Picture by Guillaume Koessler in Arles, France. June 2022.
Maria Contreras Coll is a visual storyteller and documentary photographer based in Barcelona, Spain. She is a National Geographic Explorer, a National Prize of Culture of Catalonia awardee, and a collaborator with The New York Times.
She sees storytelling as a tool for transformation and is involved in highlighting how women are transforming patriarchal notions and social structures in different contexts. With a collaborative approach and combining long-term practice and research, she captures people’s stories intimately, and she likes to reflect on the power dynamics associated with the image-making processes.
After finishing her degree in Fine Arts in Barcelona, and a postgraduate degree in Photojournalism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, she spent her first years as a photojournalist working on the refugee and migrant crisis in the Spanish enclave of Melilla in Northern Morocco and lived a year in Nepal to document how women are transforming menstrual restrictions in the country. Since then, she has been exploring how women are transforming religion and spirituality in places such as India, Mexico, and Austria, with the support of The National Geographic Society and the Catalan government among others. She is the mentee to James Estrin (The New York Times) and Ed Kashi (VII Photo Agency).
Her work has been published in National Geographic Spain, The Washington Post, and Marie Claire among others. She worked as a unit set photographer for clients such as HBO, and her work has been shown in cities such as Dubai, London, and Barcelona. She is a teacher and a mentor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a member of Women Photograph, Diversify Photo, and Photographic Social Vision. Currently, she is working on her first feature movie, studying for her Master's Degree in film direction at ESCAC (Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya) with a full scholarship, and working on a project about Mediterranean heritage with the support of the prestigious National Geographic Meridian Grant.
maria.contreras.coll@gmail.com | +34630711850
PUBLICATIONS | CLIENTS
The New York Times, HBO, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Der Spiegel, The Volkskrant, GEO Magazine, Marie Claire, 6Mois, Al Jazeera, Internazionale, Information, Le Temps, WOZ Die Wochenzeitung, Le Figaro, Revista 5W, Open Society Fundations, Vice Media, Bistandsaktuelt, El Pais, El Mundo, Diari Ara, El Nacional, Pear Video, among others.
AWARDS
2023
ESCAC full scholarship to study a Master’s on film direction
2022
National Geographic Society Meridian Grant
Casa Garita Art Residency in Oaxaca, Mexico
Full Member of Diversify Photo
2021
National Prize of Culture of Catalonia
The New York Times Portfolio Review
2020
National Geographic COVID-19 Emergency Fund For Journalists
National Geographic Storytelling Grant
I Joana Biarnes Fellowship
2019
POY Latam, 3rd place, Los Jóvenes Se Expresan Category
International Women Photographers Award
ASPAwrds, Blow Up Prize
Voices Off Award 2019, selected
Joop Swart Masterclass, nominee
Smithsonian Photo Contest, Finalist
Lucie Foundation Scholarship, shortlisted
2018
XXXI Eddie Adams Workshop
Women Photograph Mentorship
"31 women to watch out for", British Journal of Photography
The Year In Pictures, Women Photograph
Joop Swart Masterclass, nominee
Prix ANI-PixPalace at Visa Pour L´Image, selected
PH Museum Women Photographers Grant, honorable mention
Lucie Foundation Scholarship, shortlisted
Marilyn Stafford Fotoreportage Award, honorable mention
Days Japan International Awards, finalist
Moscow International Foto Awards, bronze winner
Up Residency in Milano
ND Awards, Editorial Daily Life, third place
Portraits - Hellerau Photography Award, finalist
2017
Click Grant Catalan Goverment
XVIII Seminar of Photography and Journalism Grant in Albarracín for studying Photojournalism in Efti School
XVIII Seminar of Photography and Journalism Grant in Albarracín, winner
ND Awards Editorial: Documentary Photography category, honorable mention
International Photography Magazine & Grant, nominee
Lucie Foundation Scholarship, nominee
Renaissance Photography Grant, nominee
EXHIBITIONS
2020
”Santa Anna”, Santa Anna Field Hospital, Barcelona, Spain (solo exhibition)
"Journey To Impurity", Cassà De La Selva, Spain (solo exhibition)
"Journey To Impurity", Humanes, Madrid, Spain (solo exhibition)
”The Journal”, Anderson Ranch, Aspen, USA
2019
"Journey To Impurity", Madrid Docu Fest, Madrid, Spain
"Journey To Impurity", International Street and Authorial Photography Festival, Alghero, Italy
"Journey To Impurity", IWPA traveling show, Dubai - Beirut - Amman - Paris - New Delhi - Toulouse - Riyadh - Marseille"Journey To Impurity", Les Bernardes, Girona, Spain"Journey To Impurity", After Nyne Gallery, London, UK
"Mortal Again", Espai Elizade, Barcelona, Spain
"Mortal Again", Casa Golferichs, Barcelona, Spain
2018
"The Sound Of The Suburbs", Fabrica del Vapore, Milano, Italy
"Journey To Impurity", Love me Tender global tour by Slideluck Editorial, Barcelona, Spain, Lagos, Nigeria, Bari, Italy, Fortaleza, Brazil
"Journey To Impurity", showcased Photo Vogue Festival, Milan, Italy
"Journey To Impurity", Aljub Espai Art, Figueres, Spain (solo exhibition)
"Journey To Impurity", Biennal Xavier Miserachs, Palafrugell, Spain
"Mortal Again", Visa Off, Visa Pour L'Image, Perpignan, France, (solo exhibition)
"We Keep Waiting", Les Bernardes, Girona, Spain
"Hope", Dresden, Germany
2017
"Melilla, the gateway of Europe", IX Jornades Masnou, Masnou, Spain
"We Keep Waiting", Espai Català Roca, Docfield, Barcelona, Spain, (solo exhibition)
"We Keep Waiting", Looking For Refuge, organized by CEAR (Spanish Commission for Refugee Assistance), Casa de Vacas, Madrid, Spain
"Hope", Renaissance Photography, Getty Images Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2014
"Persona”, Freedonia Gallery, Barcelona, Spain, (solo exhibition)
"Persona", Titols, University of Fine Arts, in Barcelona, Spain
“Ah!",Espai Català Roca, in Barcelona, Spain, (solo exhibition)
TEACHING | SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
From 2016 to present
Teacher and Mentor, Postgraduate Degree in Photojournalism, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
2023
Conference about image making processes and representation, Confederación Española de Fotografia, Spain
Conference about “Women Revisiting Religion”, INSPAI, Girona, Spain
Photo lead activity at the Young Leadership Programme, organised by European Forest Institute, Spain
2022
Speaker at Explorers Festival, National Geographic Headquarters, Washington D.C, USA
Photo Lead Activity to the National Geographic Spanish Explorers, Madrid
Quatre Cantons High School, Menstruating here and in Nepal workshop, organized by La Rafega Photo Collective, Barcelona
2021
Universidad Internacional de Andalucía, Photojournalism and Migration, Spain
National Geographic Campaign, Palabra De Mujer, Spain
National Geographic Campaign, High schools on being an Explorer and working on Menstruation, Spain
Aula Fotografia, Humanes, Madrid,, Viaje A La Impureza, Spain
2020
Journey To Impurity online lecture, Humanes, Madrid, Spain
2019
Espai Català Roca, Barcelona, Spain
DateCuenta school, Pati Llimona, Barcelona, Spain
Erasmus + program from the UK, Barcelona, Spain
IES Badia, Mataró, Spain.