Leica Camera USA Announces 3rd Leica Women Foto Project Award & New Mentor Program in Collaboration with VII

NEW YORK, Aug. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leica Camera USA announces the third annual call for entries to its Leica Women Foto Project Award, in partnership with international photography museum Fotografiska. This year, the brand's initiative to promote diversity in photography expands to include an additional call for entries to the Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program, providing the resources to enrich the professional development of female photographers.

Since its inception in 2019, the Leica Women Foto Project continues to serve as a platform to cultivate a diverse and inclusive community through visual storytelling. Its mission is to encourage photographers to demonstrate the importance and impact of a female's point of view. The award serves as a catalyst to reframe how we see, think, and express our visual narrative.

As part of the Leica Women Foto Project Award, three photographers will be awarded $10,000 and a Leica SL2-S camera with Leica Vario-Elmarit 24-70 ASPH lens, alongside a photography exhibition at Fotografiska New York in 2022. Fotografiska, a modern museum experience for visitors to discover world-class photography, eclectic programming, elevated dining, and surprising new perspectives, will support Leica's Women Foto Project by hosting comprehensive multi-platform programs that deploy Leica's leadership and products in photography. Through Leica and Fotografiska's deep roots in photography, both brands are working to diversify the industry to reframe the narrative.

The Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program will grant three additional applicants a 12-month mentorship, VII Agency representation, Leica Gallery exhibition and a 12-month loan of a Leica Q2 camera to aid their professional development in photography. Candidates must demonstrate a commitment to the profession of photography, have worked in the photo industry for four or more years, have worked on assignments, and have a published body of work. Candidates will be selected by members of VII Agency.

"The Leica Women Foto Project aims to illuminate underrepresented visual storytellers through programs and resources that foster the development and amplification of the female perspective," says Kiran Karnani, VP of Marketing for Leica Camera North America. "With the third iteration of the Leica Women Foto Project Award, we have found that through professional development opportunities, accessibility to platforms to reach broader audiences, appropriate equipment and funding, we bear witness to multi-faceted moments expressed from a position of strength."

Leica Women Foto Project Award recipients will be determined by a panel of notable judges based on quality of photography, sophistication of project and a dedication to the medium of photography. 

The 2021 panel of judges is composed of:

• Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Director, Leica Galleries Worldwide
• Laura Roumanos, Co-Founder, United Photo Industries
• Amanda Hajjar, Founding Director of Exhibitions at Fotografiska New York
• Natalia Jimenez, Picture Editor, The Washington Post
• Denise Wolff, Senior Editor at Aperture Foundation
• Maggie Steber, Documentary Photographer & Guggenheim Grant Fellow
• Sandra Stevenson, Associate Director of Photography for CNN
• Elizabeth Krist, Former Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic
• Lynn Johnson, Photojournalist
• Elizabeth Avedon, Independent Curator
• Eve Lyons, Photo Editor for The New York Times

Call for entries for both the Award and Mentor Program begin August 26 at 9:00AM ET and will close on October 8 at 11:59 PM ET at 11:59 PM ET.  Applications for the Leica Women Foto Project Award & for the Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program can be submitted through the online registration form found on www.leicawomenfotoproject.com with terms and conditions. Candidates must be legal US residents and who are 21 years or older at entry. Leica Camera USA will announce the winners of the Leica Women Foto Project Award and the recipients of the Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program on March 8, 2022 via Leica Camera USA's website, newsletter, and @leicacamerausa on Facebook and Instagram.

About Leica Camera
Leica represents a union of craftsmanship, design and experience. It is a beautiful collision of art and engineering, and the future of form and functionality. Leica Camera, headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany with a second production site in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, is an internationally operating, premium-segment manufacturer of cameras and sport optics products. The legendary status of the Leica brand is founded on a long tradition of excellence in the supreme quality and performance of cameras and lenses, and the iconic images that artists and photojournalists everywhere captured with them. For more information about Leica visit https://leicacamerausa.com/, or follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Leica represents a union of craftsmanship, design and experience. It is a beautiful collision of art and engineering, and the future of form and functionality. Leica Camera, headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany with a second production site in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, is an internationally operating, premium-segment manufacturer of cameras and sport optics products. The legendary status of the Leica brand is founded on a long tradition of excellence in the supreme quality and performance of cameras and lenses, and the iconic images that artists and photojournalists everywhere captured with them. For more information about Leica visit https://leicacamerausa.com/, or follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Fotografiska
Fotografiska is a museum experience for the modern world. Founded in Stockholm in 2010, Fotografiska is a destination to discover world-class photography, eclectic programming, elevated dining and surprising new perspectives.

Guided by a mission to inspire a more conscious world through the power of photography, Fotografiska produces dynamic and unparalleled rotating exhibitions, spanning various photographic genres, in inclusive and immersive environments. 

With a dedicated international community and locations in Stockholm, New York City, and Tallinn, Fotografiska is the premier global gathering place for photography and culture. 
www.fotografiska.com | @fotografiska

About the VII Mentor Program
The VII Mentor Program, the first program of its kind, has developed some of the brightest new talents in photojournalism since it was first launched by the VII Photo Agency in 2008 to support early career photographers. The program has been redesigned in 2021 in partnership with The VII Foundation and VII Academy to provide a structured professional environment for emerging new talents in the industry.

Press Contact
For all inquiries and information:
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Email: [email protected] 
Internet: www.leica-camera.com

SOURCE Leica Camera AG

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