Winners and finalists have been announced.
The Lucie Foundation is proud to support professional and emerging talent with vision and dynamic ideas that challenge and progress the art form of still photography into work that compels. Our support of photography is broad, from Fine Art to Documentary and Photojournalism, to digital and film-based works. Our concern is to support photographers producing work that is at once gripping, and original.
The Lucie Foundation is pleased to offer four cash grants and a variety of prizes to support the work of emerging and established photographers.
Winners will be part of a group exhibition on November 22nd in Los Angeles at the REEF, more information coming soon.
This exhibition will then travel to the House of Lucie Galleries worldwide including Athens, Budapest, Ostuni, and Samui.
The Lucie Foundation is proud to present to you the winners and finalists of the Lucie Scholarship and Lucie Photo Book Prize. These two annual programs are juried competitions open to photographers internationally and judged by the top curators, editors, and photography experts in the field. Not only do these programs help to support the Lucie Foundation and the non-profit work that it does, but it helps to support the professional and emerging artists in need of funding and exposure.
The Lucie Photo Book Prize is open to a diversity of photography books created in the last two years – from published to prototype to hand-made books. The Traditional Prize will be awarded to a photographer, editor, curator or publisher whose book is commercially produced and distributed. The Independent Prize will be awarded to a photographer, editor, curator or publisher whose book is published and distributed independently. The top two finalists will receive a cash prize for their outstanding work – Zed Nelson for the Traditional $3,000 cash prize and Raymond Thompson Jr for the Independent $2,000 cash prize.
The Lucie Scholarship Program seeks professional and emerging talent with vision and dynamic ideas that challenge and progress the art form of still photography into work that compels. From Fine Art to Documentary and Photojournalism, to digital and film-based works, the focus is to support photographers producing work that is both gripping and original. The Lucie Foundation is proud to offer four cash grants and a variety of prizes to the winners of each sub category: Cristina Velásquez for Fine Art Professional, Jatin Gulati for Fine Art Emerging, Svet Jacqueline for Photojournalism/Documentary Professional, and Lisandra Álvarez for Photojournalism/Documentary emerging.
The Lucie Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization whose three-tiered mission is to honor master photographers, discover and cultivate emerging talent, and promote the appreciation of photography worldwide. Lucie Foundation presents a variety of programs throughout the year, including its signature program, The Lucie Awards. We wanted to thank the sponsors that have made these programs and this exhibition possible including Sony, the REEF and Picto NYC.
RSVP is mandatory for attendance. Please RSVP at the link below:
RSVP Here
2025 WINNERS
FINE ART - PROFESSIONAL
2025 LUCIE FOUNDATION
$3000 FINE ART SCHOLARSHIP
$3,000 cash prize + PICTO NYC: $500 voucher for services
WINNING RECIPIENT
PROJECT STATEMENT
Somos animales poéticos is a photobook that brings together my work from the last ten years, developed with the editorial guidance of Justine Kurland. The project is an exercise in disidentification: a space to inhabit subjectivity without reducing it to external categories that seek to fix it. Photography here becomes a medium to explore who we are, examining its uses, contradictions, and limits, as well as its capacity to capture both immediate experience and the systemic forces that shape us. My practice moves across photographic genres and incorporates weaving, collage, and literature. Rather than separating reality and fiction, it intertwines them, opening a space for speculation and desire, oscillating between the political and the fantastic. The book is built from three main sources: direct photographs made over the last decade; personal archives, including family albums, documents, textiles, and childhood zoological illustrations; and historical archives, such as colonial travelers’ drawings of South America. The layering of these materials generates a dynamic space where memory, history, and identity intersect.
Website: www.cristinavelasquez.com
HONORABLE MENTION
FINALISTS
FINE ART - EMERGING
2025 LUCIE FOUNDATION
$1000 FINE ART SCHOLARSHIP
$1,000 cash prize + PICTO NYC: $500 voucher for services
WINNING RECIPIENT
PROJECT STATEMENT
“Effigy of Man (2023–ongoing) explores patriarchal authority, migration, and intergenerational memory through the figure of my late grandfather. A strict and orthodox man, his persona was shaped by the Partition of 1947, when he was displaced from Multan to Haryana. Growing up in a joint family, I witnessed his authority ripple across generations. Today, living alone, I find his image resurfacing in my own life—through family pressures, societal ideals of masculinity, and the haunting persistence of displacement.
My project seeks to dismantle and rework his image through staged portraiture, collage, and archival material. Using the studio as both a performative stage and a domestic interior, I embody fragments of his photographed body while reconfiguring familial and historical images. This dialogue opens space for vulnerability and alternative masculinities, situating the work within a feminist framework.”
