Cian Oba-Smith is an Irish Nigerian photographer who was born and raised in London. His work focuses on communities and subcultures around the world with a particular interest in approaching subjects that are often misrepresented and presenting them in a different light.

The relationship between human experience and environment is at the core of his projects. His photographs can be found in a variety of places online and in print including FT Weekend Magazine, Crack Magazine, The Fader, Port, Dazed & Confused, The New Yorker and others.

Shannon Ghannam is the Global Education Director at Magnum Photos, responsible for the celebrated agency's educational programming globally, including the recently launched online learning platform Magnum Learn. Previously she managed Content Strategy and Development at Reuters, working to showcase on multiple platforms the agency’s multimedia content. Shannon has collaborated on numerous photographic books, international exhibitions and multimedia projects including the Emmy award winning photojournalism app Reuters the Wider Image. 

Skinder Hundal is CEO/Director of New Art Exchange, a leading contemporary arts space, and has been in post since 2008. He has successfully led the organisation through a significant period of growth and development, achieving a strong reputation for producing high-quality adventurous art, and bringing culturally diverse art to Nottingham and the UK.

He is passionate about supporting new talent, creating ‘incredible encounters’, and rethinking how the arts and cultural ecology works so that its value is shared as widely as possible and is inclusive at all levels.

Dr. Yan Wang Preston is an artist and lecturer based in West Yorkshire, UK. Her research interest lies in the contested states of nature in contemporary societies, for which she has completed two long-term projects; Mother River and Forest. Her work won many international awards including the 1^st Prize, Syngenta Photography Award and the Professional Landscape category of 2019 Sony World Photography Awards. 

Yan has had solo exhibitions at venues including Side Gallery Newcastle, Gallery of Photography Ireland, the 56^th Venice Biennale and Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum. In 2018, she received a PhD in Photography from the University of Plymouth.

Dr Michael Pritchard is a former photography specialist at Christie’s auction house and a photographic historian. He has written and lectured extensively on many aspects of the history of photography in the UK and abroad. Michael has been a selector for many other competitions include the HIPA Awards, Travel Photographer of the Year, Food PotY, the IPA, the Lucie Awards and others. He heads the RPS education and public programmes.