thinking about that interplay between images."
This is the fifth edition of Female in Focus, an initiative BJP founded in order to support women artists and photographers. In 2024 BJP set up a pilot study into career trajectories in photography, to which some 1,077 people responded -- 569 men, 471 women and 37 gender non-conforming. Though based on limited numbers, this research revealed stark contrasts such as a 30 percent pay gap between men and women working in photography, which rises to a 40 percent pay gap between those who have children.
Some 55 percent of women who responded said they had experienced gender-based discrimination, while 31 percent felt that their gender had impacted their career progression (compared to 7 percent of male respondents). "I feel that in the industry, men are seen as the more professional candidate for a job or role in a working photographic setting," reported one individual. "Women are often overlooked and seen as support or assistants." BJP plans to expand on this pilot and continue to support women artists with the FIF initiative.
Female practitioners need not only more opportunities but also greater representation across the industry," says O'Keeffe. "They need editors, curators and competitions like this to champion their work, break down barriers and level the playing field. To ensure female photographers gain the visibility they deserve, it is imperative to support projects that specifically call out the shortcomings of the photography industry."
"At Nikon, we believe in the transformative power of photography as both a storytelling medium and a tool for cultural reflection," says Ruby Nicholson, Communications Manager for Nikon Northern Europe. "We are proud to have partnered with the British Journal of Photography for Female in Focus 2024, celebrating the extraordinary talent and diverse perspectives of female and non-binary photographers from around the world. Their work not only exemplifies creativity, vision and technical excellence but also underscores the vital role women play in shaping impactful visual narratives that inspire change and challenge societal norms."
For the first time, Female in Focus introduces a People's Choice category. Vote for your favourite photograph from the Female in Focus x Nikon exhibition and the winner will be featured in an interview on 1854.photography. Voting closes 3rd April.