First Place – Mis[s]understood by Michele Zousmer
“For ostracized populations across the globe and throughout history, stereotyping has proven damaging, sometimes deadly. In my ongoing effort to dispel prejudice, I have dedicated my career to investigating marginalized groups and the ways they cope during challenging times. In MIS[S]UNDERSTOOD, I uproot the entrenched biases against Irish Traveller girls and women. They are not just a culture but an art form that spoke to my curiosity. Exploited socially and politically, my project expresses dignity and humanity. I have been visiting the Irish Traveller community in Ireland for nine years, making friends and learning about this unique culture.” – excerpt from DSPF’s Interview with Michele
Hear Michele talk about her series on the SPM Podcast:
Second Place – Udeliv by Aude Delannoy Dib
Udeliv—life outside—captures the Danish summer spirit unfolding in Copenhagen. Along the canals, people gather in swimming costumes, settling into the sun with board games, books, food and cold drinks. Friends talk for hours, stretched out on warm decks, before someone runs and dives into the water. My series documents this simple ritual: light on skin, laughter in the air, party spirit, friendship, and a city that lives fully while the sun lasts.
Third Place – Between Worlds by David Niu
These images capture the quiet friction of modern life in different places where glass and transit serve as thresholds between the private self and the public gaze. Through use of reflections and framing, the subjects appear simultaneously present and distant, caught in the “non-places” of travel, suggesting that we never truly occupy just one space at a time, but exist in a constant, beautiful state of overlap.
