Acclaimed documentary photographer Susan Meiselas has been awarded the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Photography title for the Sony World Photography Awards 2025.
Meiselas has been recognized for her impact on documentary photography over the past five decades, and celebrated for her “deeply engaged approach” according to Sony.
Meiselas appear at the awards annual gala ceremony in London on 16 April, and a special presentation of her work will be shown at Somerset House, London, from 17 April - 05 May 2025.
Born in Baltimore, USA, in 1948, Meiselas left Harvard University with an MA in visual education before becoming a teacher. She took photographs in the school summer breaks, and created her first project Carnival Strippers in the summers of 1972 - 1975. She documented the strippers of New England fairs and carnivals. These stunning photographs resulted in a book that incorporated audio interviews with the subjects on a CD.
In the late 1970s Meiselas documented the insurrection in Nicaragua and human rights issues in Latin America, where she took a photo of a man poised to throw a molotov cocktail made from a Pepsi bottle in his right hand, while holding a rifle in his other hand.
The image, called Molotov Man, became a symbol of the Sandinista Revolution.
Meiselas joined Magnum Photos in 1976, and her work has taken her from historic Kurdistan (Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History), to New York S&M clubs (Pandora’s Box), to women in refuges in the Black Country, UK (A Room of Their Own).
The Outstanding Contribution to Photography award honors the voices behind the most groundbreaking photographic work of our time. Meiselas is the 18th recipient and joins the distinguished likes of May Ellen Mark, Martin Parr, Graciela Iturbide, Edward Burtynsky, and Sebastião Salgado.
Commenting on the occasion, Meiselas said:
“I am honoured to receive this Award for my contribution to the ever-expanding world of photography. Over the past 50 years, I have had the privilege of witnessing history being made, sharing the often unseen lives of those engaged in its making. The work on display invites reflection not only on the photographs themselves but also on the relationships that shaped and inspired them.”
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