Announcing the 2025 Inge Morath Award
Somaya Abdelrahman
Magnum Foundation, Magnum Photos, and the Inge Morath Estate are pleased to announce Somaya Abdelrahman as the recipient of this year’s Inge Morath Award. Abdelrahman will receive a $7,500 production grant to support the completion of her project, Tired Souls Seeking Home. This year’s finalist, Mariam Giunashvili, will receive a $1,000 grant in support of her project.
Somaya Abdelrahman is an Egyptian documentary photographer and visual storyteller based in Germany. Her work focuses on themes of exile, identity, and women’s rights. She is an alumna of the Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP), a joint initiative of the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, the Prince Claus Fund, and the Magnum Foundation. She is also a recipient of the Canon x Too Young to Wed Emerging Photographers Fellowship, and a finalist for the Women Photograph Grant.
Somaya Abdelrahman
Abdelrahman’s project is a deeply personal and collective exploration of forced migration, rooted in her own experience. It follows the journey of women who, like her, were forced to flee their homes because of war, persecution, and violence. Through empathetic portraits reflecting moments of waiting, loss, and hope, the project reveals the pain of exile, the search for safety and belonging, and the resilience that comes from their shared experiences.
This project was selected from a pool of 160 applications by the members of Magnum Photos. Given each year to a woman or nonbinary photographer under the age of 30, the award honors the legacy of their colleague, Inge Morath.
Somaya Abdelrahman
Somaya Abdelrahman
“It feels like a recognition not only of my personal journey but also of the many women whose stories I strive to tell—stories often overlooked or silenced,” Abdelrahman shared on receiving the award. “This support gives me the strength and resources to continue this vital work with greater focus and reach.”
This year’s finalist, Mariam Giunashvili, is being recognized for her long-term project Disposable Highs, which explores the lives of Georgia’s post-Soviet generation. Photographed in Tbilisi’s streets, bars, and clubs over the last 10 years, the project oscillates between moments of escape in night life and resistance in protests – ultimately finding collective defiance.
Mariam Giunashvili
Giunashvili is a documentary photographer based in Georgia. Influenced by her academic background in psychology and media studies, her work documents everyday life, and people interacting in different social environments. She is the recipient of grants from the Prince Claus Fund, GCRT, and TPMM. In 2020, she was selected for the Canon Visa Pour L’Image workshop.
Mariam Giunashvili
Mariam Giunashvili
On being named a finalist, Giunashvili shared: “It felt like a strong affirmation of the direction I’ve taken with this project. Receiving the grant encouraged me to keep going and to trust my process. It gave me both the motivation and the support I needed to take my photo series to the next stage.”
Congratulations to these two outstanding photographers. To follow more of their work, visit their websites at instagram.com/somayabdelrahman and mzesu.com.