Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage award announces winner of 2021 prize

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Marcela Quintana is an undergraduate student doing her thesis on cedar research at the National Department of Plant Genetic Resources (DENAREF). Quito, Ecuador, 16 September 2020. © Isadora Romero

Sustainability and global food security are topics addressed in a documentary work which has been awarded the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award 2021, announced today. Photographer Isadora Romero has been awarded the prestigious prize of £2000 for her project ‘Muyu Lab’, a documentary series about the conservation of agrobiodiversity in Ecuador from a scientific and ancestral perspective and the positive impact for the environment and future generations.

Isadora Romero is an Ecuadorian freelance visual storyteller based in Quito. Her work focuses on human identities, gender, and environmental issues and has been exhibited in Europe and the Americas. She has previously been recognised by Magnum for her social justice photography. She is the co-founder of Ruda Colectiva, a women’s and non-binary Latin American photography collective and she is the leader of the Women’s Photography Chapter in Quito.

The Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award of £2000, facilitated by FotoDocument and generously supported by Nikon UK, is granted annually to a professional woman photographer towards the completion of a compelling and cohesive documentary photo essay, which addresses an important social, environmental, economic or cultural issue, whether local or global that has a focus on positive solutions.

Isadora Romero said, “I am very excited to receive this recognition, honouring a long history of courageous and pioneering women journalists and storytellers. It motivates me to continue to tell this story from the communities that fight against the loss of diversity and it allows me to give visibility to an issue that has been under-reported in the visual arts but that is urgent – not only because of what it means for our local communities but also for the future of humanity and the environment.”

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