PROFESSIONAL, OPEN, STUDENT AND YOUTH WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The World Photography Organisation announced today the overall winners in the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards 2023 at a special gala ceremony in London, hosted by broadcaster and art historian Kate Bryan.

The Photographer of the Year title has been awarded to the acclaimed photographer Edgar Martins (Portugal) for his series Our War, a homage to Martins’ friend, photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was killed during the Libyan Civil War in 2011. Martins won a $25,000 (USD) cash prize and a range of Sony digital imaging equipment. Additionally, Martins receives a solo presentation of his work as part of next year’s Sony World Photography Awards exhibition. This opportunity allows photographers to further develop their winning project or exhibit a brand new body of work, gaining them additional exposure for their practice.

Martins was selected from the 10 category winners of the Professional competition who were announced today alongside those in 2nd and 3rd place in each Professional category. The overall winners of the Awards’ Open, Youth and Student competitions were additionally revealed.

Also announced is Alessandro Cinque (Italy), the first-time winner of the Sustainability Prize - developed in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation and Sony Pictures’ Picture This initiative - this new $5,000 (USD) award recognises the stories, people and organisations whose actions highlight one of the United Nations’ environmental Sustainable Development Goals.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2023 exhibition opens at Somerset House, London from 14 April – 1 May 2023, featuring over 200 prints and hundreds of additional images in digital displays from winning and shortlisted photographers. Also presented are works by this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography, the esteemed Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi.

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Our War by Edgar Martins (Portugal) is an original and nuanced tribute to the photographer’s late friend the photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was abducted and killed on 5 April 2011 by government militia, during the Libyan Civil War.

Frustrated by unsuccessful attempts to ascertain the whereabouts of his friend’s last mortal remains, Martins took matters into his own hands and travelled to Libya. He was brought in covertly by a petrol smuggler and was immediately faced with enormous challenges working in such a volatile environment. Realising that he would not be able to carry out a thorough and independent investigation, Martins instead chose to reflect on the question: ‘how does one tell a story when there is no witness, no testimony, no evidence, no subject?’

In Our War Martins conjures and alludes to the absent central figure through a series of portraits of the people Hammerl had connected with and those involved in the fighting (freedom fighters or their descendants, ex-militia, local residents, Gaddafi loyalists or lookalikes, and so on). They were chosen because they either resembled him, had similar ideas and beliefs, or reminded Martins of him at different stages of their friendship. The project explores the idea of absence, of documenting, grieving, and honouring a subject as well as reflecting on the role of photography within a conflict zone. Martins’ approach is to confront these questions head-on: to embrace the idea of the fragmentary and the many contradictions and ambiguities intrinsic to war.

Commenting on his win Martins says: ‘It is a huge honour to be recognised and although I am philosophical about awards and the subjective nature of someone’s choice, knowing that there were over 180,000 entries to this year’s Professional competition, is very humbling. In this case, it is also quite an emotional experience because I get to honour my friend on a world stage and bring attention to the family’s plight to find his remains. There’s no award that has the reach of the Sony World Photography Awards.’

Commenting on Martins' winning project, Mike Trow, Chair of the 2023 Professional competition says: ‘Photography is so often about memory and its nature. Long-term memory is about the conscious recollection of past events and our knowledge of them - be it through direct experience or mediated through the myriad of media we use. Our War by Edgar Martins has used memory and invention to give us a powerful, personal set of portraits that attempt to explain the last days of his friend, the photojournalist Anton Hammerl. His work highlights the lengths photographers will go to to tell a story and create meaning; each image giving a sense of the journey Anton took without ever being explicit about how his life ended. The entire jury this year was fulsome in their appreciation of the work and its narrative force.’

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY WINNERS

Winning photographers in the Professional competition have been selected by a panel of expert judges for submitting an outstanding body of work of five to 10 images, ranging from stories of war and reconciliation, to the empowerment of women through education, and original approaches to the genres of still life and sport.

