Photographs documenting the lives of 60 homeless families sleeping in an abandoned chocolate factory in Brazil have taken top prize at the Ian Parry Scholarship awards.

Spanish photojournalist Sebastian Liste was awarded the prestigious scholarship for his powerful black and white story entitled 'Urban Quilombo', securing him £3000 to continue his work in Brazil.

Liste's photographs, below, showed the women, men and children who occupy Galpão da Araújo Barreto, an abandoned chocolate factory in Salvador de Bahia.


The Ian Parry Scholarship is an international competition for young photographers on a full-time course or under 24. The scholarship was founded in honour of photojournalist Ian Parry, who died while on assignment in Romania for the Sunday Times in 1989 when he was 24-years-old.

Liste will now also be automatically added to the World Press Photo's final list of nominees for the Joop Swart Masterclass in Amsterdam, while his winning submissions will be published in the Sunday Times Magazine.

Other Ian Parry finalists included photographers from Falmouth to Barcelona to Missouri, with the final two runners up each receiving £500.

In a release, Don McCullin, patron of the scholarship said Liste's work told a moving story.

"You have to have more than just ability as a photographer but also have fluency in your story. It's important not to create just a set of individual pictures," he said in the release. "If the images work together we get a much more informative picture of what's going on in the world; photography such as this, deeply engages with issues".

Deputy director Rebecca McClelland added that the scholarship gives young photographers a chance to make themselves known in the industry.

"The IPS is a unique chance for emerging photojournalists to not only have their work assessed and circulated within the wider context of the professional photographic industry but also published in a major national newspaper," she said in the release. "Entering awards has now become the most effective way to showcase your work and I would encourage more students to invest in this kind of free promotion."

The Ian Parry Scholarship will hold an exhibition of the finalists' work at the Getty Images Gallery in London on August 16 for one week.

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).