The 2025 Saltzman Prize Winner and Shortlist

CPW is pleased to announce that Qiana Mestrich is the winner of the 2025 Saltzman Prize. The Saltzman Prize recognizes the extraordinary achievements of an emerging photographer whose recent work has garnered wider visibility and whose distinctive voice contributes fresh perspectives to the ongoing dialogue surrounding photography and visual culture. Qiana Mestrich will receive a $10,000 award, the 2025 CPW Vision Award for Emerging Photographer, and a solo exhibition of her work at CPW in 2026.

Qiana Mestrich is an interdisciplinary artist, photo historian, and writer based in the Hudson Valley. Her autobiographical artwork and research engages issues around Black and mixed-race identity, motherhood/mothering, and women’s corporate labor. In 2007, she founded the blog Dodge & Burn: Decolonizing Photography History, an arts initiative that advocates for photographers of color. Mestrich’s book based on this blog, Decolonization and Diversity in Contemporary Photography: The Dodge & Burn Interviews, is forthcoming from Routledge later this month.

''Receiving the Saltzman Prize, especially after over a decade dedicated to photography-based art, is a deeply moving honor,” Mestrich said. “To have my work recognized by such a distinguished jury is truly humbling. As a New York-based artist, CPW has become an invaluable pillar of support, fostering the growth of my personal work and various projects. I'm profoundly grateful to be woven into the enduring legacy of this remarkable art institution.

The Saltzman Prize’s nine other shortlisted artists are:

Rapheal Begay (US) – Capturing Diné cultural landscapes and preserving Indigenous storytelling traditions.
Samantha Box (Jamaica) – Exploring Caribbean diasporic identities through still-life, self-portraiture, and installation.
Harlan Bozeman (US) – Confronting the erasure of Black culture and histories in the American South.
Lucia Gorostegui (Spain) – Investigating photography’s materiality, drawing from her background in physics.
Margot Kalach (Mexico) – Pushing the boundaries of photography through cameraless experiments and recycled materials.
Dakota Mace (US) – Examining Diné heritage using alternative photography, weaving, and beadwork.
Rene Matić (UK) – Exploring British West Indian and working-class culture, centering queer intimacies.
Lindsay Perryman (US) – Challenging misconceptions around transgender identity through their artistic practice.
Donavon Smallwood (US) – Photographing life’s quiet moments, revealing beauty in the everyday.

These shortlist candidates were nominated by a team composed of Marvin Heiferman (curator and writer), Candice Hopkins (Executive Director of Forge Project), Tyler Mitchell (photographer), Elena Navarro (Director of Espacio V), and Sasha Wolf (Executive Director of the PhotoWork Foundation). The final selection was made by a distinguished jury: Dawoud Bey (photographer), Lucy Sante (writer, critic, and artist), and Stephen Shore (photographer).

As winner of the 2025 Saltzman Prize, Qiana Mestrich will receive the 2025 CPW Vision Award for Emerging Photographer, to be presented at the 2025 CPW Vision Awards in Kingston, NY, on May 10, 2025..


Exploring the Impact of the Saltzman Prize
The Saltzman Prize was created in 2024 by CPW Trustee Lisa Saltzman, in collaboration with CPW, to honor emerging photographers and to pay tribute to her parents Ralph and Muriel Saltzman, passionate collectors, devoted arts patrons, and philanthropists. Keisha Scarville was the inaugural recipient, recognized for her powerful exploration of belonging and place. Scarville’s exhibition Recess is currently on view at CPW through May 24, 2025.

“I established The Saltzman Prize to support and give opportunity to emerging artists,” said Lisa Saltzman. “The nominees are well deserving of this prize, they are really talented and the calibre of nominators and judges speaks to the merit of the prize. My partnership with CPW is fruitful and it is great that I can further CPW's important mission. The impact of the prize is clear. My parents' influence has led me to do what I do and I am forever grateful to them.”

We asked Lisa Saltzman and Qiana Mestrich a few questions: Lisa shares her motivation for creating the prize, the influence of her parents, and its long-term impact on emerging artists, while Qiana reflects on winning the Saltzman Prize, the themes in her work, and what this recognition means for her artistic journey.

Conversation with Lisa Saltzman
All About Photo: Creating the Saltzman Prize must be incredibly meaningful for you. How does it feel to have your own name associated with an award that supports emerging photographers, and what does it mean to you on a personal level?

Lisa Saltzman: Creating the Saltzman Prize is incredibly meaningful and important to me. I am honored to have my own name associated with this award, which is viewed as truly prestigious, and I am so glad that I can offer support that is so beneficial to emerging photographers along their journey.

As someone who has been deeply involved in the arts for so long, how does it feel to be in a position to help shape the careers of young photographers through this prize? Has it changed your perspective on the art world?

I am grateful to be in a position to help shape the careers of young photographers through the Saltzman prize. My initiatives make it clear the ability for it to amplify the careers of emerging photographers and I realize there is so much emerging talent waiting to be noticed.

You’ve mentioned the influence of your parents, Ralph and Muriel Saltzman, on your decision to create the prize. Can you tell us about a moment or memory with them that inspired your passion for supporting artists?