All category winners receive Sony’s digital imaging kit. This year’s winners are:

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
​WINNER: Fan Li (China Mainland) for his series Cement Factory
​ Finalists: 2nd place Servaas Van Belle (Belgium); 3rd place Andres Gallardo Albajar (Spain)

CREATIVE
​WINNER: Lee-Ann Olwage (South Africa) for her series The Right to Play
​ Finalists: 2nd place Noemi Comi (Italy); 3rd place Edoardo Delille & Giulia Piermartiri (Italy)

DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS
​WINNER: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham (United Kingdom) for his series The Women’s Peace Movement in Congo
​ Finalists: 2nd place Mohammed Salem (State of Palestine); 3rd place Tariq Zaidi (United Kingdom)

ENVIRONMENT
​WINNER: Marisol Mendez (Bolivia) & Federico Kaplan (Argentina) for their series Miruku
​ Finalists: 2nd place Jonas Kakó (Germany); 3rd place Axel Javier Sulzbacher (Germany)

LANDSCAPE
​WINNER: Kacper Kowalski (Poland) for his series Event Horizon
​ Finalists: 2nd place Bruno Zanzottera (Italy); 3rd place Fabio Bucciarelli (Italy)

PORTFOLIO
​WINNER: James Deavin (United Kingdom) for his submission Portfolio
​ Finalists: 2nd place Marylise Vigneau (France); 3rd place Marjolein Martinot (Netherlands)

PORTRAITURE
​WINNER: Edgar Martins (Portugal) for his series Our War
​ Finalists: 2nd place Ebrahim Noroozi (Islamic Republic of Iran); 3rd place Jean-Claude Moschetti (France)

SPORT
​WINNER: Al Bello (United States) for his series Female Pro Baseball Player Succeeds in All Male Pro League
​ Finalists: 2nd place Andrea Fantini (Italy); 3rd place Nicola Zolin (Italy)

STILL LIFE
​WINNER: Kechun Zhang (China Mainland) for his series The Sky Garden
​ Finalists: 2nd place Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas (Peru); 3rd place Jagoda Malanin (Poland)

WILDLIFE & NATURE:
​WINNER: Corey Arnold (United States) for his series Cities Gone Wild
​ Finalists: 2nd place Adalbert Mojrzisch (Germany); 3rd place Sriram Mural (India)

To find out more about this year’s winning and finalist projects please visit our online winners galleries

OPEN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

The Open competition celebrates the power of a single image. Winning photographs are chosen for their ability to communicate a remarkable visual narrative combined with technical excellence. Chosen from the 10 Open category winners, Dinorah Graue Obscura (Mexico) is Open Photographer of the Year 2023 and the recipient of the $5,000 (USD) cash prize, Sony digital imaging equipment and global exposure.

Graue Obscura won for her arresting image entitled Mighty Pair, entered in the Natural World & Wildlife category. The black and white photograph depicts a pair of crested caracara birds in Southern Texas, perched together upon a branch, and staring fixedly in the same direction. The photographer felt as if the majestic birds of prey were almost posing for the camera, as they sat motionless and identical, gazing out beyond the frame.

Speaking of her win, Graue Osbcura says: ‘It is an absolute honour to receive the Open Photographer of the Year 2023 award. I am absolutely certain that this recognition will contribute to the dissemination of my work as a wildlife photographer, which aims to transmit and show people the beauty I see in Nature. I believe that photography is a very powerful tool that can be used to raise awareness about the fragility of our natural world.’

STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

For this year’s Student competition, students were invited to submit a series of five to 10 images responding to the brief In a Changing World, highlighting positive stories of development and progress from across the globe.

Long Jing (China Mainland) of Yunnan Arts University, has been awarded Student Photographer of the Year, winning Sony digital imaging equipment worth €30,000 for his university. Jing’s winning series Keep the Yunnan Opera goes behind the scenes to show the dwindling groups of performers and spectators of the opera in Yunnan. In vivid colour the series celebrates the multiculturalism of southwestern China reflected in the performances.

Commenting on his win Jing says: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words, and my goal has always been to give warmth to images and to uncover the stories behind them. Being chosen as the Student Photographer of the Year 2023 has given me the confidence to believe that I can create even more warm and engaging works in the future.’

YOUTH PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

This year entrants to the Youth competition were invited to respond to the theme Your Everyday and share their unique view of the world around them. Selected from a shortlist of 7 photographers under the age of 19, Hai Wang (China Mainland, 17 years-old) is the Youth Photographer of the Year, receiving Sony digital imaging kit and global exposure.

