Happy Women’s History Month! Every March, we celebrate the contributions of history-making women to our society. 

While it’s important to celebrate everyday, having a month is a good way to remind ourselves and not take for granted the accomplishments of women throughout the years to our culture and society. From science to politics, business, and art, it’s a chance to reflect on the trailblazing women who lead the way for change.⁠

Anat Shushan

“My name is Anat Shushan. I’m a 48 experienced street photographer from Haifa, Israel. I started my exciting journey in the photography world at the age of  16, when I chose to study photography at an Art High School. There I was exposed to the magical world of dark rooms, self-developing negatives and images and the magic that the eye, camera and chemistry creates. During my army service I served as a photographer and a photography instructor which allowed to expand my love to this amazing art.

Over the years I’ve experimented with all types of photography, until a few years ago I found my home- street photography. For me, street photography is all about people. In my photos I try to tell human stories which are also my stories, my world. Pieces of life, of seconds, of us. I become a storyteller.

I’ve had my work published in magazines, exhibitions all over the world and on January 2020 I was honored to be a judge at the PCI exhibition in Kolkata, India. All these experiences have been very interesting and help keep me learning and growing as a photographer and person.” @anat_shushan

Ariane Lopez-Huici

Ariane Lopez-Huici is a photographer living between New York and Paris. Her work has been successfully presented internationally in institutions – Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Spain, Musee de Grenoble, France, PS1-Moma, USA, French Institute New York, USA, among many others – as well as galleries – AC Project room, NY, Galerie Franck, Paris -.

Her work is focused on the human body, constantly transgressing conventional canons of beauty. To accentuate the shadowy areas of the human adventure, she uses black and white photography marked with a pronounced grain and deep blacks. 

“Since my first one-person show in 1977, my greatest passion has been the human body. Every model is a discovery, an encounter that may last for years. With the establishment of mutual confidence, privileged moments give birth to an experience of the unknown that illuminates every successful shot. 

I work in a relatively simple manner. I use a 35mm camera that allows me the flexibility to leave the model uninhibited while nevertheless concentrating on her or his particularity and humanity. Black and white photography helps me focus on the essential. A pronounced grain and deep blacks accentuate the shadowy areas of the human adventure. Obscurity as such intrigues, stimulates, and fascinates me. 

I’m often asked why I choose the type of model I do. Why these? My body type is small and slender, whereas Aviva, Dalila, and Holly are Rubenesque. For me, at least, there’s a large element of the unknown in the act of creating. If I really knew the answer, I wouldn’t photograph them. My choice of models depends on a variety of circumstances: how we meet, our desires, possibilities that attract and intrigue, the transgression of normative boundaries, the confidence one creates in order to persuade someone to pose. What I photograph is the irreducible mystery of my models. 

These models are heroes of our time. Through their talent, their strength and courage, they enlarge the boundaries of our emotional and visual world. Their beauty emerges from the poetry of their imperfections. They take part in the trance, in the ritual of bodies in weightlessness. Life itself.” @arianelopezhuici

Carla DLM

Carla DLM @carla_dlm is a New York based fine art photographer whose work has been published and recognized internationally. As we descend deeper into the psyche of Carla DLM, we find that her series of the urban cityscape reflects a deep understanding of the pulse/vibrations of New York City life. Alongside her passion as a professional photographer, Carla is an electronic engineer, and website developer. She uses her interdisciplinary skills as the foundation of her unique style of art; combining surrealism, abstraction, and motion to present reality through a whole new lens. 

Her series is a frenetic release detailing the exchange between the photographer and her habitat’s cacophonous workings. Long exposures blur the ephemeral traces of human life amidst the stoic, urban terrain. Like a phoenix from the ashes, Carla rises and soars to embody the challenge set by the philosopher, Theodor Adorno: “the task of art today is to bring chaos into order.”

Claire Thomas

Claire Thomas @claire_thomas_photography is a photojournalist and fine art photographer from Wales, UK, currently based between London and New York.

A graduate in Politics from the University of the West of England, her photojournalism work is focused on issues surrounding political and military conflicts, human rights, and humanitarian and environmental crises. From within the camps that emerged from the refugee crisis in Europe to the frontlines in the battle against ISIS in Iraq, Claire has covered a range of stories in various countries, contributing images and photo essays to leading newspapers, magazines and news agencies worldwide.

From fine art to editorial, Claire’s approach to photography is rooted in her passion for storytelling, seeking to reflect the realities of life in a compelling, engaging and artistic way. In pursuit of powerful and honest imagery, her work seeks to convey a concept or emotion that goes beyond the image itself, providing a deeper insight into the stories and a connection with the subjects.

She is trained in battlefield first aid and surviving hostile environments and is available for assignments worldwide.

Dee Williams

Dee Williams @hideexdee is a Jamaican-American fashion photographer and social media manager living in New York City. Her passion for digital storytelling and using art to highlight people and stories from the African Diaspora is apparent in her work. Using fashion as the backdrop for social commentary has caught the eye of both the Instagram generation and the high-brow photography purist- with spotlights in publications from Nylon and Wired to Lens Culture. She is working to change the way Black men and women see themselves in fashion and within day to day life through unique points of view and expert knowledge of the social landscape. 

