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2024 Booooooom Photo Awards Winner: Alex Bex – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS
Alex Bex is a French-Texan photographer based in Berlin. His work engages with and critically explores the cultural narratives that shaped his upbringing, focusing particularly on masculinity and its social construction. We want to give a massive shoutout to Format for supporting the awards this year. Format is an online portfolio builder specializing in the needs of photographers, artists, and designers. With nearly 100 professionally designed website templates and thousands of design variables, you can showcase your work your way, with no coding required. To learn more about Format, check out their website here or start a 14-day free trial. We had the chance to ask Alex some questions about his photography—check out the interview below along with some of his work.
Artist Spotlight: Xenia Gray – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS
Captivated by the idea of unexpressed feelings and things left unsaid, artist Xenia Gray creates mixed media work, primarily using oil, acrylic, and charcoal. Born and raised in post-Soviet Siberia, her artistic sensibilities were shaped by the industrial landscapes of her hometown. She pursued formal training in Saint Petersburg, earning an MA in advertisement design from Saint Petersburg State University of Technology and Design. In 2010, she relocated to the United States. Have a look at a selection of her work below.
FAR–NEAR – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS
FAR–NEAR is a book series and platform dedicated to sharing and broadening perspectives of Asia, founded by Lulu Yao Gioiello. The Asian continent and its people have often been seen through a foreign eye–painted as 'the other' to a Western audience. Extending beyond the Far East, FAR–NEAR features voices from Japan to Iran and just about everywhere in between. The theme for Vol.5 is Divergence and features Mongolian singer Urna Chahar-Tugchi, LGBT icon Akihiro Miwa, photographer Xiangjie Peng, as well as a peek into Uzbek and Filipino independent music scenes. Also featured in this book are photographers: Ayoto Ataraxia, Yuhan Cheng, Liberto Fillo, Rob Frogoso, Hassan Kurbanbaev, Ali Monis Naqvi, Keith Oshiro, Xiangjie Peng, Kamila Rustambekova, Saturn, Motoyuki Shitamichi, Irene Tang, Vivek Vadoliya; filmmakers: Phạm Ngọc Lân and Miko Revereza; artists: Bella Carlos, Christina Yuna Ko, Teng Yung Han, Dmitriy Hashhayan, Anchi Lin [Ciwas Tahos], Thai Lu, Alicia Mersy, Urara Muramatsu, Raiheth Rawla, Daleen Saah, Camily Tsai and Tseng Kwong Chi; writers: Lucinda Chua, Ariana King, Lin King, Lisa Kwon, Lisa Tanimura, Jiji Wong, Xiao Yumi w/ Wang Da, Mia Winther-Tamaki and Mimi Zhu; musicians: Amalia, Timur Azimov, Urna Chahar-Tugchi, Enji Erkhem, Saru Jadid, Yaikhom Sushiel, Chris Fussner (Tropical Futures), Josef Tumari and Jorge Wieneke; and actors: Rasti Farooq and Akihiro Miwa. With interviews by Clara Peh, CJ Salapare, Sreshtha Sen and Lulu Yao Gioiello. FAR–NEAR is artist-run, without any advertisements or outside investors, and is entirely self-funded by Gioiello, who commits to a personal financial deficit every year to keep it going. Go check out their website and support independent publishing!
"Waiting Room" by Tristan Martinez
Artist Tristan Martinez recently released a new photo book, published by Friend Editions. Waiting Room is a celebration of transitional moments and experiences which may be otherwise overlooked. Martinez describes the work as the feeling of being on the cusp of a moment, just as something is about to happen or just after something has happened. Tristan Martinez is a New York-based artist from LA, rooted in Lower Manhattan skateboard scene.
"Nucleo" by Photographer Wouter Van de Voorde
A selection of 6x6 (analog square format) images from photographer Wouter Van de Voorde's 2023 book, Nucleo, published by Area Books. The title is a reference to the nuclear family, and the images chronicle Van de Voorde's own family over the course of a decade. Many of the photos were captured in the Australian bush and further the theme of isolation—a family surviving on their own—which carries through the work. Wouter van de Voorde is a Belgian-born photographer based in Canberra, Australia whose work centers on the subtle resonances between personal narratives and cultural contexts, informed by his own migration from Belgium to Australia.
Illustrator Spotlight: Kemal Sanli – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS
A selection of work inspired by potted plants, fungi, and growth patterns by Kemal Sanli, an illustrator and designer from Istanbul. I’m drawn to simple shapes, soft rhythms, and the emotional weight they can quietly carry.