Wang’s winning photograph depicts seemingly endless rows of deserted brightly coloured chairs at a school ceremony cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The strong composition and striking framing highlight the sense of emptiness and give a surreal quality to the image.

Commenting on his win Wang says: ‘I appreciate all the attention and support the public gives to global teenage photographers. As a member of this age group, I can say that we are trying to make a change throughout the world in a brand-new way, to try not to waste a single second of our lives.’

SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE

Alessandro Cinque (Italy) is announced as the first-time winner of the Sustainability Prize, receiving a $5,000 cash prize and a presentation of his project as part of the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London. This brand new prize, developed in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation and Sony Pictures’ Picture This initiative, recognises the stories, people and organisations whose actions highlight one of the United Nations’ environmental Sustainable Development Goals.

Cinque won for his series Atrapanieblas (Fog Nets) which documents an innovative solution helping to tackle chronic water shortages in Lima, Peru. Cinque shows how fog nets are used to catch droplets of airborne moisture and can collect about 200 litres (53 gallons) of water per day for local residents.

Commenting on his win Cinque said: "I am very honoured and happy to have won this prize. I like to think that, through my photography and thanks to the wide reach of this award, we are helping give a voice to people who struggle daily with water scarcity, a problem that affects more than 40% of the world's population according to the United Nations. It is important to highlight the efforts in Lima to combat this shortage, in the hope that these stories will stir consciences and that, finally, we will understand the importance of joining together to address climate change and create a fairer world for all."

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY

This year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography has been awarded to the celebrated photographer Rinko Kawauchi. One of the most important Japanese photographers working today, Kawauchi has achieved international renown for her intimate and luminous images, capturing ephemeral moments of everyday life.

More than 20 images by the photographer will be shown at the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 exhibition. The selection, made by the artist, spans over two decades of her career and highlights significant milestones and themes across some of her most iconic series: Illuminance (2011), AILA (2004), Utatane (2001), and Ametsuchi (2013).

ADAM FERGUSON | SOLO PRESENTATION

In addition to the work of this year’s overall and category winners the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition features a solo presentation by the 2022 Photographer of the Year winner Adam Ferguson (Australia).

The acclaimed photographer presents a selection of images from his series Silent Wind, Roaring Sky, documenting the remote lives of communities in Australia’s Outback. The exhibition charts repeated journeys deep into rural Australia, revealing a landscape and a community in a state of dramatic transition.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION 2023 WINNERS AND SHORTLIST

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
​Category Winner
​ Fan Li, China Mainland
​2nd place: Servaas Van Belle, Belgium
​3rd place: Andres Gallardo Albajar, Spain

Shortlist
​ Javier Arcenillas, Spain
​ Pavlo Dorohoi, Ukraine
​ Peter Franck, Germany
​ Johanna Marcela Garavito Morales, Colombia
​ Miguel Gutierrez, Venezuela
​ Mitsuru Sakurai, Japan

CREATIVE
​Category Winner
​ Lee-Ann Olwage, South Africa
​2nd place: Noemi Comi, Italy
​3rd place: Edoardo Delille & Giulia Piermartiri, Italy

Shortlist
​ Richard Boll, United Kingdom
​ Alessandro Cinque, Italy
​ Valentina Fusco, Italy
​ Juliana Jacyntho, Brazil
​ Tommaso Sacconi, Italy
​ Emily Steinberger,

USA DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS
​Category Winner
​ Hugh Kinsella Cunningham, UK
​2nd place: Mohammed Salem, State of Palestine
​3rd place: Tariq Zaidi, UK

Shortlist
​ Alessandro Cinque, Italy
​ Radu Diaconu, Canada
​ Mingrui Liu, China Mainland
​ Yoese Mariam, Indonesia
​ Mads Nissen, Denmark
​ Frederick Olivera Gonzales, Peru
​ Emin Sansar, Turkey

ENVIRONMENT
​Category Winners
​ Marisol Mendez (Bolivia) &
​ Federico Kaplan (Argentina)
​2nd place: Jonas Kakó, Germany
​3rd place: Axel Javier Sulzbacher, Germany

