Jurors
Gwen Lee
Gwen Lee is the co-founder and director of DECK Photography Art Centre and Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF). In 2010, Lee received an arts award from the Japan Chamber of Commerce & Trade for her contribution to the Singapore arts community. In 2013, she embarked on curatorial research in Germany supported by Goethe-Institut Singapore and National Arts Council. In 2022, Lee is a Recipient of Chevalier, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres conferred by Ministry of Culture, France.
Smita Sharma
Smita Sharma is a Delhi-based photojournalist and visual storyteller who has documented gender violence, social justice and environmental issues in the Global South through long-form visual narratives. She is a TED fellow, TED speaker, and an IWMF reporting fellow. Her work has been published in The Nature Conservancy, National Geographic Magazine, WSJ, TIME, Human Rights Watch, Die Zeit amongst many others and exhibited globally including at the UN Headquarters in New York. Smita is actively engaged in international public education and serves as a jury member to grants and awards worldwide. Her book We Cry In Silence documenting cross-border trafficking of underage girls in South Asia received the Award of Excellence at 2022 POY International and the 2023 Lucie Photo Book Prize.
Michael Weir
Michael Weir, is an interdisciplinary curator, creative producer and activist based in Belfast and Bristol. He is director of the Belfast Photo Festival which he founded in 2009 where he has curated numerous exhibitions of contemporary art with a primary focus on photography, having had the pleasure of curating exhibitions for such artists as Ai Wei Wei, Vivianne Sassen, Zanele Muholi and Richard Mosse.
Alessia Glaviano
Alessia Glaviano, the Head of Global PhotoVogue and Director of the PhotoVogue Festival, is a prominent figure in international photographic criticism. In 2011, Glaviano launched PhotoVogue, an innovative platform where users can share their photographs under the curatorial supervision of professional photo editors. Now in its 13th year, with over 350,000 photographers ranging from amateurs to professionals worldwide, PhotoVogue relaunched in early 2022. This relaunch marked its global expansion and a shift to include media in all forms.
Brendan McCleary
Brendan McCleary a Curator at Photo Australia, Melbourne, recently presenting PHOTO 2024 International Festival of Photography, featuring artists including Nan Goldin, Ryan McGinley, Mous Lamrabat, and filip custic. In 2024, Brendan was the lead curator for Queer PHOTO, a celebration of Australian and international queer artists transforming streets and galleries with projects focused towards understandings of queer futures, featuring artists such as Sunil Gupta, Clifford Prince King, Salote Tawale, Jake Elwes, and Lilah Benetti.
Umah Jacob
Umah Jacob is the Director of External Relations & Outreach at India Art Fair, where she maintains responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the fair’s renowned Collectors’ and Outreach Programmes, building links with art institutions, museum groups, and individual collectors, both in India and internationally. Umah conceived the fair’s hugely successful Young Collectors Programme, encouraging the next generation of artists and patrons in the region to engage with each other and grow this burgeoning community.
Julie Héraut
Julie Héraut is head of exhibitions and research at BAL in Paris, an independent exhibition, publishing and educational space dedicated to the contemporary image (photography, video, cinema). After studying history of photography, she began her career in 2010 with the Magnum Photos agency in Paris. From 2011 to 2016, she was in charge of exhibition production at the Rencontres d'Arles festival. In 2017, she joined LE BAL team, where she has curated a number of exhibitions, including Magnum Analog Recovery, En Suspens, Joanna Piotrowska and À partir d'elle.
Varun Gupta
Varun Gupta is a photographer for the last two decades, a serial entrepreneur and a lover of analogue and alternative photography practices who co-founded the Chennai Photo Biennale and the CPB Foundation, a non-profit organization that is focused on growing the photography community in India and South Asia. Varun serves as a collaborator and advisor to Photo Australia in Melbourne, and the Belfast Photo Festival in the UK and works closely with arts organisations across India. When not at his desk, he can be found in his darkroom experimenting with chemical processes and printmaking.
Joseph Radhik
Joseph Radhik makes photographs of love, people, and people in love. Over the past two decades, he's made a dent in the photography world with his images of the most iconic weddings across the world. He often says "you may not know me, but you would've seen my photos". From Virat Kohli to Gigi Hadid, Priyanka Chopra to Rihanna, Viv Richards to Chris Martin, Katrina Kaif to KL Rahul, Joe has captured both candid, real moments to stunning portraits of their biggest days. His photos have been featured in international editions of Vogue, Elle, and even on Netflix and the Jimmy Fallon show.