My parents are the catalyst for so much in my life. They were passionate art collectors, art patrons and philanthropists. Their passion for art left an indelible impression, their influence was profound and I am now making my mark and carrying the torch. They were great role models and I really miss them.

What do you hope the Saltzman Prize will provide for emerging photographers, not just in terms of exposure, but on a more emotional or professional level?

I hope it affirms their belief in themselves. The prize is really affirming.

This prize is about giving young photographers the opportunity to be seen and heard. How does it feel to watch their work take shape, knowing that you helped give them that chance?

It is really gratifying to know that I had a part in their success.

You’ve collaborated with many talented individuals, such as Tyler Mitchell and Marvin Heiferman, to make the Saltzman Prize a reality. How has working with such respected people in the photography world shaped your vision for the prize and for the artists it supports?

When you look at the Saltzman Prize and its impact so far, what are you most proud of? Is there a moment or achievement related to the prize that stands out to you as particularly fulfilling?

I am really proud that luminaries in the world of art, the nominators, and judges want to be a part of it, and I am grateful for their participation in an initiative that has such a robust impact.

As you reflect on the legacy of the Saltzman Prize, what do you hope it will mean to future generations of photographers? How would you like your personal connection to the prize to be remembered?

I hope that future generations have the opportunity to be a part of the prize—it does so much for them, not only in terms of their exposure (pun intended) but also in how they view themselves.


All About Photo: This year’s shortlist features artists engaging with urgent societal themes such as cultural preservation, identity, and heritage. How do you see the role of photography in addressing these themes and contributing to broader social discussions?

Lisa Saltzman: Photography has the ability to memorialize and can contribute in a very meaningful way to further the awareness and emphasize the importance of these important themes.

Given the distinguished jury for this year’s Saltzman Prize, including Dawoud Bey, Lucy Sante, and Stephen Shore, what do you think their involvement adds to the credibility and prestige of the prize, and what insights do they bring to the selection process?

These esteemed judges bring a great deal, they are luminaries with great insight and perspectives. It was a pleasure listening to their interesting and varied ways of evaluating.

How do you see the Saltzman Prize contributing to the larger conversation about diversity and representation in contemporary photography, especially as it elevates emerging voices from underrepresented communities?

Underrepresented photographers are essential for ensuring diverse perspectives, authenticity and a more inclusive representation of our world through the lens, ultimately leading to a more complete and nuanced understanding of various communities and experiences that might never have been memorialized.

They show and preserve experiences from within communities that might otherwise be documented only by outsiders, providing more authentic representation.Their work often questions or expands upon established visual traditions and storytelling approaches in photography. They serve as role models for aspiring photographers from similar backgrounds, showing that success in the field is possible.

When photography remains dominated by certain demographic groups, we miss out on countless important stories and perspectives that help us understand our world more fully. They are an crucial part of the ecosystem.


Conversation with Qiana Mestrich

All About Photo: Congratulations on winning the 2025 Saltzman Prize! What does this recognition mean to you at this stage in your career?

Qiana MestrichAfter more than a decade of dedicated work, receiving this photography prize is deeply validating. Recognition, at this stage, isn't just an accolade; it's a potent catalyst. It energizes, inspires, and reinforces the belief that the path I've chosen is meaningful to myself and others. It's a reminder to keep creating, and to keep growing as an artist.

Your work explores themes of Black and mixed-race identity, motherhood, and women’s labor. How did these themes take shape in your artistic practice?

My exploration of Black and mixed-race identity began with a personal desire to understand my own place within the complex social/racial landscape of the United States of America. Early work focused on family documentaries but as my practice evolved, I began to incorporate more conceptual elements, using color, texture and mixed media to explore the nuances of identity and representation.

The theme of motherhood emerged after the birth of my first child and since then I've been interested in how photography can be used to move beyond idealized depictions of parenting. Similarly, my most recent work regarding women's labor within the office space is focused on making their invisible work visible.

Can you share the inspiration behind the body of work that earned you the Saltzman Prize? What stories or personal experiences influenced it?

The body of work that I submitted for review was a series of photo-based collages titled, The Reinforcements. This work emerged from a web-based, digital archive I've developed since 2022, some of which you can see on Instagram @workingwoc. The archive provides visual evidence of the office labor of women of color between the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the early 2000s.

The development of this @workingwoc archive was inspired by family album photographs circa 1969 of my mother working in the sales offices at the Rugol Trading Corporation. My mother emigrated to NYC in the late 1960s and worked alongside other, young immigrant women from Latin America.

The prize includes a solo exhibition at CPW this fall. How do you envision presenting your work in this space, and what do you hope viewers take away from it?

I hope to be able to merge my photo collages with some of the archival images and office ephemera that I have been collecting to give the images more context and activate the physical space.

What’s next for you? How do you see this award shaping your future projects or creative direction?

The Reinforcements is a nascent series, so I see this award being able to help me continue making new collages and to materialize an idea for a video piece that has been brewing in my mind. I would also love to engage more directly with corporate archives to uncover more stories. Stay tuned!