Shortlist
​ Lasse Branding, Germany
​ Fatma Fahmy, Egypt
​ Haider Khan, India
​ Angela Ponce, Peru
​ Simone Tramonte, Italy
​ Bruno Zanzottera, Italy

LANDSCAPE
​Category Winner
​ Kacper Kowalski, Poland
​2nd place: Bruno Zanzottera, Italy
​3rd place: Fabio Bucciarelli, Italy

Shortlist
​ Cesar Dezfuli, Spain
​ Nicholas Holt, UK
​ Amélie Labourdette, France
​ Brais Lorenzo Couto, Spain
​ Alessandro Mallamaci, Italy
​ Francesco Merlini, Italy
​ George Steinmetz, USA

PORTFOLIO
​Category Winner
​ James Deavin, UK
​2nd place: Marylise Vigneau, France
​3rd place: Marjolein Martinot, Netherlands

Shortlist
​ Israel Fuguemann, Mexico
​ Jack Gasiorowski, Poland
​ Tadas Kazakevicius, Lithuania
​ Taiye Omokore, Nigeria
​ Ines Vansteenkiste-Muylle, Belgium
​ PORTRAITURE
​ Photographer of the Year
​ Edgar Martins, Portugal
​ 2nd place: Ebrahim Noroozi, Islamic Republic of Iran
​ 3rd place: Jean-Claude Moschetti, France

Shortlist
​ Toby Binder, Germany
​ Jerome Delay, France
​ Colin Delfosse, Belgium
​ Jae In Lee, Republic of Korea
​ Sasha Maslov, Ukraine

SPORT
​Category Winner
​ Al Bello, USA
​2nd place: Andrea Fantini, Italy
​3rd place: Nicola Zolin, Italy

Shortlist
​ Giuseppe Carotenuto, Italy
​ Josef Hlavka, Czech Republic
​ Ronald Hoogendoorn, Netherlands
​ Anthony Smith, Canada
​ John Wessels, South Africa

STILL LIFE
​Category Winner
​ Kechun Zhang, China Mainland
​2nd place: Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas, Peru
​3rd place: Jagoda Malanin, Poland

Shortlist
​ Austin Crail, USA
​ Alun Crockford, UK
​ Elaine Duigenan, UK
​ Klaus Lenzen, Germany
​ Rodrigo Masina Pinheiro, Brazil
​ Liz Mcburney, UK

WILDLIFE & NATURE
​Category Winner
​ Corey Arnold, USA
​2nd place: Adalbert Mojrzisch, Germany
​3rd place: Sriram Murali, India

Shortlist
​ Martin Broen, USA
​ Julia Christe, Germany
​ Masahiro Fujita, Japan
​ Dillon Marsh, South Africa
​ Aneesh Sankarankutty, India
​ Zhu Zhu, Canada

OPEN COMPETITION 2023 CATEGORY WINNERS AND SHORTLIST

ARCHITECTURE
​Category Winner
​ Mark Benham, UK
​Shortlist
​ Robert Bolton, UK
​ Tony Cowburn, UK
​ Fabio Del Ghianda, Italy
​ Peter Dulis, Canada
​ Donell Gumiran, Philippines
​ Yichien Lee, Taiwan
​ Angiolo Manetti, Italy
​ Desmond Chien Yew Ngu, Malaysia
​ Margit Lisa Roeder, Germany
​ Yuya Takahashi, Japan
​ George Turnbull, UK
​ Kjell Vikestad, Norway
​ Albrecht Voss, Germany
​ Beatrice Wong, Hong Kong

CREATIVE
​Shortlist
​ Elli Asker, Azerbaijan
​ Nicolas Bigot, France
​ Hardijanto Budyman, Indonesia
​ Enda Burke, Ireland
​ Bilal EL Harousse, Morocco
​ Mariola Glajcar, Poland
​ Yi Han, China Mainland
​ Peter Irungu, Kenya
​ Richard Poe, USA
​ Angel Ros Die, Spain
​ Namukolo Siyumbwa, Zambia
​ Kinga Wnuk, Poland
​ Chenghao Zhao, China Mainland