Instagram: @jatin_gulatii
HONORABLE MENTION
FINALISTS
PHOTOJOURNALISM / DOCUMENTARY - PROFESSIONAL
2025 LUCIE FOUNDATION
$3000 FINE ART SCHOLARSHIP
$3,000 cash prize + PICTO NYC: $500 voucher for services
WINNING RECIPIENT
PROJECT STATEMENT
When I first arrived in Ukraine at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, it was completely foreign to me. Living here for the past three and a half years has allowed for a deeper perspective, an integration of everyday moments that provide relief from the never-ending tragedy. As a Russian orphan at the collapse of the Soviet Union, adopted into a Ukrainian-descended American family, the history of Russia and Ukraine has always been a personal story. The message now feels more abstract than just what war looks like- it is what surviving a war feels like. This project will be completed by February 2026, the five-year mark of the full-scale invasion.
Website: www.svetjacqueline.com
HONORABLE MENTION
FINALISTS
PHOTOJOURNALISM / DOCUMENTARY - EMERGING
2025 LUCIE FOUNDATION
$1000 FINE ART SCHOLARSHIP
$1,000 cash prize + Sony: A7M4 camera with a FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Full-frame Standard Zoom G Master lens + PICTO NYC: $500 voucher for services
WINNING RECIPIENT
PROJECT STATEMENT
“The project began in June 2025 and will have a closing date in December 2025. This project aims to create a visual record of a new phenomenon occurring in Havana after many years of prohibition: swimming along the shores of the Havana Malecón. Above all, this is a tribute to all those who sit on this seawall to dream, who bathe in those waters as if freeing themselves from their sorrows. For most Havanans, this is also a symbolic activity deeply rooted in our cultural heritage.
My approach to the project will focus on documenting this cultural phenomenon through 35mm and 120mm film photography, preserving the spontaneity of the bathers and the Malecón’s deep emotional resonance for Havana’s residents. The scholarship funds will support the production of a final exhibition to share this work with the community, as well as a workshop for young photographers interested in analog techniques.”
Instagram: @_rizandra_
HONORABLE MENTION
FINALISTS
MEET THE JURY
Julia De Bierre
Author, Exhibition Curator, and Founder of Galerie Huit Arles
Julia de Bierre is an author and exhibition curator, active between France and Southeast Asia. In 2007,she founded Galerie Huit Arles, a place of inspiration and creativity benefiting from an exceptional setting in the historic centre of Arles. Focused on photography, her exhibitions and installations are independent creations or presented in partnership with, notably, the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Factum Arte, Madrid, The British Journal of Photography and Photo Doc Paris.
More than just a classic art space, the gallery also hosts artist residencies, thematic workshops, and other events to showcase both established and emerging artists.
A member of Gallery Climate Coalition, Julia analyzes the carbon footprint after each exhibition, minimizing transportation and packaging, recycling frames, and producing as much as possible locally. If she participates in fairs or exhibitions outside of Arles – such as The Salon of Documentary Photography in Paris – she exhibits only works that can be carried on public transport.
Crista Dix
Executive Director, Griffin Museum of Photography
Crista Dix is the Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography, assuming that role after two years as the museum’s Associate Director. The Griffin Museum of Photography produces approximately twenty five exhibitions annually in its Winchester and satellite galleries across New England. The museum’s mission and strategic focus looks toward the future of contemporary works and projects revolving around photography. Our exhibition programs aim to bring photography off the walls supporting experiential and immersive projects. In 2024 the museum created new residency programs, scholarships and public art projects as part of the mission to enhance our connection to photography and outreach to our artists, patrons and public.
Before coming to the Griffin Museum in 2020 she spent fifteen years operating her own photography gallery, wall space creative, closing it in 2020 to make the move to New England and the Griffin. Having a career spanning many paths she has a background rooted in science, business and creative art. This well rounded experience provides a solid background for supporting the Griffin’s mission to encourage a broader understanding and appreciation of the visual, emotional and social impact of photographic art.
Her gallery, wall space, supported emerging and mid-career artists with exhibitions, talks, events and art fairs around the country. As an internationally known gallery, Crista worked with clients all over the world and represented national and international artists. In addition to wall space’s special event and exhibition schedule, it hosted a series of artist lectures, studio and community events.
Ms. Dix, wall space and the artists who were part of its success believed in giving back, creating a charitable giving program called Life Support. In ten years Life Support worked with over 400 artists, donating over $80,000 to charitable foundations Doctors Without Borders, Direct Relief and Habitat for Humanity.
In addition to curating exhibitions and mentoring photographers, she has written essays about photography, been a member of panels and discussions on the craft, juried creative competitions, and has participated in major portfolio reviews across the country.
Kris Graves
Director, KGP MONOLITH
Kris Graves (b. 1982 New York, NY) is an artist and publisher based in New York and California. Graves creates artwork that deals with societal problems and aims to use art as a means to inform people about cultural issues. Using a mix of conceptual and documentary practices, Graves photographs the subtleties of societal power and its impact on the built environment. He explores how capitalism and power have shaped countries — and how that can be seen and experienced in everyday life. Graves also works to elevate the representation of people of color in the fine art canon; and to create opportunities for conversation about race, representation, and urban life.
