PhMuseum Women Photographers Grantees Share Their Experience

A year after receiving the main prizes, Ana Vallejo, Myriam Boulos, Alesia Rollo, and Chingrimi Shimray tell us why it is important to have a grant for female and non-binary photographers, and what it meant to them.

Dear Ana, Myriam, Alessia and Chingrimi, why do you think it is still important today to have a conversation about gender equality in the industry?

Ana: Things have definitely been changing but the road is long and there is still much work to be done. As with all important shifts, changing things at the highest levels is the hardest. We are still paving our way to have the same positions and salaries as men in the industry and to be treated respectfully in the workplace. Our industry had become so toxic and macho-oriented before these changes started that most of us (women and non-binary) have experienced abuse on different levels as we build our careers. It's unsettling to see how many micro abuses still exist in the workplace.

Myriam: My answer is very obvious but things have been shown through a male-mostly white and heteronormative-gaze and it is important to break this by listening to different perspectives. I think that photography is a way of taking space and being heard and I am here for it.

Alessia: “I tried to be a joyful feminist” Agnes Varda said once “but I was very angry”. I think this sentence resumes very well what I feel and the way I work as well. I do art because I disagree with inequality, and the social and economic gap: unfortunately, there is a gender gap we still need to work on. I think is fundamental to open up the vision to different points of view, to listen to as many voices as possible, and include women in all the social processes and level different representations.

What are the main reasons for which you would recommend a colleague to apply for this grant? How do you these initiatives can support female photographers individually, our industry and public awareness?

Ana: I think these initiatives bring us closer to the equality I was talking about earlier. It gives us tools and means to find our own voices instead of mimicking the male gaze, it allows us to grow independently. 

Myriam: For the monetary prize, for the exposure, for the fact that it creates a space for us and it builds bridges between our different projects and worlds, I think initiatives like this one can support female photographers, and more broadly our industry.

Alessia: I recommend female photographers to apply because it’s a big chance for everybody to show different narratives and a way of thinking that can enrich the photographic panorama. We need to see differently and include more visions. PhMuseum 2022 Women Photographers Grant definitely creates public awareness and in a way forces other stakeholders to be vigilant and more inclusive. 

 

What advice would you give to those photographers applying to the PHM 2022 Women Photographers Grant?   

Ana: I would advise them to take risks and to be themselves. Sometimes, as women and nonbinary, we are afraid to take risks because our work falls outside of the photography canon. We might hear is too personal or too emotional or that there is no narrative, to name a few examples. The reality is that we are used to the male gaze and many times we are discouraged from searching for new ways of seeing. I believe PhMuseum is one of those unique platforms that encourages difference and innovation and their grants and opportunities have many different prizes, which makes the odds of winning much higher.

Myriam: I really think that being honest with ourselves is the most important thing!  

Alessia: To be authentic and not to be scared of being different from the main photographic panorama. I think PhMuseum's grant is very inclusive in terms of vision and approach, and welcomes new and alternative narratives. I believe that at the same time is fundamental to work seriously on the project and to give the jury a solid vision not only of the aesthetic side but also of the conceptual one. I would also suggest not to give up on frustration and to keep believing in yourself. 

Chingrimi: I'd simply recommend to own your narrative.

How has the grant affected your career and what are your next steps professionally?

Ana: The grant allowed me to breathe. For a long time I had been living paycheck to paycheck and this grant gave me a secure baseline to invest in my project gradually, and strategically. Without pressure. I am currently working on building an interactive data art website/installation from the anonymous surveys I am collecting, and I am also working on a photobook for the project. 

Myriam: The grant allowed me to take the time to work on my own projects. I am currently working on a new project on women’s sexual fantasies. I started this project in 2021; in the midst of multiple crises in Lebanon, I decided to work on something that was present in me independently from the situation of the country. I based my approach on an open call: “If you identify as a woman and want to share your sexual fantasies, send me an e-mail.” The project is text and image-based. Once I receive a text by email, I ask the following questions: How do you imagine the image? Do you want to be present in it or not? What do you want to show or hide? Where and how do you want to be photographed? While women’s bodies have mainly been portrayed through the male gaze, in this series, we are the ones talking about our bodies, owning them, and taking back what belongs to us.

Alessia: The grant helped me on different levels: first of all, on a motivational one. Sometimes when you start working on a photographic project you spend so much energy and you are so concentrated you don’t know very well if the project is readable to a world audience. The Grant confirmed to me that Parallel Eyes was, so I kept working on the same path. Also, the economic support provided me with the chance to travel a bit more in the South of Italy to document the rituals I needed to include in the project. For the future, I am working to include in my practice other media to create a much more complex project that can include sound, video installations, and new technologies.  

Chingrimi: I think the process of writing helps us better understand our work and intent as creative. Sometimes it is the affirmation we seek from the community. In that sense, I am beginning to find a community which knows me through my work/storytelling. And there is a sense of comfort in finding people who resonate with my work. There is no definite next  for me , I believe the process will take me wherever it wants to take me. 

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The PhMuseum 2022 Women Photographers Grant is currently open for submissions. Its aim is to empower the work and careers of female and non-binary professionals of all ages and from all countries working in diverse areas of photography. To learn more and apply, visit phmuseum.com/w22. Early Bird Deadline: 15 September, Final Deadline: 6 October