LANDSCAPE
​Category Winner
​ Giorgos Rousopoulos, Greece
​Shortlist
​ Olivia Bennett, UK
​ Isabel Bielderman, Netherlands
​ Robert Bilos, Croatia
​ Jordi Coy, Spain
​ David Del Rosario Dávila, Spain
​ Gill Fry, Australia
​ Judith Kuhn, Germany
​ Bing Li, Canada
​ Roberto Pavić, Croatia
​ Michael Prince, USA
​ Martin Rak, Czech Republic
​ Andreja Ravnak, Slovenia
​ Indirani Thevar, India
​ Marcin Zajac, Poland

LIFESTYLE
​Category Winner
​ Azim Khan Ronnie, Bangladesh
​Shortlist
​ Francesco Bambi, Italy
​ Ruth Chamberlain, UK
​ Raffaella De Luise, Italy
​ Mohamad Ali Harisi, Lebanon
​ Sabbir Hossen, Bangladesh
​ Jessica Innemee, Netherlands Kathryn Mussallem, Canada Ninoshka Pais, Canada
​ Markus Pasa, Austria
​ Jean Veron, France
​ Zuojian Wang, China Mainland

MOTION
​Category Winner
​ Zhenhuan Zhou, China Mainland
​Shortlist
​ Zacarías Abad Torres, Spain
​ Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz, Spain
​ Kristian Hvidtfeldt Buus, Denmark Ricardo García Mainou, Mexico
​ Gabriel Hernandez, Spain
​ Leo Huang, Taiwan
​ Andres Moreno, Colombia
​ Francesco Junior Mura, Italy
​ Raido Nurk, Estonia
​ Kazutoshi Ono, Japan
​ Ata Ranjbar Zeydanloo, Islamic Republic of Iran
​ Martin Rickett, UK

NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE
​Open Photographer of the Year
​ Dinorah Graue Obscura, Mexico
​Shortlist
​ Vince Burton, UK
​ Charly Clérisse, France
​ Subrata Dey, Bangladesh
​ Patrick Ems, Switzerland
​ Marcio Esteves Cabral, Brazil
​ Mark Fitzsimmons, Australia
​ Pietro Formis, Italy
​ Jose Manuel Grandio, Spain
​ James Hunter, USA
​ Arnfinn Johansen, Norway
​ Andrea Michelutti, Italy
​ Protap Shekhor Mohanto, Bangladesh
​ Alex Pansier, Netherlands
​ Tibor Prisznyák, Hungary

OBJECT
​Category Winner
​ Mieke Douglas, Netherlands
​Shortlist
​ Masahiko Abe, Japan
​ Giuseppe Colarusso, Italy
​ Zeynep Demirhan, Turkey
​ Tim Green, UK
​ Andrius Kundrotas, Lithuania
​ Xiaoye Jin, China Mainland
​ Roberto Emiliano Porsella Jurado, Argentina
​ Masumi Shiohara, Japan
​ Nan Lay Thwe Oo, Myanmar
​ Catherine Wang, USA

PORTRAITURE
​Category Winner
​ Sukhy Hullait, UK
​Shortlist
​ Brian Cassey, UK
​ Jonathan Damslund, Denmark
​ Donell Gumiran, Philippines
​ Glenn Homann, Australia
​ Sandra Mickiewicz, Poland
​ Nukabari Opuama, Nigeria
​ Lukas Palatinus, Slovakia
​ Louis Park, New Zealand
​ Angela Perez, USA
​ Mwana Pwo, Angola
​ Gemma Sains, UK
​ Christopher Wonder, Nigeria
​ Mateusz Żurowski, Poland

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
​Category Winner
​ Andreas Mikonauschke, Germany
​Shortlist
​ Nazly Ahmed, Sri Lanka
​ Stan De Zoysa, Spain
​ Lorenzo Grifantini, Italy
​ Rizwan Hasan, Bangladesh
​ Barbara Iwińska, Poland
​ Lucian Alexandru Micu, Romania
​ Cath Muldowney, UK
​ Kathryn Mussallem, Canada
​ Benson Spiers, UK
​ Chin Leong Teo, Singapore
​ Takahiro Toh, Japan
​ Ting Hao Tseng, Taiwan
​ Tommaso Vaccarezza, Italy
​ Pável Vélez, Mexico

