The Sony World Photography Awards announces today the judging panel and London exhibition dates for the 2025 edition. Now in its 18th year, the Sony World Photography Awards honours the photography shaping our visual language. Among the most prestigious photography programmes in the world and with an unparalleled reach, over the years the Awards has helped elevate the conversation around photography and provide photographers with career-defining opportunities.

The Sony World Photography Awards are organised by Creo under its photography strand: the World Photography Organisation. Supported by Sony, the Awards contribute to the development of photographic culture by offering a global platform to the talent of today. Entry to the Awards is completely free and photographers are judged anonymously by a panel of industry-leading judges.

2025 JUDGES

This new edition follows an exceptional 2024 Awards which saw the highest number of entries on record for the Professional competition. Monica Allende returns for the second year as the Chair of the Jury for the Professional Competition and curator of the Sony World Photography Awards 2025 exhibition at Somerset House, London.

Allende is joined by a panel of leading industry figures bringing a breadth of knowledge and diversity of photography expertise.

Professional competition: 

Open & Youth competitions: Claudia Grimaldi Marks, Senior Manager, New Creator Strategy, Getty Images, United States

Student competition: Charlotte Jansen, Author, Journalist and Critic, UK

2025 LONDON EXHIBITION AND 2024 INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION TOUR DATES

The Sony World Photography Awards 2025 exhibition returns to Somerset House, London from 17 April to 5 May 2025.

Following the London exhibition and subsequent presentations through the Spring and Summer in Lenzburg, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the Sony World Photography Awards 2024 exhibition continues its tour to the following international destinations:

To find out more about our exhibitions, please visit worldphoto.org/exhibition.

NEW IN 2025

New Professional competition category: Perspectives

In 2025 the Awards introduces an engaging new category in the Professional competition; entrants will have the opportunity to submit a body of work to the Perspectives category, which welcomes series that tell a story through a variety of formats and genres - from using a documentary or creative approach to mixing portraiture, landscapes and still life.

2025 PRIZES AND DEADLINES

The Sony World Photography Awards 2025 opened on 1 June 2024. Full competition and category descriptions can be found at worldphoto.org/swpa.

Deadlines for submission across the Awards’ four competitions are:

Professional: 10 January 2025, 13:00 GMT

Open: 3 January 2025, 13:00 GMT

Student: 29 November 2024, 13:00 GMT

Youth: 3 January 2025, 13:00 GMT

All category winners of the Professional, Open, Youth and Student competitions will receive digital imaging equipment from Sony. In addition, cash prizes of $25,000 (USD) will be presented to the Photographer of the Year and $5,000 (USD) to the Open Photographer of the Year. The winner of the Photographer of the Year title will also be rewarded with a solo presentation of their work as part of the Sony World Photography Awards London exhibition the following year. Work from the winning and shortlisted photographers will be exhibited at the annual Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London and will then be toured internationally. The winning images are additionally published in the annual Awards’ book. 

NOTES TO EDITORS

For press enquiries, please contact Polly Brock / Vanda Ivančić on media@creoarts.com.

A selection of images is available to download on press.creoarts.com.

SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the internationally acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards is one of the most important fixtures in the global photographic calendar. Now in its 18th year, the free-to-enter Awards are a global voice for photography and provide a vital insight into contemporary photography today. For both established and emerging artists, the Awards offer world-class opportunities for exposure of their work. The Awards additionally recognise the world’s most influential artists working in the medium through the Outstanding Contribution to Photography award; previous recipients include William Eggleston (2013), Mary Ellen Mark (2014), Martin Parr (2017), Gerhard Steidl (2020), Graciela Iturbide (2021), Edward Burtynsky (2022), Rinko Kawauchi (2023) and Sebastião Salgado (2024). The Awards showcase the works of winning and shortlisted photographers at a prestigious annual exhibition at Somerset House, London. worldphoto.org/exhibition 

WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY ORGANISATION 

World Photography Organisation is a leading global platform dedicated to the development and advancement of photographic culture. Its programming and competition initiatives provide valuable opportunities for artists working in photography and help broaden the conversation around their work. The Sony World Photography Awards is World Photography Organisation’s principal programme. Established in 2007, it is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious photography competitions; celebrating the work of leading and emerging practitioners and attracting tens of thousands of visitors annually to its exhibitions worldwide. World Photography Organisation is the photography strand of Creo, which initiates events and programming across three sectors: photography, film and contemporary art. worldphoto.org

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CREO

Creo initiates and organises events and programming across three key strands: photography, film and contemporary art. Established in 2007 as World Photography Organisation, Creo has since grown in scope, furthering its mission of developing meaningful opportunities for creatives and expanding the reach of its cultural activities. Today, its flagship projects include the Sony World Photography Awards, Sony Future Filmmaker Awards, PHOTOFAIRS and Photo London. Working in partnership with Angus Montgomery Arts, Creo helps deliver the group’s ventures, comprising some of the world’s leading art fairs. Taking its name from the Latin for ‘I create’, it is in this spirit that Creo sets out to empower and give agency to creative voices. creoarts.com 

SONY GROUP CORPORATION

Sony Group Corporation is a creative entertainment company with a solid foundation of technology. From Game & Network Services to Music, Pictures, Electronics Products & Solutions, Imaging & Sensing Solutions and Financial Services - Sony's purpose is to fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology. For more information, visit: sony.com/en

SONY CORPORATION

Sony Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation and is responsible for the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) business. With the mission to “create the future of entertainment through the power of technology together with creators,” we aim to continue to deliver Kando* to people around the world. For more information, visit: sony.net

*Kando is a Japanese word that roughly translates to the sense of awe and emotion you feel when experiencing something beautiful and amazing for the first time.

