01 Sep Winners of the XII International Contest “Educating the Eye”
332 authors, 384 projects, 3,962 photographs, 61 countries
Castell d’Aro, Platja d’Aro and S’Agaró, September 1, 2025 – The XII International Photographic Project Competition “Educating the Eye” has closed its most international edition with the participation of 332 photographers from 61 countries on six continents, who have submitted 384 projects and 3,962 images.
The contest, organized by the Educating the Eye Photographic Association with the support of the Mercè Rodoreda Library and the City Council of Castell-d’Aro, Platja d’Aro and S’Agaró, aims, since 2014, to stimulate and reward creativity with a total of € 5,000 and give visibility to the gaze of authors from all over the world.
The award-winning projects:
The first prize went to Iranian Mohsen Kaboli with *Surrogate Mother*, a series that documents the story of Zahra, a 29-year-old woman who, in the midst of economic difficulties, agrees to be a surrogate mother for a Christian couple in Iran. The project offers an intimate and courageous look at a reality marked by social, legal and emotional tensions.
The jury has also distinguished the following projects:
- Second prize: *Football for Peace*, by Antonio Aragón Renuncio (Spain), on the integration of disabled children in Togo through football.
- Third prize: *La Fiesta Brava*, by Ariadna Creus Martínez-Aguado (Spain), which portrays popular bullfighting festivals and questions the normalization of animal suffering.
- Young Award: *Silent Wings*, by Kianoush Saadati (Iran), about women who rescue and rehabilitate owls in the north of the country in the face of superstitions and habitat loss.
- Local Award: *Al filo del amor*, by Francisco Crespo Alay (S’Agaró, Girona), a black and white series that symbolizes the vulnerability and sacredness of love through the female figure.
In addition, the jury has selected a group of 5 international finalists whose proposals range from resilience in marginalised communities to workers’ memory and the struggle for freedom in different contexts.
Consolidated as an international benchmark competition, *Educando la Mirada* reaffirms its global character and its commitment to photography as a tool for critical reflection and sensitivity to the challenges of the present. The winning and finalist projects will be exhibited during the month of October in the gardens of the Masía Bas in Platja d’Aro.
You can see the winning works here: https://fotoplatjadaro.com/concurso/ganadores-educando-la-mirada-2025/