Ching Wei-Wang, performance documentation of Maintain Status Quo Indefinitely, 2024

Via PR

CHICAGO – Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago (MoCP) announces the 2025 Snider Prize award recipient and honorable mentions.

This year, the Snider Prize has been awarded to Ching-Wei Wang with honorable mentions awarded to Annelise Duque and Selena Kearney.

The Snider Prize is a purchase award given to emerging artists in their final year of graduate study. The winner receives $3,000, and two honorable mentions each receive $500 towards the purchase of work to be added to MoCP’s permanent collection.

Ching-Wei Wang (Way) holds a BA in Foreign Languages and Literatures from National Taiwan University (2021) and an MFA in Photography from Parsons School of Design (2024). Her work in performance and photography explores Taiwan’s political histories and what she calls “the layered identities shaped by colonial histories, geopolitical tension, and ideological frameworks.” Way has a background in writing and dance, which is evident in her use of text and the movement of the body.

Snider Prize Honorable Mention: Annelise Duque

Annelise Duque, After Image, 2024

Annelise Duque earned her MFA from Ohio State University. Working across photography, performance, video, and collage, she examines issues of time and memory, particularly in relation to her Filipino heritage and ancestry. In her own words, she “is forever entranced by the camera’s ability to reveal both truth and lies, currently using the photograph as a method of time-travel.” 

Snider Prize Honorable Mention: Selena Kearney

Selena Kearney, Suspended Dust 1, from the series Shadowy Evidence, 2025

Selena Kearney holds an MFA in Photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Evergreen State College, and a Certificate of Fine Art Photography from the Photographic Center Northwest. A member of the Coast Salish tribe, Kearney’s practice is deeply rooted in her heritage. Her work, as she describes, “centers Indigenous presence, cultural continuity, and visual sovereignty.” Working across disciplines including drawing, photography, and performance, she investigates colonial US histories while honoring and elevating the stories of the people who lived before her.

 About the Snider Prize Award

Lawrence K. and Maxine Snider, MoCP DARKROOM, 2022

Through the generosity of Lawrence K. and Maxine Snider, the Snider Prize was established as a prestigious endowed purchase award supporting emerging artists completing their graduate studies.

Since its inception in 2013, the prize has recognized twelve artists and awarded twenty-four honorable mentions, integrating their works into the museum’s permanent collection. This initiative reflects MoCP’s enduring commitment to nurturing new talent and advancing the field of contemporary photography.

Learn more about the Snider Prize Award

#