i-D family members Olivia Rose and Paris Lees were celebrated at the inaugural Words by Women Awards last night. Rose was awarded ‘Photographer of the Year,’ while Lees won in the ‘Comment’ category. Set up to redress the lack of recognition towards women in the male-dominated media, Words By Women attracted judges including Sky’s Kay Burley, Independent on Sunday Editor Lisa Markwell and Vice Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Nicholson.
Taking place last night at the Groucho Club in London, the awards were set up by Marie Le Conte (Evening Standard), Mollie Goodfellow (Sky News), Emily Reynolds (Wired) and Robyn Vinter (London Loves Business). Other women awarded for their utter awesomeness included The Times‘ Federico Cocco, The Guardian‘s Helen Pidd and freelancers Daisy Buchanan and Dawn Foster.
Rose, who has shot a number of features for i-D including Future, Stormzy and Sampha, was thrilled to have been recognized. “As someone who has tirelessly worked to document subcultures and represent the under-represented in photography, this award is more for my sitters than it is for me,” Rose said. “Considering myself a roaming sociologist before a photographer, I owe any accolades to the time and understanding of every one of my subjects. I’m extremely flattered to have been shortlisted and completely flabbergasted that I have won! Congratulations to all of the other winners… Sisters are doing it for themselves!!!”