In this project, a young photographer Hajar Benjida takes a look inside the world of Atlanta Strip Clubs. She focuses on women behind the success of many hit rap songs, those who play a big role in the hip-hop music scene, and brings them to the foreground. The scenes are often approached and captured by men, and she decided to solely capture the women, therefore completely leaving the male perspective out. I was impressed by the directness and immediacy of the portraits as well as the powerful visual language.

Combining analogue photographic processes and collage techniques, Silvia De Giorgi successfully reconstructs the archaeological folds of human and natural traces found in the landscape. Her sensitive and timeless approach reflects the fragile and changing world around us as well as the fragmentation of memory.

In every photograph of Terra Fondriest’s work, I am struck by the intimacy and tenderness of how she captures the lives of people, including her family, in the Ozarks, a rural region in Arkansas, USA. From their daily rituals to rites of passage, Terra’s thoughtfulness and care seeps through her portrayals of both the quiet in-between moments and the harsh realities of life in this remote area. Her exploration into their lives is deeply authentic and compelling.

In considering fashion beyond utility as a primary mode of expression, Matei Focseneanu’s projects elevates photography as a medium from the role as a documentarian to a perforative image exclamation. The photographer and three fashion designers collaborate with people in incarceration to articulate personal identity through garments and gesture. This project shows the generative power of photography towards restoration, and in reconstructing individual identity towards a personal healing and renewal. It is also exemplary in showcasing the potential applications of photography in giving voice to the underrepresented and marginalized populations.

Imagine you are a mother of a black child in America. Every day you fear for his life in today’s brutal, hate-filled society — where men with guns, on the side of the law, might shoot him down or strangle him instead of protecting him.

“Stranger Fruit” is a very emotional series of photographs — each its own story, each part of a broader, sad, nationwide tragedy. It’s a protest, it’s a plea, it’s an expression of outrage and anguish.

The varied settings and details from locations around the USA help us to imagine the horrible potential loss of life and love, hope and joy. Instead, with the loss, we feel a mother’s fear, isolation, and a terrible sense of injustice and confusion.

Felipe Jacome depicts the tragic situation of Venezuela in his series and the complex situation takes on a new meaning under his demanding gaze as he navigates between a visual arts and a photojournalistic approach.By using the country’s banknotes, which have lost all value because of massive devaluations, Felipe sheds light on the refugees who leave the country to survive.

Reclaiming the heteronormative space of his teenage years, Guanyu Xu’s project is personal, urgent, daring and visually appealing. Documenting the one-day transformation of their family home in Beijing to a more “queer friendly” environment, Guanyu’s photographs become surprising and intriguing reflections of the collage that temporarily plastered the walls and windows of the home.

This year, many works approached the subject of sexual and gender identity with great sensitivity and creativity, though one stood out for me: Marvel Harris’s very personal journey from woman to man. The black-and-white photography, justifiably employed in this case, puts the focus the intense personal suffering that leads to someone making such a serious and life-changing decision. This aspect often gets lost in the debate about the ethical and moral issues of gender identity and change, but Marvel manages to inject the discourse with an empathy and honesty that will touch even those without personal experience of this issue.