2024 Booooooom Photo Awards Winners – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS
With great excitement, we present the winners of the 2024 Booooooom Photo Awards, supported by Format! This year our open call for submissions drew an extraordinary response, making the selection process extremely challenging but also immensely satisfying. Thank you to every single person who submitted work—your talent and creativity continue to delight and inspire us every year. It is our honour to announce the five winners, each representing a distinct category: PORTRAIT, NATURE, COLOUR, STREET, FASHION. Each winner is awarded a $1,000 USD cash prize, editorial and social coverage, as well as a feature interview in our print publication, a $500 KEH giftcard, and their choice of WANDRD product. In addition to the five winners, we've included 20 shortlisted photographers (four from each category) whose work will be showcased in the publication as well. We're also sharing the names of an additional 150 photographers who were on our longlist. Ultimately the winners, shortlist, and longlist represent an extremely small portion of the work we received this year. If you want to be the first to know about our next photo awards, you can pre-register below: Pre-Register for 2025 Photo Awards A massive thank you to Format who have helped us make another year of these awards possible. Format is an online portfolio builder specializing in the needs of photographers, artists, and designers. Unlike other web builders, Format’s portfolio and studio management tools are specifically designed to meet the needs of creative professionals. With nearly 100 professionally designed website templates and thousands of design variables, you can showcase your work your way, with no coding required. The Workflow studio management tools allow you to create branded client proofing galleries, transfer files and more. You can also sell your work commission free through the Format store feature. If you want to learn more about Format, check out their website here or start a 14-day free trial. Stay tuned for interviews with each of the winners, where they'll share the stories behind their winning images. Here are the distinguished winners and exceptionally talented runners-up of the 2024 Booooooom Photo Awards.
Artist Spotlight: Emma Beatrez – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS
A selection of paintings by Minneapolis-based artist Emma Beatrez, the most intriguing of which examine prototypical cheerleaders and the spectacle of small town pep-rally bonfires. The dark energy present in the work is perfectly summed up in this statement from Polyester, their recent exhibition at Hair + Nails: Clad in polyester vestments, extremely flammable, Beatrez’s priestesses speed through their sportive katas in ecstatic trance, a choreography of escalating risk, summoning danger, the adrenaline surging, melding individuals into group, their eyes glinting in the camera flash or the fire, and a fairly ordinary secular tradition transmogrifies into an otherworldly ritual emblematic of America’s conflicted priorities. Beatrez is a graduate of Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the co-founder and curator of Night Club gallery in St. Paul, alongside artist Lee Noble.
2024 Booooooom Art & Photo Book Award Winners
In partnership with our friends at Bookmobile, we helped six artists and photographers create their own books for FREE (five of which are now complete). We’re so proud to share these fantastic finished projects! This time around the winners were: Manda Quevedo, Adri Tan, Cleo Peng, Kevin Hopkins, Taylor Naoko & CJ Tuff, Marco Gehlha. Some of them opted to upgrade and enhance certain aspects of their books, and our fav thing is seeing the different directions each person goes. Independently owned and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bookmobile began as a design and typesetting production house in 1982, then started offering print services in 1996, and distribution services in 2004. When your books come to Bookmobile, they get the benefit of forty-one years of know-how. If you want to learn more about Bookmobile, you can check out their website here, or email them directly here. We know it’s a dream for many of you to publish a book of your own work, so we’re thrilled to announce that we are continuing this partnership again this year! Have a look at five of the completed book projects and pre-register for our 2025 Art & Photo Book Award below:
We want to hear from you! – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS
It's been a few years since we did something like this. We’re curious about who you are, what you love about Booooooom, and what you don't. Our goal is for you to be genuinely excited about being here and we want this community to be something you love not just something you like. So we gotta know what you care most about so we can focus on those things and ditch everything else. If you’ve got opinions, wild ideas or specific suggestions, we would love to get some feedback.
Illustrator Spotlight: David Aguado – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS
A selection of beautiful images created by illustrator David Aguado for various Porter Robinson projects. Based in Valencia, Spain, Aguado's work spans from comics to video games. He says, I consider myself an emotional orphan and try to make sense of my life experiences by creating stuff that I relate to in hopes of inspiring someone or making them feel connected to what I make. I love mystery. I try to create images that keep you from scrolling down to the next thing so you can stop and take the details in and explore. Artwork with more than one reading.
Recommended Viewings: "The Girl with the Needle" by Magnus von Horn
Written and directed by Swedish-Polish director and screenwriter Magnus von Horn (The Here After, Sweat), The Girl with the Needle is a period horror-drama that plays out like a dark fairy tale, with elements that feel simultaneously familiar and modern, eerie and exquisite. This is due in no small part to its haunting score by Frederikke Hoffmeier a.k.a. Puce Mary and gorgeous cinematography by Michał Dymek. In fact, the film took home the Camerimage Film Festival’s Golden Frog in Toruń, Poland last year, beating out Lol Crawley’s work on the artistic epic (and Oscar Best Picture frontrunner) The Brutalist.