Maria Abranches among World Press Photo winners
Maria tells a common story to countless women, whose silent contribution built, shaped and sustains the world as we know it. Ana Maria was born in Angola, was brought to Portugal at nine years old and, in her words, spent her entire life to clean, ”wrote Maria Abranches on her Instagram page last year about the project that now gave her a prize in the World Press photo (WPP) contest.
The Portuguese photographer has won in the ‘History’ category of the Europe region, which means that it is among the candidates for the title of ‘Photography of the Year’ to be announced on April 17.
The organization’s website explains that the project concerned convinced the jury, which considered it « moving and deeply complex. » Moreover, for those responsible, « the work arouses reflection on how this story continues to shape today’s social structures. »
In Ana Maria’s life « echoes the experience of countless women across Europe, » describes WPP. “It has spent more than four decades working at other people’s home, which is a vital contribution to their daily lives. By focusing on Ana Maria’s history, the photographer aims to encourage reflection on privileges, as well as honor her life and that of so many other women as she, ”he adds.
According to the biography present on the website of the organization, Maria Abranches is an independent documentary photographer and Portuguese photojournalist who uses photography to « highlight critical questions, amplify marginalized voices and inspire changes ».
Originally graduated in architecture, he worked in the area for several years before studying analog photography at AR.CO in Lisbon. This ended up taking her to a stage in photojournalism in the public. After that, he decided to dedicate his career exclusively to photography. Currently, he works with the public, Reuters, The Guardian and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
It was while documenting the production of grace Castanheira, dark skin, a 2021 film that explores racism and inclusion, which developed this interest in Portuguese colonial history. This experience eventually inspired the ‘Braid the World’ project of 2022, ‘a visual exploitation of the African capillary heritage and its cultural symbolism, created in collaboration with African descent hairdressers’, describes the biography.
‘Maria’ was distinguished at the Italian Festival Cortona on the Move and in the New Fnac Talent Awards. It is the result of a work developed within the scope of the narrative MasterClass, a project by the photojournalist Mário Cruz.
