ROCKPORT, ME – Maine Media has announced Craig Easton as the recipient of the 2023 Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture, a $20,000 prize awarded annually by Maine Media to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photographic portraiture.
The 2023 award recognizes photographer Craig Easton and his project BANK TOP, a photographic essay made in collaboration with writer, poet, and social researcher Abdul Aziz Hafiz. The project examines the portrayal and misrepresentation of northern communities in the United Kingdom and focuses on a small, tight-knit community in Blackburn, England
Craig Easton's work is deeply rooted in the documentary tradition. Easton shoots long-term documentary projects exploring issues around social policy, identity, culture and community. Known for his intimate portraits and expansive landscapes, his work regularly combines these elements with reportage approaches to storytelling. He often works collaboratively with others to incorporate words, pictures and audio in a research-based practice that weaves a narrative between contemporary experience and history. Easton's past achievements include the prestigious title of Photographer of the Year at the 2021 SONY World Photography Awards, as well as an Honorary Fellowship with the Royal Photographic Society in 2022.
