Changing lenses: How the Istanbul Photo Awards is shaping a new vision for photojournalism

By Merve Berker

In Istanbul, a bustling city straddling two continents, a global photography competition is helping redefine how we see the world in the news.

Moments both mundane and extraordinary are submitted every year to the annual Istanbul Photo Awards, which, according an award-winning photojournalist, reflects a changing narrative in the discipline, moving away from the homogenous perspectives of the 20th century dominated by “white, Western, upper-middle-class men.”

Spanning categories such as news, sports, nature and environment, portrait, and daily life, the competition includes both single and story entries. This year’s 10th annual edition of the event drew an array of over 20,000 submissions from around the world, with 32 photographers receiving awards in 10 categories.

One of them was Anna Surinyach, who won first prize in the Story Portrait category this year with her entry “Sea of Mourning,” showcasing haunting snapshots of some of the victims of the Mediterranean migration route to Europe beneath the waves.

In an interview with Anadolu for World Photography Day, Surinyach, 39, emphasized the increased visibility that winning in a contest like the Istanbul Photo Awards gives a story.

“Since 2012 I have photographed people who are forced to leave their homes for multiple reasons associated with violence and many of them die or disappear in the attempt, especially at sea,” she pointed out, criticizing the fact that their deaths “are too often ignored by the mainstream media.”

- Shifting perceptions

As a photojournalist, Surinyach feels compelled to keep telling their stories in innovative ways.

For her, one of the main objectives of photography is “to raise questions and to show to the general public stories in a way that maybe they have never seen before.”

Praising the Istanbul Photo Awards contest, which Anadolu organizes, she said it was “important that competitions like this help define the world in the most honest way possible.”

“During the 20th century, most of the views of the world that we received as a society through competitions were homogenous, generally those of white, Western, upper-middle class men,” she explained.

“Fortunately, this is changing in recent years and the winners of the Istanbul Photo Awards are proof of this … Only with a variety of views can we understand the complex world we live in.”

On Sea of Mourning, Surinyach said the hardest part of the project was dealing with the uncertainty relatives feel while looking for their missing relatives who attempted to make the treacherous journey overseas for a life free of violence and poverty.

Recalling her experience related to one of the subjects, she said:

“When we met Maymouna’s mother in Senegal, who disappeared in September 2022 on a boat heading to the Canary Islands, she thought that her daughter was in a prison on one of the islands.”

However, Maymouna’s name was never found in any official records, she lamented. “Neither hers, nor those of the 57 people who were travelling on that boat.”

Surinyach expressed the heartbreak of seeing a mother with no information about her beloved daughter and no institution to approach for answers for two months.

“She did not know where to start looking,” she said.

- 2024 Istanbul Photo Awards

The Istanbul Photo Awards exhibition showcases a powerful array of images capturing significant global events from the past year. The collection includes poignant photographs documenting Israel’s ongoing attacks in Palestinian territories and the aftermath of devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye, dubbed the “disaster of the century.”

Besides Surinyach’s work on plight of migrants in Spanish waters, visitors also find images exploring the complexities of Mexican cartels, the stark realities of Afghan refugee camps, and the environmental impact of plastic use in Nigeria. Elephants navigating Sri Lankan landfills, world swimming championships in Japan, and the prestigious Wimbledon tennis tournament are also featured in the collection, as well as sobering depictions of discrimination in India.

This year’s communication sponsor was Turkish GSM operator Turkcell, while Sony was the competition’s award sponsor. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) was the sponsor for its overseas events and Turkish Airlines served as airline sponsor.