Textile Exchange launches a photography competition "Introducing Materials Matter"

A new visual narrative for textiles

From the clothing we put on our bodies to the fabrics that fill our homes, textiles touch our lives every day. They connect us to people and places, emotions and experiences–but this connection is often missing from the stories we tell.

That’s why, in partnership with Magnum Photos, Textile Exchange is calling on early career photographers to rebuild the visual narrative between textiles and people, place, culture, and nature.

The theme of their joint competition, Materials Matter, invites entrants to trace textile items back to their roots, reframing their significance in our lives. We are looking for photographers who are interested in exploring the way we interact with materials, how they make us feel, and how they touch the hands and lands that help to make them.

By placing these themes at the center of the story, the initiative hopes to reframe the way we relate to their environmental and social impacts. It is about altering our attitude towards these everyday items, all while providing a springboard for emerging talent to embrace visual storytelling the Magnum way.

See the full brief and submit your entry

What the winners will receive

Winners will be selected by a judging panel including Claire Bergkamp (COO, Textile Exchange), Sonia Jeunet (Education Director, Magnum), Chiara Bardelli Nonino (Photography Director, Vogue Italia), Myriam Boulos, and Enri Canaj (Magnum photographers).

The overall winner will receive a paid commission for Textile Exchange to document the stories behind some of its members as well as mentorship with a Magnum Photographer. Two runners-up will receive a smaller paid commission for Textile Exchange and coaching sessions with the Magnum Photos team.

The winning entries will also be showcased in an original exhibition at the Textile Exchange Conference. Held annually, the event brings over 800 brands, retailers, and suppliers together to ensure that fashion and textiles are produced in a way that supports our planet, its ecosystems, its landscapes, and its communities.

About Magnum

The Magnum Photos agency represents some of the world’s most renowned photographers, maintaining its founding ideals and idiosyncratic mix of journalist, artist, and storyteller. Its photographers share a vision to chronicle world events, people, places, and culture with a powerful narrative that defies convention, shatters the status quo, redefines history, and transforms lives.

For more than 70 years Magnum has been creating the highest quality photographic content for an international client base of media, charities, publishers, brands, and cultural institutions. The Magnum library is also a living archive updated regularly with new work from across the globe.

Since 2007 Magnum has been committed to developing the next generation of visual storytellers. They have programmed unique events focusing on education and professional development for photographers across the world.