ABOUT WOMEN STREET PHOTOGRAPHERS
Founded in 2017 by award-winning photographer Gulnara Lyabib Samoilova, Women Street Photographers (WSP) is an online and in-person community providing support and amplifying the work of women artists from all races, ethnicities, creeds, generations, abilities, and sexual and gender identities around the world today.
Designed to expand commonly held notions of street photography by adopting an inclusive, expansive, non-traditional approach, WSP provides platforms to showcase the work of amateur and professional photographers alike, including an Instagram feed @WomenStreetPhotographers, website, traveling exhibitions, artist residency, inspirational film series, and photography book, Women Street Photographers (Prestel, 2021).
With over 45 years combined experience as a documentary and street photographer, artist, darkroom printer, photojournalist, and photo editor for the Associated Press, Gulnara uses her experience and expertise to create visibility for women street photographers and empower them to follow their passion.
CURRENT AND PAST COLLABORATORS:
Nina Welch-Kling @ninakling , street photographer ( Advisor, Artist Residency mentor, WSP festival co-organizer)
Charlotte Stone @seastonestreet , street photographer ( website, social media)
Tracey Woods @traceysees , Director of photography at @theluupe ( Guest Juror)
Aline Smithson @alinesmithson , Founder and Editor-in-Chief of @lenscratch ( Guest Juror)
Laura Noble @lauraannnoble , Founder and Director of @lanoblegallery ( Guest Juror)
Whitney Hollington Matewe (@whitneyhollingtonmatewe ) photo editor at TIME Magazine @time ( Guest Juror)
Debra Klomp Ching @debraklompching , co-owner and director of Klompching gallery ( Guest Juror)
Sonia Goydenko @soniagoydenko , street photographer ( book reviews, mentor)
Polly Irungu @pollyirungu , founder of Black Women Photographers ( Guest Juror)
Ximena Echague @ximena_echague , documentary and street photographer ( curator, juror and mentor)
WOMEN STREET PHOTOGRAPHERS FOUNDER AND CURATOR
Gulnara Lyabib Samoilova is a Tatar born American photographer with over 45 years of experience in documentary, street, and fine art photography. She graduated from the International Center of Photography in 1994 and worked as a staff photo editor and photojournalist at the Associated Press.
Throughout her career, Gulnara has received numerous awards for her work, including a first prize from World Press Photo. Her photographs are held in the collections of the Museum of the City of New York, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the New York Historical Society.
She is the founder of Women Street Photographers, a global online and in person community, an artist residency, and an annual festival in New York City. She is the author of the best selling book Women Street Photographers (Prestel, 2021) and a portfolio book published by Peanut Press in 2023. Gulnara has organized and curated more than 30 exhibitions across four continents, including the annual Women Street Photographers Festival in New York City.
The festival, sponsored by Leica Camera, features group and solo exhibitions, grants, talks, panel discussions, and photo walks. In addition to her curatorial work, Gulnara is an inspirational speaker, guest judge for LensCulture, the Lucie Photo Book Prize, and UNESCO, a portfolio reviewer for Les Rencontres d’Arles and PhotoNOLA, and a Leica Oskar Barnack Award nominator.
Website www.gulnara.com