We are sharing work from our 2024 mentorship cohort! For seven years, we have paired a group of dedicated young photographers from all over the world with industry leaders. In its second year, our cohort received project grants to help finance their work.
This year’s program was made possible thanks to Leica USA and the Leonian Foundation!
JULIANA YAMADA
This project explores the influence and importance of culture regarding end-of-life care. I have spent the past year documenting life at J-Sei Home, a small residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) geared toward Japanese Americans in Hayward, California.
Juliana Yamada is a Japanese-American photojournalist based in Los Angeles, California.
NORKOR NORTEY
Ghana | @norkor.nortey | norkornortey.com
This documentary photography project explores the process, personal stories, and women-led multi-generational practices of some of Ghana’s oldest and most cherished snacks and food items, a few of which are slowly disappearing from our food landscape.
Norkor Nortey (b. 1997) is a Ghanaian documentary photographer deeply curious about how African women navigate, take up space and thrive in today's world.
ANGELA TOZZI
Italy | @angelatozziphotos | angelatozzi.com
The UN estimate 70% of the underwater meadows of Posidonia oceanica to disappear by 2050. At BsRC, a bioscience research center in Tuscany, Italy, a team of female scientists is studying how contaminants, specifically those contained in healthcare products, influence competition between this species and invasive algal species competing for the same territory, analysing a critical, yet under-explored, aspect of biodiversity loss. With their work, these researchers are also challenging the persistent gender gaps in Italy’s scientific community - where fewer than 30% of women hold prominent roles or get properly credited in papers.
Angela Tozzi is a photographer whose documentary work focuses on the environment, helping to facilitate data-driven conversations between scientists and the general public.
NANA AKUA AGYEIBEA ASARE-BOYE
Ghana | @agyeibea_ | agyeibea.com
‘The Not So Ordinary’ is a project on the lives of my queer friends in Accra, Ghana which has transformed into testaments of the Ghanaian Queer Community during an uncertain and unpredictable time. This project embodies the colourful lives of my friends who are searching for love, hope, safety, community, acceptance and most importantly themselves.
Nana Akua Agyeibea Asare-Boye is a visual artist from Accra, Ghana, whose photographic journey began with the Impact Queer Ghana Photography Program. They graduated from the inaugural Photojournalism and Documentary Practice Program at Dikan Centre in December 2023.
IVA SADISH
Ukraine | @iva_sidash | ivasidash.com
Seeing the Unseen shows the Russo-Ukrainian war through the eyes of civilians, offering a perspective often overlooked—not about battles or military strategies, but the everyday lives of those caught in the middle. War is not just about death; it’s also about life—about those who fight to survive and care for each other.
Iva Sidash (b. 1995, Ukraine) is an independent photographer and visual storyteller based in Ukraine.