2025 JUDGES

Monica Allende is an independent curator, artistic director, consultant and educator. She previously served as Photo Editor at the Sunday Times Magazine, Artistic Director of the Landskrona Foto Festival, GetxoPhoto International Image Festival Artistic Director, FORMAT17 International Photography Festival director and curated Light at Peckham24 in 2021. She recently curated the Blues Skies Project, a multidisciplinary project with artist Anton Kusters, as part of the V&A permanent collection. The project was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2019 and exhibited at Les Rencontres d’Arles in 2021. She advises CAMPO.lat, a grassroots digital platform in Latin America, on strategy and programming and also collaborates with VII Foundation on their educational and mentorship programmes. Dedicated to nurturing new and established talent, Allende nominates and judges numerous photography awards and artists’ residencies, and is on the Board of Trustees and advisory boards of Photoworks and the Deutsche Börse Foundation.

Yves Chatap is a curator, art critic and publisher whose practice centres on exploring the intersections between intimacy, identity, and photography. He was guest curator for Treignac Project (2011), SAVVY Contemporary (2013), and the Glasgow Photography Festival and associate curator of the 10th African Photography Biennale in Bamako (2015), where he played a crucial role in highlighting African photographic practices. In 2017, he was awarded the ACASA prize for curatorial excellence and from 2019-2022, he served as curator of the YaPhoto Festival. Chatap contributed to the Jeu de Paume LAB project in 2021 and was the curator of “La clairière d’Eza Boto”, part of the Africa2020 Season. In 2012, he launched the Vus d’Afrique imprint, an independent publisher of contemporary photography books and as a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and the C-E-A (Association of Curators), his writing regularly features in art publications. He is the co-founder of YCOS-Project, an initiative dedicated to supporting artists.

Aldeide Delgado is a Cuban-born, Miami-based independent Latinx art historian and curator, founder & director of Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA), with years of experience writing, curating, lecturing, and presenting at art history forums centered around photography. Delgado was the recipient of several prestigious awards and fellowships, and conceptualized the world’s first-ever feminist photography collective conference, WOPHA Congress: Women, Photography, and Feminisms, in 2021. She publishes and curates from feminist and decolonial perspectives on crucial topics of the history of photography and abstraction within Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx contexts. She is the author of Becoming Sisters: Women Photography Collectives & Organizations (2021). Prior to founding WOPHA, Delgado created the online feminist archive Catalog of Cuban Women Photographers. She is an active member of institutional advisory boards and committees at PAMM, the Lucie Foundation, the Feminist Art Foundation and Fast Forward. 

Claudia Grimaldi Marks is a New York City-based photography and creative director with over 30 years' experience in publishing and image making. Currently the Senior Manager of New Creator Strategy at Getty Images, she is passionate about helping creators find their paths toward careers in editorial, commercial and stock photography. She oversees Getty Images' Creative Content efforts to work with creators from underrepresented groups to help diversify our contributor community. Collaborating across functionalities, advocating, and evangelizing for team members to embrace the importance of who is behind the lens, she guides the production of visually stunning content that speaks to Getty Images' 25+ year global legacy.

Vicky Ismach is the curatorial coordinator, and head of exhibitions at the CdF since 2019, directing exhibitions in outdoor public spaces and exhibition rooms, as well as curatorial research projects and exhibitions with the historical photo archive of the CdF. In 2022, Ismach organised and developed programmes for Photo Days at the San José Foto (SJF) and coordinated exhibitions for the Festival MUFF of the CdF. She previously worked in the production of SJF, and served as a curatorial assistant at Verzasca Fotofest (SW), portfolio reviewer at the SJF and at FFala, Latinamerican She Photographers Festival (BR), and a member of Montevideo's Photobook Club from 2018 to 2020. She directs and edits Polenta Fanzine. Throughout her career, she has actively explored and fostered connections between photography, art, and education, creating engaging environments for artistic exchange and reflection.

Charlotte Jansen is a British Sri Lankan author, journalist and critic based in London. Jansen writes on contemporary art and photography for The Guardian, The Financial Times, The New York Times, British Vogue and ELLE, among others. She is the author of Girl on Girl: Art and Photography in the Age of the Female Gaze, (HACHETTE, 2017) and Photography Now (TATE, 2021).

Manuel Sigrist is Head of Exhibitions, Programmes and Library at Photo Elysée. As lecturer and curator, he has been working in the field of digital art and cultural institutions for over ten years. He holds a degree in Philosophy, History and Computer Science. Sigrist worked with galleries and festivals on media art projects before joining Photo Elysée where he launched a programme for digital experimentation. As part of this, he developed editorial projects and invited media artists for exhibitions and residencies. At Photo Elysée, he has curated series of exhibitions, including Tony Oursler, Anomalous, #Ukraine, Images of War, Open Books and Richard Mosse, Broken Spectre.

Isabella Tam is Curator of Visual Art at M+, a museum of visual culture in Hong Kong. Her expertise lies in contemporary art in Asia with specific focus on the parallel development and exchanges of Chinese art, Japanese art, and photography in global contemporary discourse. She was the inaugural curatorial team curated the museum’s opening collection display, curated M+ Sigg Collection: From Revolution to Globalisation (2021-2023), Sigg Prize 2023, and organized the hugely successful retrospective of Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now (2022), which was toured to Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain (2023) and the Fundação de Serralves in Portugal (2024).