Women Witness

Women Witness presents a selection of images from the completed documentary projects supported during the first decade of the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award.   Fotodocument founder, Nina Emett and juror, Donna De Cesare will share  insights about the impact of the grant and of the work of photographers:  Rebecca Conway (UK) 2017; Özge Sebzeci (Turkey) 2018, Nicky Quamina-Woo (US) 2020; Isadora Romero (Ecuador) 2021; Natalya Saprunova (Russia) 2022; Ana Maria Arévalo Gosen (Venezuela) 2023; Isabella Franceschini (Italy) 2024; Jodi Windvogel (South Africa) 2025 and Johanna Alarcón (Ecuador) 2026.

About the Speaker:  Nina Emett

Nina Emett is a British social entrepreneur, curator, educator and documentary photographer.  Most recently, she has co-founded (2025) a photography & film hub in the UK city of Brighton & Hove called POST, which focuses on creativity, collaboration and community with its year-round programme of lens-based arts events and workshops.

She is also co-founder (2012) of FotoDocument, a social enterprise harnessing powerful documentary photography narratives to foster active global citizenship for positive impact. Clients include CARE International, City Hall London, BNPParibas, and House of Commons London. She received a ‘People Environment Achievement’ (PEA) Award in 2015 

About the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award

In the final chapter of her life,  American born British photographer Marilyn Stafford approached Nina Emett of Fotodocument about creating a photography award to support women pursuing photographic essays on issues of social concern.  Stafford had pioneered her career in Paris in the 1940s and on Fleet Street in the UK when photojournalism was overwhelmingly a male profession.  While the decades since had brought greater numbers of women and gender non-conforming photographers into the field, the award Stafford envisioned was a modest but essential way to support diversity of viewpoint and opportunity for women in documentary photojournalism at a time when many traditional media budgets were shrinking.  

UT professor and documentary photographer Donna De Cesare was invited by Nina Emett and Marilyn Stafford to join the jury for the initial award in 2017.  The jury process and quality of submissions reinforced their continued commitment to the award as it became established, now receiving submissions from women living and working in many different regions of the world. 

Students will learn from the inspiring projects and photographs of these talented women and will gain important insights into what makes a successful story proposal, what qualities jurors look for in photographic projects and why photographic witness and women's viewpoints remain crucial to understanding the human experience.