TRAVEL
​CategoryWinner
​ Max Vere-Hodge, UK
​Shortlist
​ Pamela Chiang, Taiwan
​ Erhan Coral, Turkey
​ Tim Daniels, UK
​ Callie Eh, Malaysia
​ Marios Forsos, Greece
​ Takahiro Gamou, Japan
​ Paweł Jagiełło, Poland
​ Guojia Li, China Mainland
​ Yukihito Ono, Japan
​ Adrian Pearce, UK
​ Fabian Pfeifhofer, Italy
​ İsmail Serhat Şahin', Turkey
​ Ankur Tambde, India
​ Yunhua Yu, China Mainland

STUDENT & YOUTH COMPETITIONS 2023 WINNERS AND SHORTLIST

STUDENT COMPETITION 2023

Student Photographer of the Year:
​ Long Jing, China Mainland
​ Yunnan Arts University, China Mainland

Shortlist:
​ Amy Gajjar, South Africa
​ Red & Yellow Creative School of Business, South Africa

Bobby Cheung, China Mainland
​ New York University Tisch School of the Arts, USA

Kaiyu Dong, China Mainland
​ School of Visual Arts, USA

Lidan Xu, China Mainland
​ Tama Art University, Japan

Maria Camila Ramirez Castañeda, Colombia
​ Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia

Mary Ashokeji, UK
​ Ravensbourne University London, UK

Nelly Farmiloe, New Zealand
​ Photography Studies College, Australia

Petra Bašnáková, Slovakia
​ Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic

YOUTH COMPETITION 2023

Youth Photographer of the Year:
​ Hai Wang, China Mainland

Shortlist:
​ Eason Zhang, China Mainland
​ Edmond Leong, Malaysia
​ Emily Cho, Republic of Korea
​ Katarzyny Akermana, Poland
​ Liberty McAuley, UK
​ Natálie Navrátilová, Czech Republic

PRESS CONTACTS
​FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
​ Inbal Mizrahi / Polly Brock on media@creoarts.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

ABOUT 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 16th 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; the renowned Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi is the 2023 recipient of this award, joining a distinguished list of iconic names including Martin Parr, William Eggleston, Candida Hofer, Nadav Kander, Gerhard Steidl, Edward Burtynsky and Graciela Iturbide. The Awards showcase the works of winning and shortlisted photographers at a prestigious annual exhibition at Somerset House, London. worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards-exhibition

2023 JUDGES
​Professional competition: Mariama Attah, Head of Exhibitions at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, UK; Tandazani Dhlakama, Assistant Curator at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa; Elisa Medde, Editor in Chief, FOAM Magazine, Netherlands; Ioana Mello, Independent Curator and Photo Editor; Directing Member, FotoRio, Brazil; Sujong Song, Senior Curator, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Republic of Korea; and Mike Trow, Independent Curator and Photo Editor and Chair of the Jury.

Open and Youth Competition: Eric Schlosser, Art Director, Tbilisi Art Fair, Georgia

Student Competition: Eliza Williams, Editor at Creative Review.

EDGAR MARTINS
​Photographer of the Year
​ Edgar Martins (b. 1977) was born in Évora, Portugal. He has exhibited internationally and his work is represented in multiple museums, corporate and private collections. Between 2002 and 2022 Martins published 15 separate monographs, which were received with critical acclaim and he was selected to represent Macau (China) at the 54th Venice Biennale. www.edgarmartins.com

Dinorah Graue Obscura
​Open Photographer of the Year
​ Dinorah Graue Obscura is a Mexican nature photographer based in Costa Rica. Dinorah’s art is renowned across the world, more recently by receiving the Alpha Female Award at the Sony World Photography Awards 2022. Her work has been displayed internationally and she is currently part of the Mexican Portfolio that will compete at the Singapore 2023 World Photographic Cup.

LONG JING
​Student Photographer of the Year
​ Long Jing is a photography student and practitioner, he started his photographic studies in high school before continuing at university. He's a member of the Yunnan Photographers Association and has participated in several local art exhibitions. His work has been collected by the Yunnan Literature and Art Museum and Yunnan Provincial Grand Theater.

