And the winner of the Photo London 2025 Emerging Photographer Award is…

Nikon has announced that the Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer Award 2025 has been awarded to two artists for the first time in its history: Silvana Trevale and Gabriel Pinto. The announcement was made during a ceremony in the Nikon Gallery, Somerset House, during the Photo London 2025 fine art fair, which runs May 15-18.

Trevale is a Venezuelan photographer whose work merges portraiture, documentary and fashion photography. Her practice celebrates the beauty of the human body, her Latin American heritage, womanhood, youth and the lived experiences of those around her. Her ‘Alma Llanera’ series reflects on the construction of national identity in Venezuela through the traditions of the plains, and the lived realities of its youth. Evocative, intimate and politically charged, her work speaks to the endurance of culture and the beauty found in resilience.

Pinto is an Afro-Venezuelan artist whose work dives into the depths of the identity and cultural roots of his land. His artistic gaze is a bridge between the past and the present, between ancestral codes and contemporaneity. ‘Pueblo de Sal’ is Pinto’s lyrical tribute to his Afro-Venezuelan heritage, capturing the salt flats of Pampatar as a mirror of ancestral memory, labour, and soul. Rooted in oral tradition and cultural resilience, his photographs speak to the deep connections between land, history and identity.

Both winners will be awarded a Nikon Z camera and a choice of two Z-series lenses, with specialist training from Nikon School to help take advantage of the capabilities that Nikon’s Z range has to offer. On top of this, Trevale and Pinto will receive ongoing support from Photo London, with a special, dedicated exhibit in the Nikon gallery the following year.

Julian Harvie, Marketing Director for Nikon Northern Europe, said: “At the heart of Nikon’s business is our mission to empower photographers to tell the world’s most important stories. Over the last five years of supporting this prestigious award alongside Photo London, we have seen story and art converge in myriad and breathtaking ways. This year’s winners are no different. For the first time, we are delighted to award two winners for their outstanding creativity and storytelling. Congratulations to Silvana Trevale and Gabriel Pinto! It remains one of our great privileges as a brand to play a part in the future of these talented artists.”

Photo London Founders Michael Benson and Fariba Farshad added: “For each of the last ten years we have awarded a prize to the most outstanding artist showing at the Fair. The vast majority of them have since built significant careers including Daisuke Yokotoa and Tania Franco Klein whose work is featured at this year’s Fair in a major solo presentation at Rose Gallery. We are thrilled that, for the first time, this year’s Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer prize will be shared between two outstanding young Venezuelan artists Silvana Trevale (Sorondo Projects) and Gabriel Pinto (BETA Contemporary) for a powerful collaborative series of work that was made specifically for Photo London.”

Launched during the inaugural Photo London fine art photography fair in 2015, The Emerging Photographer Award was set up to nurture and champion the career development of up-and-coming artists, helping to elevate the profiles of new, young lens-based storytellers. Photographers who enter are shortlisted by the Photo London 2025 Curatorial committee, comprised of some of the field’s most esteemed curators, critics and museum directors.

This year’s final shortlist included Kristoffer Axén, Sandra Chen Weinstein, Rose Marie Cromwell, Robin Hunter Blake, Niccolò Montesi, Hannah Norton, Tjitske Oosterholt, Lindsay Perryman, Gabriel Pinto, and Silvana Trevale. All the shortlisted images are on display at the Nikon Gallery at Photo London, and there's plenty more else to see, too, such as my five things you must not miss.

Photo London runs from May 15 to 18 and is open 12-8pm daily at Somerset House, on the banks of the Thames, in London. The nearest tube station is Temple. Standard day tickets cost £32, while an off-peak ticket (which allows entry after 5pm) is £20. Concession tickets and weekend passes are also available. All tickets can be purchased directly from the Photo London website.