“I am naturally creative and a digital native who continues to change the narrative for people of color through my stunning artistic creations.”

Gaia Squarci

Gaia Squarci @gaiasquarci , 1988, is a photographer and videographer who divides her time between Milan and New York, where she teaches Digital Storytelling at ICP (International Center of Photography). She is a contributor of Prospekt agency, IWMF fellow and National Geographic grantee. With a background in Art History and Photojournalism, she leans toward a personal approach that moves away from the descriptive narrative tradition in documentary photography and video. Her work is focused on themes linked to the relationship between human beings and the environment, disability, aging and family relationships. POYi awarded her cinematography and photography work respectively in 2014 and 2017. She was among the 30 under 30 Women Photographers selected by Photo Boite for 2018 and her installation Broken Screen has been selected for the exhibition reGeneration3 at Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne in 2015. Clients include the New York Times, the New Yorker, Time Magazine, Vogue, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Bloomberg News, VICE.us, The Guardian, Newsweek, De Spiegel, Internazionale, Io Donna, Il Corriere della Sera, D di Repubblica, Marie Claire Italia, among others. Her work has been exhibited in the United States, Italy, France, Switzerland, UK, Mexico, Taiwan and China.

Juliette Charvet

Juliette Charvet @juliettecharvet is a French fine art photographer. Her work focuses on the concept of frontier, with 3 major aspects, the frontier as a borderline and a limit between different spaces, the frontier as a quest for new territories in travel photography, and what is beyond the frontier, the human presence within the natural elements, with a specific emphasis on textures and materials. Juliette Charvet studied journalism in Paris and spent over a year in Vietnam and Lebanon, where she perfected her skills as a photographer at the news agency AFP’s photo service in Beirut. Later, she moved to New York where she attended the International Center of Photography. After 15 years living in New York, she is currently based in the South of France with her husband and four children and she travels the world with her camera. Her work has been exhibited in the US and in France.

Kate Owen

Kate Owen @thekateowen seeks out moments of unexpected joy in the pictures she makes. Nothing beats a great pop of color, a sharp line, and if it’s a two-for-one, then even better. Her work often reveals a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and she hopes you can join her in the fun with a sly smile.

Martha Holmes

Martha Holmes @monroegallery began working as a photographer in her home town of Louisville, Kentucky.  Hired by Life in 1944 when she was 20, Ms. Holmes was one of five women who were photographers at the magazine during its glory decades as the nation’s most popular publisher of photography. She would work for Life for over 40 years. In addition to assignments for Time-LIFE publications, she has worked for People, Redbook, Coronet, and Colliers magazines. Her pictures of the Actor’s Studio, Intar Theater, American Place Theater, and other companies have been published world-wide. Holmes has exhibited at the International Center of Photography, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Musee du Louvre.

Martha Holmes photographed Jackson Pollock in April, 1949 on an assignment for LIFE magazine. The now-famous article was published in the August 8, 1949 issue: “Jackson Pollock: Is He The Greatest Living Painter In The United States?” Holmes followed Pollock and his wife, Lee Krasner, through a day’s activities, including a session in the studio. There, Pollock demonstrated his controversial pouring technique, allowing Holmes to document him beginning the canvas now known as Number 1, 1949. This and another photograph Holmes made of Pollock applying liquid house paint and sand to this canvas were the first published images of him at work. The photograph was also featured on a 33-cent postage stamp in the Celebrate the Century 1940s series (with color added and Pollock’s ubiquitous cigarette removed!). Martha appears in the movie Pollock as portrayed by actress Linda Emond.

Already well-known in the New York art world, the article introduced his challenging art to a nationwide audience and cemented his growing reputation as the foremost modern painter of his generation. Very soon afterwards, he became a household name – America’s first “Art Star” – and his bold and radical style of painting continued to change the course of modern art.

Meiko Arquillo

I grew up in Tokyo until I was sixteen years old. My images tend to be colorful, lighthearted, and whimsical. My favorite kind of projects are the ones I get to collaborate with creative directors and art directors closely. It makes me REALLY happy when my pictures/footage make people smile. 

“There is a story to be told, it’s my job to find that story, and translate it into a portrait that viewers immediately relate to.”

Nadine Koupaei

Nadine @nadinekoupaei is a young creative of Bulgarian-Iranian descent who was raised in the island of Mallorca, Spain. She pursues different disciplines, mainly expressing herself through poetry and photography. Already from a young age, she had a long history of travelling the world. She received her first battery operated camera from her mother when she was a teenager, who encouraged her to explore her roots with different angles as they dipped in and out of their many different homes. Photography was always more of a form of therapy than it was her main focus, and her style is quite versatile, shifting from graphic portraits and photographs of nature mixed with written word to more candid photojournalism revolving around her visits to different cities. Her photography tends to highlight her personal connections with the world, displaying a profound connection with nature and oneness. She has worked as a fashion photographer, as well as with artists in the music industry, and has been featured in magazines such as California Style, Indie, Whitewall Magazine, among others.

