2025 Girls {Photograph} Grantees — Girls {Photograph}

“Melissa Ann Pinney’s collaborative approach to portrait photography deeply resonated with the judges. Her project, ‘Becoming Themselves,’ offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of Chicago teens, capturing moments where they feel safe enough to reveal their true selves. This kind of authentic representation is especially meaningful for students in this age group, as they navigate the complex journey of self-discovery and identity formation.”

“‘Descendants of Summer’ investigates the histories of Bermuda’s inhabitants; the Indigenous, the colonial and the enslaved. Like many Caribbean islands, the mesmerising landscape conceals a devastating history of violence and enslavement. Muirhead frames her story using the light and verdant colours that are typical of this region. She avoids common binary narratives within post-colonial history to show us the complexity of identity. I was drawn to the multi-layered storytelling and elegant portraiture.”

“In ‘When Buddha Stopped Smiling,’ documentary photographer Chinky Shukla sheds light on the enduring human cost of India’s nuclear ambitions. Centered around Pokhran, Rajasthan—site of the 1974 and 1998 nuclear tests—her long-term project documents the invisible scars left on desert communities still grappling with radiation’s aftermath. Through a deeply empathetic and participatory lens, Shukla captures the untold stories of loss, illness, and resilience among villagers who never gave their consent to history.  Chinky’s work amplifies their voices linking Pokhran to a global network of nuclear test sites where silence and suffering still reign.”

“Teala Elise Avery’s new project aims to explore an outsider’s sense of belonging in a new culture, and explore the ways in which we create familiarity and connection outside of our own experience. The jury was especially excited to support a young Black photographer’s investigation of cultural “other” — in an business the place that very same lens has traditionally been wielded by white, western journalists.”

“All over the world, women’s reproductive rights are being challenged, restricted, and stripped away. This erosion of reproductive rights reflects broader patterns of inequality, where the freedom to make decisions about one’s own body is shaped by the power of patriarchy, race, class, and geography. ‘Not Yours To Make’ focuses on the examination of reproductive rights in Lebanon, where they are rarely open for debate. A series of Polaroid instant emulsion lifts that obscure identity, as receiving an abortion is punishable by 1-3 years in prison. The choice of what is hidden and what remains clear is in the hands of the subjects. The result is a powerful space of healing, bearing witness, and the reclaimation of your personal story and body.”

“In ‘Yellow Tiger on Blue Background,’ Chloé Milos Azzopardi photographs their young cousins in Taiwan, where they were born and raised. Made in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2024 and against the backdrop of continued political tensions between Taiwan and the Chinese government, Azzopardi’s pictures braid together stories of personal and political tumult and uncertainty. The jury was drawn to Azzopardi’s tender and poetic approach to exploring how a generation of Taiwanese youth—specifically adolescents on the verge of adulthood—understand their national identities even as they are still constructing their individual ones.”