The 2021 winners have been announced!
Globally, 70-80% of photography students are women — yet they account for only 13-15% of professional photographers.
20 images and two bodies of work will be exhibited in a group show in collaboration with the Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA) in Miami later this year. Previous venues include Photoville and Artspace in New York City.
Judges this year include leading women from The New Yorker, Women Photographers International Archive and international galleries and publications.
Past winners have been featured in Vogue Italia, the Guardian, the Times and more.
Founder and Director of Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA)
Director of photography for The New Yorker
Founder and Director of Silk Road Gallery
Visual Artist & Co-author of MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora
Co-Founder and Centre Director of Objectifs
Editor-in-chief of WePresent/WeTransfer
Artistic Director, QUAD & Director, FORMAT International Photography Festival Derby
Photographer and Director of Fast Forward: Women in Photography
Founding Director, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
Katinka Schuett, Female in Focus 2019 Winner
Maria Lax, Female in Focus 2019 Winner
Exhibition Partners:
Exhibition Sponsor:
Media Partners:
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jodie Bateman, Paola Jiménez Quispe, Imogen Freeland and Joanna Helena are among the winners of BJP and 1854’s 2021 Female in Focus award, with the exhibitions sponsored by MPB, celebrating women’s contribution to contemporary photography
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Reading Time: < 1 minute In the final session in our Female in Focus mini-series we approach an underrepresented topic in the art photography world: Motherhood.
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Reading Time: < 1 minute With Female in Focus 2021 in its final two weeks for entries, we have curated a Female in Focus x 1854 Presents mini-series spotlighting voices of leading women photographers and industry figures across the world.
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Reading Time: < 1 minute Photographer, designer and illustrator, Ngadi Smart joins us to discuss her approach to decolonizing photography and her experience in the industry.
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Reading Time: 4 minutes To coincide with Female in Focus 2021, Kateryna Radchenko, founder and curator of Ukraine’s only contemporary photography festival, discusses Ukrainian women’s contribution to the medium in the context of the country’s cultural and historical tensions
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Reading Time: 2 minutes The Director of Photography at The New Yorker and Female in Focus 2021 judge discusses the importance of women’s perspectives on the world, and what she’s hoping to see in this year’s award entries
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Reading Time: < 1 minute Join us for the first instalment in our 4 week Female in Focus x 1854 Presents mini-series spotlighting voices of leading women photographers and industry figures across the world.
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Reading Time: 5 minutes “The pandemic has exposed once more the functioning of patriarchy, and the precariousness of women’s lives in many places — especially in so-called ‘third-world’ countries”
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Reading Time: 3 minutes To coincide with Female in Focus 2021, Gulnara Samoilova – one of last year’s judges – discusses her latest photobook
Read More →The team are very aware of potential complications caused by hosting a physical exhibition. We will be working with the gallery/exhibition space to accommodate any changes that occur as a result. When the exhibition does go ahead, it will be under the guidelines provided by the government at the time.
Should the exhibition not be able to go ahead, the 1854 team are dedicated to ensuring that your work still receives exposure through digital outputs via the 1854 Network, international publicity and other opportunities to help your practice grow.
If you have lost your entry, use the reset form here, to send a reminder to your email address.
We can only accept entries paid for with a credit or debit card online
Yes, you may enter as many times as you choose.
Please first choose the type of entry you wish to make (eg, one series entry). On the next page you will be able to enter your promotional code, and after submitting that form you will see your discount applied.
Please note that most codes are time-limited. If the deadline for using your code has passed, it will not be usable.
Sorry, but all entry fees are non-refundable, as stated in the terms and conditions that you accepted on entry.
No unfortunately we can not upgrade your entry once a purchase has been made
You may have already received an email from us with your entry link. If so, submit your images through the link provided.
You will need to click on the members log in section on the submission platform, and enter your membership number in order to submit your entries.
If your images have uploaded correctly you will see a small version of each photo on the entry page, alongside the caption you entered. If you cannot see your photo, then your image has not uploaded correctly. If a caption has been stored but no image, you can delete it using the Edit option.
