STUDENT & YOUTH COMPETITIONS: SHORT LISTS ANNOUNCED

STUDENT & YOUTH COMPETITIONS: SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED

●       The Sony World Photography Awards announces the shortlisted photographers of its 2025 Student and Youth competitions

●       Ten students of photography from leading universities across the world are recognised in this year’s shortlist, as well as 11 photographers aged 19 and under

●       Representing South Africa is Thapelo Mahlangu of Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography

●       The Student Photographer of the Year and Youth Photographer of the Year to be announced at gala ceremony on 16 April

SOUTH AFRICA, 21 JANUARY 2025 - The Sony World Photography Awards announces today the shortlists in the 2025 Student and Youth competitions, honouring outstanding photographers at the earliest stages of their practices. South African student and photographer Thapelo Mahlangu has been shortlisted for his work in Rebirth: The Ritual of Baptism, where he considers the ceremony of baptism in the traditional cultures in South Africa, focusing on rituals observed by the Xhosa people.

The Student shortlist celebrates evocative series exploring the theme of new beginnings, while the Youth shortlist spotlights the best images by photographers aged 19 and under. Demonstrating the skill and ingenuity of young artists engaging with photography across the world, the shortlists offer a glimpse of the talent of tomorrow. 

STUDENT COMPETITION SHORTLIST

For the 2025 competition, photography students were invited to respond to the brief In the Beginning through a series of five to 10 images. The shortlisted projects reflect a wide range of beginnings, from personal histories of the photographers’ lives to surveys of societal change. Each shortlisted photographer brings a distinct style and perspective to their work, creating a compelling narrative through their images.

Journeys and passages are prominent themes across several shortlisted works. In Where Roads Begin to Split, Xingyu Fan (China Mainland, Nanjing University of the Arts) examines modernisation and migration in China, and the resulting separation between urban and rural life. Albert Słowiński’s (Poland, Academy of Art in Szczecin) work traces the history of the major railway in Mauritania through to its current use; transporting passengers and iron ore from the mine of Zouérat. In Olga, Louna Pauly (France, Ecole Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière) blends archive imagery and staged photographs to piece together the stories of her two great-grandmothers, who survived forced labour camps in the 1940s and moved to France to start a new life.

Several shortlisted projects look closely at people’s stories through the spaces they inhabit and their possessions. Honorata Kornacka’s (Poland, The Maria Grzegorzewska University) series Chaos celebrates the collection of objects her grandmother has built over the years and the ways they have shaped her home, while Ilana Grollman (United States, Emerson College) explores her grief following the loss of her mother by visiting places of significance in the cities where she once lived. Elsewhere, in The Last Day We Saw the Mountains and the Sea Micaela Valdivia Medina (Peru, Instituto Profesional Arcos) documents women’s prisons in Chile, illustrating the contours of the day-to-day life of the inmates. Montenez Lowery (USA, Georgia State University, Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design) makes pinhole cameras with objects tied to Black identity contributed by participants, and accompanied by individual accounts.

Across the shortlist, photographers consider themes pertinent to the social context in which they work. Peter Stougård Maunsbach (Denmark, DMJX Danish School of Media and Journalism) addresses the growing trend of involuntary childlessness and the resulting fertility treatments in Denmark. In Rebirth: The Ritual of Baptism by Thapelo Mahlangu (South Africa, Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography), the photographer considers the ceremony of baptism in the traditional cultures in South Africa, focusing on rituals observed by the Xhosa people. Joel Potter’s (New Zealand, Aut University) Orange is the New Blueprint depicts the first stages of Auckland's Future Rail Tāmaki Makaurau, an ambitious project set to reshape the cityscape, focusing on the role of construction workers in the development.

The winner of Student Photographer of the Year will be selected from the 10 students and announced at the Sony World Photography Awards 2025 ceremony in London on 16 April. The overall winning university will receive Sony digital imaging equipment worth €30,000.

This year’s Student Competition shortlist was judged by author, journalist and critic Charlotte Jansen.

YOUTH COMPETITION SHORTLIST

The Youth competition shortlist comprises single images by 11 photographers aged 19 and under. This year the entrants were invited to share their best images through an Open Call.

Across the shortlist, photographers depict breathtaking scenes of the natural world, from mountainous landscapes to underwater life. Matteo Botta (Switzerland, 17 years old) captures an aerial view of Schwarzberg mountain and the Maighels river, while Claire Gonzalez’s (United States, 17 years old) image Wanderer on Mars shows the rare terrain of the Bentonite Hills, a remote hiking area in Utah. Landon Chong Chung Yi (Malaysia, 16 years old) photographs the hazy glow of sunrise in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia in his image Golden Mistscape, while Tinnapat Netcharussaeng (Thailand, 16 years old) depicts a paper nautilus, a species of pelagic octopus, ‘surfing’ by latching onto a leaf drifting in the depths.

Elsewhere, photographers capture vivid moments, both close to home and further afield. Oliver Marks’ (United States, 17 years old) image The Lifts portrays busy ski lifts on the side of a mountain. In DJ Broken Down Joshua Hasanoff (Australia, 14 years old) highlights the striking resemblance of a person fixing their car to a DJ at their turntables. Dian-Ji Wu’s (Taiwan, 16 years old) image Eclipse of Motion shows a skateboarder silhouetted against the warm sunset light in Venice Beach, LA. Zachariah Levens’ (United Kingdom, 18 years old) photograph Sing When You Win captures a scene of team unity and celebration after Ampthill Rugby Club wins a game. Ankit Ghosh (India, 16 years old) turns his lens toward the festivities of Vijaya Dasami, showing a crowd of onlookers watching a man lighting a flame by spitting kerosene into the air. Meanwhile, Chidima Ugwuedeh (New Zealand, 15 years old) considers her Igbo and Māori identities through a portrait featuring traditional garments and accessories, and Shayna Cuenca’s (United States, 16 years old) image Parts of the Whole suggests a personal reflection, by deconstructing and putting back together a self-portrait.

This year’s Youth Photographer of the Year, selected from the shortlist by Claudia Grimaldi Marks, Senior Manager, New Creator Strategy at Getty Images, will receive a range of Sony digital imaging equipment to nurture their vision.

The overall winners in the Student, Youth, Open and Professional competitions of the Sony World Photography Awards 2025 will be announced on 16 April 2025. For more information about upcoming announcements and winners please visit worldphoto.org.