Pamela Berkovic

Pamela Berkovic @pamelaberkovic is the daughter of a Belgian art collector, who moved from Antwerp to Brussels, and a French psychologist. She studied photography for two and half years at the National School of Visual Arts La Cambre in Brussels, where she stood out for her backstage photo project in a strip club in Brussels. “I have been fascinated all my life by what is happening behind the scenes, in theater, opera, music and dance”, she said in an interview for Belgian newspaper L’Echo. “Very young, I was exposed to the visual and philosophical universe of my father, great collector of art and that of my mother, a woman of arts and literature.”

Fascinated by what is happening behind the scenes, the photographer is constantly hiding behind her camera: “By making myself almost invisible, I can capture expressions and gestures that no one sees.” Thus she was able to access the backstage of Stella McCartney’s shows, where she made her way, Chloe, Armani, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Dior, Lanvin, Louis Vuitton, Dries Van Noten and Alexander McQueen. “My passion for photography began with the work of Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander’s nudes, Edward Weston, Susan Meisalas and Cindy Sherman’s ‘Carnival Stripper’, Cindy Sherman’s Film Stills, Francesca Woodman and ‘The Pier’. Chris Marker,”

Prarthna Singh

Prarthna Singh’s @prarthnasingh work explores female identity in contemporary India, within the intersection of gender and nation. Particularly drawn to stories that stand at the conflux of radical vulnerability and power; her images highlight India’s transition and contrast while exploring a dual dichotomy between feminine identity and strength. These female narratives are constructed within India’s own traditions, poised between fragility and abundance. After completing her BFA in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design, Singh lived and worked in New York. Returning to India was a deliberate decision, she is currently based out of Bombay.

Working across digital, film and video, Singh’s images have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, FT Weekend, Monocle, The Economist, The Sunday Guardian, Wallpaper City Guide, Architectural Digest and CNN. Her clients include Nike, Uniqlo, Airbnb, Fila, LinkedIn, Wellcome Trust, Tata, Old Spice, Indigo Airlines and Levis. Her book Sār: The Essence Of Indian Design was published by Phaidon press.

Reka Nyari

Living and working in New York City, Reka Nyari’s @rekanyariphotography practice spans from fashion and fine art photography and  videography, to elaborate installation and performance pieces. Oscillating between mischievous eroticism and

wistful splendor, her work employs and explores traditional ideals of beauty and gender to portray sexuality from a predominantly female perspective. Nyari’s images of nude figures are not strictly intended as alluring portraits – while deriving their emotional charge from the familiar motifs of erotic photography, they expand the pictorial vocabulary to the realm of narratives, layering in personal histories and fictitious content. Unapologetically, Nyari embeds luscious and empowered bodies in luminous landscapes or against staged backdrops. Nudity, gesture, gaze, as well as objects become intrinsically linked to the feminine identity.

Born in 1979 in Helsinki, and raised in Finland and Hungary, Nyari came to New York City at the age of seventeen. After studying at The School of Visual Arts, she started modelling and discovered her interest for photography. The cinematography and eccentric narratives of Roman Polanski and David Lynch influence her work as much as the art of Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Miles Aldridge and Cindy Sherman. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in the United States and Europe. She has received awards from prestigious organizations, including first place Winner of International Photography Awards (IPA) 2010, Beauty Pro Category. Her 225 page Monograph titled “Femme Fatale: Female Erotic Photography” is published in 6 languages and sold worldwide. Her commercial client list is extensive and includes Kiki de Montparnasse, Fleur du Mal, RADO Switzerland, AOL, Liz Claiborne, Make Up Forever, DC Comics, Sally Hansen and Ultra Records. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines, including Esquire, Vanity Fair, Tatler, Korean Cosmopolitan, and Vogue.

Rose Hartman

A native New Yorker, Rose Hartman @rose.hartman is one of the few female photographers who captured the celebrants of Studio 54, the most iconic club in the world. She was also one of few photographers to trailblaze with her camera backstage at fashion shows as that’s where the real excitement was. Her keen eye offered unprecedented visual entree to the creative personalities who transformed New York into the most fascinating city in the world.

For the past four decades, Hartman has photographed fashion and celebrity icons in some of the most legendary settings of New York nightlife, from Studio 54 to the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Gala. 

Hartman’s work appears in The New York Times, London Sunday Times, Vanity Fair, Vogue (US, French, Dutch, and Italian), New York Magazine, Marie Claire, Allure, Elle Magazine, BBC.com, Grazia, Le Journal de la Photographie, Colette, The Daily Beast, W, Rolling Stone, among many other international publications including books. In November 2000, Hartman’s solo exhibit “incomparable women of Style” ran for 3 months at Fashion Institute of Technology.

Her photographs are in the collections of Saks Fifth Avenue, the Patterson Museum, Ralph Rucci, Jerry Hall, Jane Holzer, Bianca Jagger, Patrick McMullan, Mary McFadden, Jean Shafiroff, and Paul Wilmot and many more.