VII MENTOR PROGRAM

The VII Mentor Program has nurtured the careers of many visual journalists who have become leading practitioners.

The VII Mentor Program provides a structured professional environment for emerging new talents in the industry. The program – the first of its kind – was launched by VII Photo Agency in 2008 and is now managed by VII Academy. This hybrid program pairs ten selected visual journalists with experienced VII Photo contributing photographers.

2023-24 VII Mentees

The 2023-24 VII Mentees are: Ebrahim Alipoor, Fatma Fahmy, Tako Robakidze, Oleksandr Rupeta, Chinky Shukla, Mitar Simikić, and Byron Smith.

Ebrahim Alipoor

Kurdistan, Iran

Fatma Fahmy

Cairo, Egypt

Tako Robakidze

Tbilisi, Georgia

Oleksandr Rupeta

Ukraine

Chinky Shukla

New Delhi, India

Mitar Simikić

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Byron Smith

Athens, Greece

2022-23 VII Mentees

Sharafat Ali

Kashmir, India

Juan Pablo Ampudia

Mexico City, Mexico

Debsuddha

Kolkata, India

Kimberly dela Cruz

Manila, Philippines

Grace Ekpu

Lagos, Nigeria

Nada Harib

Tripoli, Iran

Joshua Irwandi

Jakarta, Indonesia

M'hammed Kilito

Casablanca, Morocco

Marko Risovic

Belgrade, Serbia

Farshid Tighehsaz

Tabriz, Iran

Leica Woman Foto Project x VII Mentor Program

The Leica Women Foto Project initiative sponsored three mentees in the 2022-23 cohort of the VII Mentor Program.

Brooklynn T. Kascel

Minneapolis, USA

Jackie Molloy

New York City, USA

Natalia Neuhaus

New York City, USA

2008-22 VII Mentees

Agnes Dherbeys (2008-2011), Benedicte Kurzen (2008-2010), Maciek Nabrdalik (2008-2010)*, Adam Ferguson (2009-2010), Anastasia Taylor-Lind (2009-2011), Don McNeill Healy (2009-2011), Giulio di Sturco (2009-2011), Erin Trieb (2010-2013), Giovanni Cocco (2010-2013), Ilana Panich-Linsman (2010-2011), Peter DiCampo (2010-2011), Tanyth Berkeley (2010-2011), Amanda Rivkin (2011-2013), Chi Yin Sim (2011-2013), Jost Franko (2011-2013), Laura El Tantawy (2011-2013), Mikolaj Nowacki (2011-2013), Nafis Ahmed (2011-2013), Ali Arkady (2014-2020), Arthur Bondar (2014-2016), Cristobal Olivares (2014-2016), Maika Elan (2014-2016), Poulomi Basu (2014-2016), Arnau Bach (2016-2018), Esa Ylijaasko (2016-2018), Linda Bournane Engelberth (2016-2018)* , Luisa Dörr (2016-2018), Mojgan Ghanbari (2016-2018), Chris Lee (2018-2020), Esther Ruth Mbabazi (2018-2020), Fabiola Ferrero (2018-2020), Hector Guerrero (2018-2020), Leonardo Carrato (2018-2020)*, Line Ørnes Søndergaard (2018-2020), Mathias Svold (2018-2020), Sharon Castellanos (2018-2020), Valentina Sinis (2018-2020), Forough Alaei (2019-2022), Fred Ramos (2019-2022), Nolan Ryan Trowe (2019-2022), Prin Rodriguez (2019-2022), Swarat Ghosh (2019-2022), Taha Ahmad (2019-2022), Zinyange Auntony (2019-2022), Debsuddha (2021-2023), Farshid Tighehsaz (2021-2023), Grace Ekpu (2021-2023), Joshua Irwandi (2021-2023), Juan Pablo Ampudia (2021-2023), Kimberly dela Cruz (2021-2023), Marko Risovic (2021-2023), M’hammed Kilito (2021-2023)*, Nada Harib (2021-2023), Sharafat Ali (2021-2023), Brooklyn Kascel (Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program 2022-2023), Jackie Molloy (Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program 2022-2023), Natalie Neuhaus (Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program 2022-2023).

(*) Indicates that the individual is now a VII Photo contributing photographer.

VII Mentee tearsheets