Our image uploader is designed to work with all modern web browsers, but some – in particular, Internet Explorer 11 – aren’t able to use it. If you are unable to upload your images please either download a modern browser (we recommend Google Chrome), or click the link on the upload page to use our Classic Uploader instead.
The Classic Uploader uploads image files in a way that’s slower, but better supported by old browsers such as Internet Explorer 11. Please note that it can accept JPEG files of up to 5MB in size only, and that you will experience a wait after clicking the Upload button.
We can only accept images that are uploaded using our entry system. This ensures that each one is logged with your entry details, and made available to our judges.
Either the competition deadline has passed, or you have previously submitted your entry to the judges. In order to do so you will have read a notice warning you, and ticked a box confirming your understanding, that doing so would prevent you from making any further changes.
Please note that maximum lengths that apply to these texts. The length limits are noted on the form used to enter them and are given in characters (letters), not words.
The Submit button appears at the top of your entry page once you have uploaded at least one image.
Your entry will be confirmed on a web page after submitting, and then we will send you a confirmation email, and your images (along with their captions, statements etc) are stored, ready to be viewed by the judges.
No, once your entry has been submitted you may no longer alter it in any way.
I’m afraid this isn’t possible – our system receives thousands of images, so we can’t check individual ones. Please ensure that you are happy with your images and statement before submitting it.
Your entry confirmation email includes a full VAT invoice, we can not provide any other invoice request
Female in Focus is an award dedicated to celebrating women in photography. We welcome entries from a multitude of female voices, including anyone who identifies as a woman.
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Professional and non-professional photographers from all over the world are eligible to enter.
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Images can be shot using any camera model (film or digital) or electronic device, and images may be portrait, landscape or square in format.
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Each entrant will be deemed to warrant that they own the entire copyright for the work or that they have permission from the licensee and/or copyright owner/s for the uses.
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Each image can be a maximum of 10MB in size. All images must be submitted as JPEG files – any files submitted in any other format (including TIFF, PDF, PSD etc) will be discarded.
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You may submit a title (200 character limit) and caption (750 character limit) for each photograph entered. For the Stories Category, you can also provide an artist’s statement (1000 character limit). All accompanying text must be written in English.
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We are accepting entries until the 17 June 2021 23:59 (UK time).
Judging will take place shortly after the deadline.
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There is no time frame for the images
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Images do not need to feature a woman as the subject to be eligible for this award.
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Once your images and captions have been uploaded to the system you will see an option to submit your entry. Once submitted, your entry cannot be altered. Only submitted entries will be viewed by the judges.
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The winners must be available to supply high-res files promptly for publication.
Digital files of the winning images will be created for press and publicity purposes.
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1854 Media & British Journal of Photography cannot be responsible for any loss or damage to submitted work.
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No copyright is transferred to 1854 Media & British Journal of Photography in respect of any works entered or accepted.
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1854 Media & British Journal of Photography reserve the right to display, reproduce and publish in any media, any entry, without payment, for the sole purpose of Female in Focus – this year and in future – and its promotion and publicity.
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The 2020 exhibition will take place in El Barrio’s Artspace in July 2021. The winners of the 2021 edition will be exhibited this year in a gallery based in both Miami and the UK
1854 Media will organise and cover costs from the framing, printing and production of the Female in Focus show.
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A selection of images will be published through 1854 Media & British Journal of Photography digital channels.
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You will be asked to pay for your entry by Credit Card. All payments are handled securely by our payment partner Stripe. After payment, you will receive an email containing a personal upload URL, where you may submit your images and statement.
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All entry purchases are final. Having purchased an entry, it is your responsibility to upload and submit your images and statement before the deadline. No refunds will be issued.
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In order to receive your award status, you must be subscribed to the Awards Communications list on our mailing system. If you have not received your status after the deadline, you must simply resubscribe by filling out a form to our newsletter list.
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Please note that 1854 Access members entering awards as part of their membership (as opposed to a paid entry) will be required to remain a member throughout the periods when awards are judged and exhibitions/outputs are planned, for their entries to be eligible.
All entries are subject to 1854 Media’s General Competition Terms and Conditions