HAI WANG
​Youth Photographer of the Year
​ A sixteen-year-old student in China, Hai Wang had his first contact with photography when he was in junior high school, when his father supported him to buy his first camera. After two and a half years of self-learning photography, he fell in love with minimalist art and became keen to record everyday life and committed to interpreting the ordinary world from different perspectives.

RINKO KAWAUCHI
​Outstanding Contribution to Photography
​ Born in 1972 in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, Kawauchi lives and works in Chiba. Kawauchi simultaneously released a series of three photographic books in 2001 – Utatane, Hanabi, and Hanako, and was awarded the prestigious 27th Kimura Ihei Award the following year. She received the eminent Infinity Award in 2009 in the Arts Category by the International Center of Photography, and in 2012 the 63rd Ministry of Cultural Affairs Newcomer of the Year Award, and the 29th Shashin no Machi Higashigawa Native Japanese Artist Award. Kawauchi’s work has been the focus of several solo exhibitions both in Japan and internationally, including AILA + Cui Cui + the eyes, the ears at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in 2005 and at The Photographers’ Gallery in 2006, Illuminance at Gallery at Hermès, New York, in 2011, Illuminance, Ametsuchi, Seeing Shadow at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in 2012, and Kawauchi: The river embraced me at Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto in 2016. She has also hosted and participated in a multitude of group exhibitions, including the Rencontres d'Arles in 2004, New Documents at the Brighton Photo Biennial in 2010, and the Prix Pictet at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2017. Most recently, she opened her solo exhibition M/E: On this sphere Endlessly interlinking in late 2022 at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery. www.rinkokawauchi.com

ADAM FERGUSON
​ Adam Ferguson is an Australian photographer whose work explores conflict and critical social issues. Ferguson holds a B.A from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University Australia and currently lives in Lutruwita / Tasmania (Australia). He is currently enrolled in a Master of Fine Arts at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology School of Art. He is working on two monographs - a war diary that examines his time in Afghanistan and a long-form photo essay about colonial legacy in the Australian bush. www.adamfergusonstudio.com

ABOUT 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, responsible for delivering initiatives and programming across three sectors: photography, film and contemporary art. Follow the World Photography Organisation on Instagram (@worldphotoorg), Twitter (@WorldPhotoOrg) and LinkedIn/Facebook (World Photography Organisation). Our hashtags to follow are #sonyworldphotographyawards #swpa #swpanews.

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 Shanghai, Photo London and the forthcoming PHOTOFAIRS New York (Sep 2023). 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. www.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 responsible for the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) business in the Sony Group. With the vision of “continuing to deliver Kando and Anshin* to people and society across the world through the pursuit of technology and new challenges,” Sony will create products and services in areas such as home entertainment & sound, imaging, and mobile communications. For more information, visit: www.sony.net * Both Japanese words, Kando means emotion and Anshin has various meanings such as peace of mind, reassurance, reliability and trust.

ABOUT SOMERSET HOUSE
​ Somerset House is London’s working arts centre and home to the UK’s largest creative community. Built on historic foundations, we are situated in the very heart of the capital. Dedicated to backing progress, championing openness, nurturing creativity and empowering ideas, our cultural programme is ambitious in scope. We insist on relevance, but aren’t afraid of irreverence, and are as keen on entertainment as enrichment. We embrace the biggest issues of our times and are committed to oxygenating new work by emerging artists. Where else can you spend an hour ice-skating while listening to a specially commissioned sound piece by a cutting edge artist?
​ It is this creative tension – the way we harness our heritage, put the too-often overlooked on our central stage and use our neo-classical backdrop to showcase ground-breaking contemporary culture – that inspires our programme. Old and new, history and disruption, art and entertainment, high-tech and homemade, combined with the fact that we are home to a constantly shape-shifting working creative community: this is our point of difference. It is what we are proud of. And it is what makes the experience of visiting or working in Somerset House inspiring and energising, urgent and exciting. somersethouse.org.uk

VISITOR INFORMATION
​ Sony World Photography Awards 2023 Exhibition
​ Dates: 14 April – 1 May 2023
​ Opening Times: Mon - Fri, 11am – 9pm / Sat & Sun, 11am – 8pm / Bank Holiday (1 May), 11am – 6pm
​ Address: Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA
​ General Admission: £15 / £11 Concessions
​ Booking Info: www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards-exhibition