ANOTHER YEAR IN PRISMA
Louise Anderbjörk
Dear PRISMA readers,
As the years come to a close it is time once again to extend our warmest holiday wishes to you all! Writing this annual concluding editorial is turning into a lovely December tradition for me, giving me a nice moment to reflect on everything that we have done and achieved as a team and a magazine over the past twelve months. Each time I do, I am filled with so much gratitude to PRISMA’s readers, photographers, and of course, team, for all your hard work and support that allows us to continue doing what we do and to grow every year - just like we have done this year.
To start us off, the beginning of 2024 saw PRISMA forming exciting new partnerships with the academic community at St Andrews. In January, we embarked on a semester-long collaboration with the undergraduate module “Visualizing Peace”, taught by Dr Alice König. In this initiative, PRISMA became part of students’ practical learning about photojournalism and enhanced opportunities to explore photography as a medium to promote international peace. Following that, in February, PRISMA received its first photography contribution from a member of the university staff, alongside an exciting feature from Canon ambassador Prelena Soma Owen who shared her experiences photographing Polar bears in Alaska. Come March, we built on our successful exhibitions from last year to host PRISMA’s first digital photography exhibition, showcasing the work of 56 international photographers. Moreover, our partnership with the Visualizing Peace module culminated in a second exhibition, in April, attracting a wide range of university students and staff to the showcase of 20 finalist submissions on the topic of ‘photography and peace’.
As we moved into summer, PRISMA undertook yet another behind the scenes makeover. We warmly welcomed our new Copy Editor Hermione, and expanded our team by adding a Content Manager role, filled by our talented Amanda, who has been behind the making of our new video content on social media and the launch of PRISMA’s TikTok account @prismaphotomag. On that note, we are now also on BlueSky, so be sure to follow us on all socials for the latest updates.
In August, PRISMA returned to Edinburgh for another rewarding festival month. We were happy to once again be part of the media community for the Edinburgh Fringe, but we were also thrilled to be granted two new press accreditations this year, for the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. These accreditations, among other things, gained us an invitation to cover James O’Brien at McEwan Hall, and the opportunity to attend a press call with Scottish historian and journalist Alastair Moffat.
Back in St Andrews in September, PRISMA received a collaboration request from the esteemed photographer Pogus Ceasar, which led to us being able to showcase his photographs from the ongoing “Friends in Love and War” gallery exhibition in Birmingham. Equally as exciting, October brought an opportunity to feature the incredible works of Olympic photographer Pauline von Hardenberg, who shared her unique insights from behind the scenes of Paris 2024. Then, a few weeks ago, PRISMA hosted its annual photojournalism competition on the UN’s SDGs in collaboration with the United Nations Association in St Andrews. We were honoured to have BBC’s Hugh Kinsella Cunningham and former war photographer David Cruickshanks join us on the judging panel for this successful event.
Looking back on the memorable 2024, I am incredibly proud and inspired by the high-quality contributions PRISMA has received. We are deeply grateful to all of you - our photographers and our readers - for making PRISMA what it is and for supporting us in publishing 22 issues and 156 articles since December 2022, featuring 132 photographers from 33 different countries across the world. We could not have accomplished these milestones without you, and we look forward to showing our appreciation with some exciting new features for PRISMA in the year ahead. So, keep reading, share PRISMA with your friends and family, and enjoy the most wonderful holiday season. See you in 2025!
This article first appeared in PRISMA, Issue 22.