The Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture
There are presently no open calls for submissions.
View the 2022 Winner, Finalists & Honorable Mentions.
The Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture
A $20,000 prize awarded annually to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photographic portraiture.
In addition to the winner, the jury selects three finalists each year who are invited to participate in an exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography.
The Prize is generously funded by the Arnold & Augusta Newman Foundation and proudly administered by Maine Media Workshops + College. The Griffin Museum of Photography hosts the annual exhibition of work by the winner and three finalists each October.
The 2022 Call for Entry has closed. Thank you to all that submitted their work. View the 2022 Winner, Finalists & Honorable Mentions.
Learn more about The Arnold & Augusta Newman Foundation and also see past winners' and finalists' work.
The contest is open to all photographers age 18+ internationally, except where laws prohibit it.
Fee:
There is a $55 fee per submission (up to 12 images). Photographers who cannot afford the submission fee may be eligible for a fee waiver - email contest@mainemedia.edu to inquire about eligibility.
Please read the full Terms & Conditions & Submission Guidelines.
The 2022 Jurors:
Adriana Letorney
Adriana Letorney is the Founder & CEO of Visura.co, a startup that is re-envisioning the future of work and marketplace for visual content in media and journalism.
She is also Co-founder at Scout Film Festival, a 501c3 non-profit organization that celebrates, connects, and empowers filmmakers worldwide aged 24 and under.
Currently, she is an NYU Female Founder Fellow and Founder in Residence at the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute’s Leslie eLab.
As a writer, she has contributed to numerous publications, including The New York Times, and Huffington Post. As a juror, nominator, and/or reviewer, she has served for the Alexia Grant at the University of Syracuse, World Press Photo, Prix Pictet, CPOY, The New York Portfolio Review (2011-present), Northern Course Short, New York Photo Awards, The Google Photography Prize, Photoville’s ‘The Fence’, amongst many others.
Adriana has been a panelist and guest lecturer at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Missouri School of Journalism, The S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Photo Plus Expo, The School of Visual Arts, and The New School in NY.
Numerous publications have highlighted her career, including The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, PDN, NY Daily News, The Daring Magazine, SevenDays, amongst others.
Ellen K. Willas
Ellen K. Willas (Born in Hammerfest, Norway 1967) is a Norwegian curator and art dealer based in Stockholm. Ellen K has served as juror on photo competitions such as LensCulture, Fotografi Portfolio Award, Gullsnitt and The Photographers Giving Back Award. She acted as artistic director of Risør Fotofestival in Norway. Between 2012 – 2021, Willas curated museum exhibitions in collaboration with Fotografiska in Stockholm and Tallinn for artists such as Roger Ballen, Sally Mann, Joyce Tenneson and Arno Rafael Minkkinen.
She founded WILLAS contemporary in Oslo in 2015. The Gallery was rated top 3 among Norwegian galleries and museums and presents museum-like solo exhibitions with artists mentioned above + Jeff Cowen, Jimmy Nelson, Helene Schmitz and Nick Brandt to name a few. WILLAS contemporary later transformed into showrooms in Oslo and Stockholm, and now participates in art fairs and pop-up exhibitions.
During the pandemic, Willas initiated and facilitated the benefit auction 20 21 Artists in Support of Human Rights Watch in 2021 : 41 works from established and emerging artists commenting on the current state of the world were auctioned on ARTSY. A truly global, diverse group of artists deployed a variety of mediums, including photography, textile, sculpture, and more.
Rashod Taylor
Rashod Taylor (b.1985) is a contemporary photographer whose work is a window into the Black American experience. Taylor attended Murray State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in Art with a specialization in Fine Art Photography. Most recently his work was acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts Houston for his series Little Black Boy. He is also the 2021 recipient of the Arnold Newman Prize For New Directions in Photographic Portraiture. Taylor is working on a series, Little Black Boy. He documents his son’s life and his own anxieties of fatherhood in the face of a society confronting enduring prejudice, injustice, and racism. In this ongoing longform project, Taylor addresses themes of family, race, culture and legacy through portraiture.
Large and medium format process favored by the Artist is a contentious nod to the gravity of content and intention of frame. This format also disarms subjects by slowing time and heightens tension by raising intimacy.
Taylor’s editorial clients include National Geographic, Essence Magazine, ProPublica, Buzzfeed News, among others. His work has also been featured in CNN, The Atlantic, FeatureShoot and Lenscratch.
Rashod Taylor lives in Springfield MO, with his wife and son. Rashod was the winner of the 2021 Arnold Newman Prize.