SONY — Student And Youth Competitions 2023 Gallery

The World Photography Organisation has announced the nominated photographers for the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 Student and Youth competitions. The winners of the Student Photographer of the Year and Youth Photographer of the Year will be announced on 13 April and will be included in the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 exhibition at Somerset House in London.

The Student and Youth contests seek to uplift the future generation of photographers and encourage them in the next phases of their photographic adventure, with more entries this year than ever before.

STUDENT COMPETITION SHORTLIST

Ten students from top worldwide higher education institutions are represented on the Student competition shortlist by bodies of work. In response to the theme In a Changing World, students were asked to submit a collection of five to ten photos that highlighted inspiring tales of growth and advancement from throughout the world. The nominated work demonstrates the varied and complex ways in which these student photographers are reacting to the changes taking place in their surroundings.

Several of the projects look at technological advancement, including Encyclopedia of Technology by Bobby Cheung (China Mainland, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, USA), a series of CGI-integrated photographs that encourage us to consider how these innovations have permeated every aspect of our lives, and Resignify by Maria Camila Ramirez Castañeda (Colombia, Universidad de Antioquia), which focuses on how the city of Medelln in Colombia has redefined itself as

Other shortlisted photographers have examined how local communities have responded to the rapid pace of change. These include Ephemeral Freedom by Arianna Todisco (Italy, CFP Bauer), which focuses on the Caminanti community, a nomadic Sicilian ethnic minority; Keep the Yunnan Opera by Long Jing (China Mainland, Yunnan Arts University), which tracks a traditional regional theatre troupe whose art form is in decline; Petra Bašnáková (Slovakia, Tomas Bata University in Zlín), a series exploring the strength of the Bedouin community’s relationship to the desert, which sits at the heart of their culture and identity.

It’s a Girl Again by Lidan Xu (China Mainland, Tama Art University, Japan), which presents the photographer’s family’s enduring traditions and attitudes toward gender and birth; and ZK1AA by Nelly Farmiloe (New Zealand, Photography Studies College, Australia), a series piecing together the last remaining fragments of her grandparents’ lives in the Cook Islands.

Look Up to the Sky by Amy Gajjar (South Africa, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business) juxtaposes the local landscape against the sky above, inviting us to pause and appreciate the beauty that can be found in the mundane; several of the shortlisted photographers have also turned their cameras to the things that keep them grounded.

Expressions of Worship by Mary Ashokeji (UK, Ravensbourne University London), which captures the intimacy of a worship service at a local church; Mirage by Kaiyu Dong (China Mainland, School of Visual Arts, USA), which examines the photographer’s own daily routine to find the hiccups and accidents that disrupt the monotonous pattern of our everyday lives.

The Sony World Photography Awards ceremony in London on 13 April will unveil the Student Photographer of the Year 2023 winner, who will be chosen from among the 10 students. The overall winning university will get €30,000 worth of Sony digital photography equipment.

This year’s Student shortlist was judged by Eliza Williams, Editor at Creative Review.

YOUTH COMPETITION SHORTLIST

Seven photographers under the age of 19 have works on the shortlist for the youth competition. Participants were asked to reply to the subject “Your Everyday” this year and express their particular perspective on the society they live in.

A few of the photographers who made the shortlist focused on fading childhood memories. Liberty McAuley, a 15-year-old photographer from the UK, photographed two kids playing tag in a water fountain on a hot summer day. While Natálie Navrátilová (Czech Republic, 18 years old) considers the planet we are leaving behind for the next generation in a photograph of youngsters swimming amidst plastic debris. Elsewhere, Edmond Leong (Malaysia, 19 years old) catches the shifting expressions on the faces of children in a crowd scene.

Other photographers looked to their surroundings and situations for inspiration, like Hai Wang (Mainland China, 16), who captured rows of neatly arranged and empty chairs at a school opening ceremony to emphasise how the epidemic had an effect on huge social events. A dog with its head hanging out of the window and its owner’s image in the rear-view mirror were captured in a split-second by 14-year-old Eason Zhang (China Mainland).

A beautiful photograph of a horse and rider taken against the setting sun by 19-year-old Katarzyny Akermana (Poland) illustrates the untamed beauty of the animal kingdom. Emily Cho (Republic of Korea, 16 years old), in her self-portrait, reflects on identity and demonstrates how the demands of her education have left their mark on her.

Youth Photographer of the Year is judged by Eric Schlosser, Art Director at the Tbilisi Art Fair, Georgia. The winner will receive a range of Sony digital imaging equipment to nurture their vision.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2023’s overall winners for the Student, Youth, Open, and Professional categories will be revealed on 13 April 2023. Visit www.worldphoto.org for more details on forthcoming announcements and winners.