PHmuseum's 12 Graduates to Watch in 2020

With the aim of mapping and discovering emerging profiles worldwide, we got in touch with over 100 Universities and Photography Institutions across the globe, asking select tutors to nominate standout students who have recently graduated.

With the aim of mapping and discovering emerging profiles worldwide, we got in touch with over 100 Universities and Photography Institutions across the globe, asking select tutors to nominate standout students who have recently graduated.

First established in 1999, International Youth Day provides an opportunity to celebrate and mainstream young peoples’ voices, actions, and initiatives. The theme of International Youth Day 2020 – Youth Engagement for Global Action – seeks to highlight the ways in which the engagement of young people at the local, national, and global levels is enriching national and multilateral institutions and processes. To mark the occasion, we’ve selected 12 of the best young photography graduates this year.

Sumi Anjuman

Graduated from Pathshala South Asian Media Institute | Bangladesh

Nominated by Sarker Protick

Sumi Anjuman (Bangladesh). Her work speaks for those who society has oppressed and silenced, despite her socially subject-matter. Anjuman’s projects are poetic, often verging on the abstract. Her works make a strong cerebral and emotional impact on the viewer, while her collaborative methodology echoes the ideas of inclusivity that she strives to achieve.

Lois Cid

Graduated from Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp | Belgium

Nominated by Charlotte Lybeer

Lois Cid (Spain, 1993) is a visual artist who is currently finishing his master's degree in photography at the Royal Academy of Antwerp. In his work, he investigates the materials that people use to transform the landscape, dealing with the idea of territory and how it is created and modified.

Volker Crone

Graduated from Hochschule Hannover | Germany

Nominated by Karen Fromm

Volker Crone (Germany) was born in 1988 in a small village in northern Germany. After school and countless jobs in various fields, Crone turned to photography and quitted his studies in Philosophy and Technics. Holding now a degree in Photojournalism from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover, his practice focus on conceptual documentary photography.

Jatin Gulati

Graduated from Pathshala South Asian Media Institute | Bangladesh

Nominated by Sarker Protick

Jatin Gulati (India) is a visual artist and writer who has a background in Architecture, he currently living and working in Delhi and recently graduated from the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute. He works with mediums such as photography, text and digital drawings and he is interested in the overlap of history, lived experiences and speculations.

Amanda Johnson

Graduated from Parsons School of Design, The New School | United States

Nominated by Jim Ramer

Amanda Johnson (USA) is a South Bronx based artist. She obtained a Bachelor's degree in Art from Earlham College and an MFA in Photography from Parsons School of Design. Her work has been exhibited at Ghost Gallery, El Rincon Social in participation with Photofest Houston and Photoville in New York City. Internationally, she has shown at the Pingyao International Photography Festival in China and Platform L in Korea.

Alexander Komenda

Graduated from University of South Wales | United Kingdom

Nominated by Lisa Barnard

Alexander Komenda (Canada) was born in Ottawa while hilding Polish roots. Over the past few years, he has been working collaboratively with communities, exploring themes such as psychology, externality, and youth; culminating in observational and performative documentary narratives. The key is dialectical engagement - by dignifying peoples’ presence in their own stories.

Eleana Konstantellos André

Graduated from Gymnasium of Art and Culture | Mexico

Nominated by Mariela Sancari

Eleana Konstantellos André (1995) is a French, Greek, and Mexican photographer. She studied at the Active School of Photography and at the Gymnasium of Art and Culture where she majored in personal projects and artistic photography. Her work explores the mechanisms of memory and identity.

Jean Claude Nsabimana

Graduated from Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography | South Africa

Nominated by Mark Antonello and Louise van Wyk

Jean Claude Nsabimana (Burundi) is a visual artist and a contemporary storyteller. His interests lie in design, film and video production, and photography. He uses his work as an activism tool, as a voice for the voiceless. He is the recipient of the Adobe Design Achievement Award -Top Talent 2019: Photography.

Frederic Pels

Graduated from Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp | Belgium

Nominated by Charlotte Lybeer

Frederic Pels (Belgium) works and lives in Antwerp. His work is mainly focused on the undefined explorations on personal attachments towards physical- and environmental distortions caused by certain setbacks. Approached in a reconstructed docu-fictional form to visualize the invisible side effects that have been caused.

Maria Giulia Trombini

Graduated from ISFCI - Istituto Superiore di Fotografia | Italy

Nominated by Niccolò Fano.

Mariagiulia Trombini (Italy) grew up in Bologna where she graduated in Anthropology. She then moved to Rome, to study photography and journalism. Nowadays her visual research revolves around people combining her anthropology and journalism background.

Alia Youssef

Graduated from Ryerson University | Documentary Media | Canada

Nominated by Bruno Lessard

Alia Youssef (Canada) is a portrait and documentary photographer who completed her MFA in Documentary Media from Ryerson University and is currently based in Vancouver. She is interested in diversifying the media landscape through portraiture and highlighting underrepresented stories and histories, especially in regards to Muslim communities and women.

Ang Zheng

Graduated from School of the Art Institute of Chicago | United States

Nominated by Jan Tichy

Ang Zheng (China) spent his formative years in Xiamen, China, and moved to the US at 20. He makes work that combines photos and texts, to challenge and engage with concepts like looking, seeing, thinking, reflecting, note-taking, mistaking, remembering, and forgetting. Ang completed his M.F.A. at School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2020.

---

Are you representing a school, teaching at a University, or interested in having the institution where you study to be considered for the 2021 edition? Just drop us a line at info@phmuseum.com and we'll add you to our list of contacts and send you an invitation next Spring.

Latest News Items

  • A Guide to April 2024 Photo Awards & Opportunities

  • Join The New PhMuseum 2024/25 Online Masterclasses Program

  • Photobook Review: Ray’s a Laugh by Richard Billingham

  • A Guide To April 2024 Photography Festivals & Exhibitions

  • Photobook Review: Bannkörbe by Aladin Borioli

  • Maria Montes Duran’s Journey Through Latino Heritage in America

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Stay in the loop


We will send you weekly news on contemporary photography. You can change your mind at any time. We will treat your data with respect. For more information please visit our privacy policy. By ticking here, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with them. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.