The International Women in Photo Association Awards: Lorraine Turci: The Resilience of the Crow

The International Women in Photo Association Awards: Lorraine Turci: The Resilience of the Crow by Sara BennettMarch 16, 2024

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-02-05. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-02-05. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans dÕassimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete dÕidentite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

This week Lenscratch is featuring the work of the 2023 winners of The International Women in Photo Association (IWPA) Awards, a French non profit aiming to create global change and reach gender equality and women empowerment, awards prizes to visual storytellers from around the world.

Today is Lorraine Turci, a photographer from France whose series The Resilience of the Crow received an Honorable Mention. Her absolutely stunning images make your senses feel alive (no Apple Vision Pro needed!).

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-02-03. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-02-03. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

The Resilience of the Crow

Hokkaido is a vast territory of wintry forests, volcanoes, lakes and rugged coastlines. Before Japanese colonization, it was inhabited by the Ainu people. After a century and a half of assimilation and discrimination, the situation in the country has gradually evolved. The Resilience of the Crow reflects on what it means to be an Ainu today, between demands and compromises, in the practices of everyday life; it addresses the sense of belonging within a community in the dual process of preserving and reinventing its own culture, following prolonged assimilation that has all but erased its society and language. Stories of activists, artists… and above all, ordinary people. After all, aren’t we all in search of our own identity? – Lorraine Turci

Hokkaido, Japan, 2020-02-10. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2020-02-10. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Lorraine Turci, a graduate in photography from the Fine Arts school in Nantes and Paris 8, is an independent photographer and member of Hans Lucas since 2019. Her work explores the interactions between territory, identity, transmission, human rights, nature, evolution, and preservation. By surpassing appearances and social conditioning, it gives substance to narratives where the world’s plurality reveals its ambiguous beauty. Lorraine collaborates with various media outlets, institutions, and NGOs like Géo magazine, Le Figaro magazine, French Culture Ministry, Gambian Alliance Française, Greenpeace, and Amnesty International. Her work has been exhibited in France and internationally as at the Festival de La Gacilly, Belfast Photo Festival, Visa pour l’Image, the French National Library. “The Resilience of the Crow,” received support from the Scam’s “Brouillon d’un rêve” grant, the Tenjinyama Art Studio artist residency in Sapporo, Japan, and the Sasakawa Franco-Japanese Foundation.

Follow Lorraine on Instagram: @lorraineturci

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-03-20. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-03-20. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2020-02-12. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2020-02-12. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2020-02-23. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2020-02-23. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-03-04. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-03-04. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-03-05. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-03-05. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-01-16. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-01-16. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-04-02. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-04-02. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-03-17. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-03-17. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2019-12-28. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2019-12-28. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-02-04. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-02-04. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

Hokkaido, Japan, 2023-01-20. The first nation ainu, after 150 years of forced assimilation, is regaining strength in his quest for identity, recognition and reconciliation. Hokkaido, Japon, 2023-01-20. Le peuple autochtone ainou, apres 150 ans d’assimilation forcee, retrouve force dans sa quete d’identite, de reconnaissance et de reconciliation.

International Women in Photo, IWPA, is a French non profit association that pursues two major MISSIONS on a global scale:

work for equality through photography in the world.
The promotion of women photographers and visual storytellers of all origins and nationalities.

The roots for IWPA’s goals lie in the under representation of women photographers. Unfortunately, women photographers still do not receive sufficient recognition nor assignments and only make up for a small percentage of all the photographs we see every day in the press, social media, museums or art fairs. IWPA fulfills a social role by drawing attention to social issues that are often ignored or simply not covered by the male dominated perspective of our world.

How do they fulfill these missions? IWPA wants to make women’s vision count by

Increasing the visibility and diversity of women photographers in the field of photography
Proposing actions around education and training in photography for women and students, enhancing their skills and reinforcing capacity buildin
Promote photography as an empowerment tool for girls and women
Using photography as a tool to promote tolerant and non-sexist values

In order to give more visibility to women photographers, IWPA acts as a platform and organizes the annual IWPA Award, a photography competition that is followed by exhibitions in major cities and capitals across the Middle East, Asia and Europe showing the work of the laureate and finalists to a large and international audience.

Instagram: @IWPA_photo

Tags: Japan, Lorraine Turci