Alex Pollack
Director of Photography, National Geographic
Alex Pollack is a visual director and creative producer with two decades of experience shaping photo-driven content across editorial, digital, and brand platforms. Her work focuses on telling stories through thoughtful, impactful visuals, and she brings a collaborative approach to every project.
She was most recently Group Photo Director at Bustle Digital Group, overseeing photography across seven brands, including Bustle and Nylon. Before that, Alex spent time at Apple, contributed as Visual Director at Goop, and led the visuals team at Bon Appétit, where she helped guide a refresh of the brand’s visual identity. Earlier in her career, she was a photo editor at New York Magazine, where she worked on a wide range of stories, from politics to culture.
Throughout her career, Alex has remained focused on producing meaningful, engaging visual work that supports strong storytelling—across formats, teams, and genres.
RULES & REQUIREMENTS
WHO CAN APPLY:
The Lucie Scholarships are open to professional and emerging photographers 18 years and older, worldwide. We define “professional” as any photographer who earns the majority of their income from photography. We define “emerging” as any photographer enrolled as a student, in the first five years of their photography career, or does not earn the majority of their income from photography.
WHAT IS REQUIRED TO APPLY:
Please read the following information carefully to make sure your application material is complete.
Incomplete applications will not be considered:
- Project Proposal (1,500 characters max). This proposal should include the following:
- Project Start and End Dates
- Description of your project
- Your Plan for completing the project (i.e. how you intend to approach the project and how you intend to use the scholarship money)
- Five Goals that you plan to accomplish while working on the project (e.g. producing 20 new images, making 5 prints, etc.)
- A one-page biography and/or CV
- Twenty digital images
USE & OWNERSHIP:
The photographer must be the sole author and owner of the copyright of photos entered in to the competition. Copyright and all other rights remain that of the photographer. Any photograph used by Lucie Foundation shall carry the photographer’s credit line.
FAQ
Is there a limit to the number of scholarship applications per artist?
No, you may submit as many applications as you would like.
Can I submit the same project to the two different scholarships?
Yes, you may submit the same project to the two different scholarship categories if you feel the work would lend itself to either category.
Is there a submission fee?
Yes, the submission fee’s are:
• Professional category, $25 /submission
• Emerging category, $15 / submission
What images should I submit?
Please upload 20 digital images from the existing project that you are proposing to continue.
If you have not yet started your proposed project, upload 20 digital images from a previous cohesive project and make a note of this in your proposal.
If you have some finished images but not a full 20, please supplement with images from a previous cohesive project and make a note of this in your proposal.
How should I prepare my files?
Please prepare your files according to the specifications below. JPG only. (NO TIF, GIF, PNG, PDF files will be accepted.)
72 DPI No file should exceed 4mb
Can I send print materials, books or CD’s?
No, Lucie Foundation accepts online submissions only.
When will the shortlist and recipients be announced?
Finalists and Winners will be announced in October 2025, exact date TBD.
Can multiple photographers submit a project together?
If you both are actively photographing the project submitted together, yes you can. Prize earnings and prizes will be split between you both. Please put one name in first name section, and one name in last name section when submitting, and make note of it being a multi photographer project in the proposal.
How will I know if I was selected?
If you were selected for the shortlist or as a recipient, you will be contacted directly through the email which you provided in the submission form. The shortlist and recipients will also be announced via the Lucie Foundation newsletter, website, and social media.
Can I use the Picto NY voucher internationally?
Yes you can! However, it is only valid at the New York lab location and shipping of products is not included.
Thank you to our Sponsors
For more than 40 years Sony has created numerous products and technologies that have helped make consumers’ lives easier, more enjoyable and more productive. At the same time, the company has earned a solid reputation for quality, reliability, innovation and stylish design. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Sony is a leading provider of electronics, digital imaging and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets and is committed to developing new technologies that reflect the networked convergence of audio, video, imaging and information technology.
FOR STUDENTS & FACULTY
You are the future and we have a few ways that we are supporting.
Exclusive Pricing: Student and faculty discounts through our Sony EDU Authorized Resellers
Join the #SONYEDU community at www.sony.com/edu
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Available to college/university studentsin the U.S.
Picto was founded in Paris in 1950 by Pierre Gassmann, a photography pioneer. Over time, Picto has evolved into a prominent collaborator with some of the world’s most renowned photographers, galleries, museums, and prestigious fashion, luxury, and beauty brands.
In 2015, Picto New York was established as part of its global expansion. Picto New York caters to the requirements of professional photographers and visual artists, ranging from studio services to image retouching, printing, and framing, as well as providing image production, prepress, and traffic services to global luxury brands.
The REEF is an 860,000 sf complete creative habitat tailored to meet the needs of the innovators, professionals, entrepreneurs, and diverse creators that make Los Angeles the creative capital of the world.
We proudly support and encourage a lively community of experienced professionals, wholesalers, makers in fashion, technology, media, design and the arts, and trade show producers small and large to collaborate and flourish in our spaces. At THE REEF, collaboration, education, mentorship, and experimentation are at the heart of the community, creating a space where creators, innovators, and professionals can be inspired, connect and succeed.
