Meet the Winner of the Belmond Photographic Residency

Following an intensive few days of judging at Castello di Casole in Tuscany, an internationally renowned jury has awarded Cecy Young the first Belmond Photographic Residency. Her winning portfolio of ten images was taken from an ongoing series exploring the Japanese town of Atami, and her work won acclaim for its cultural nuance, humour and humanity.

There was a healthy debate among jury-members – who included Simon Baker (Director of Maison Européenne de la Photographie), Carla Sozzani (Gallerist and Founder of Fondazione Sozzani), Coco Capitán (Photographer), Antwaun Sargent (Writer and Curator), Ekow Eshun (Writer and Curator), Matthieu Charon (Co-Founder of RVB Books), and Arnaud Champenois (Senior Vice President of Global Brand, Belmond) – but ultimately Young’s work was felt to best capture the prize’s ethos of championing new perspectives in travel photography. It won out over 18 shortlisted applications heralding from ten countries, who went through to the live judging from a longlist of more than 800.

“During a visit to Atami and other small cities in the Izu Peninsula, I took an interest in the architecture particularly of the hotels that retain their old glamour,” explains Young. “Atami, like many small Japanese cities, is changing, but the neo-futuristic architecture remains a testament to an era of flourishing for geishas, big groups of salary men on company retreats and family summer getaways. My work is a documentation that seeks to treasure this sense of time standing still, the lingering echoes of a bygone era while contemplating an uncertain future.”

Young will receive an all-expenses residency at Belmond’s Castello di Casole in Tuscany next year, leading to a print publication with RVB Books, a photography showcase in a major global city, mentorship from Belmond's network of photographic experts, and a financial award. Young is originally from Mexico but now lives in Paris and travels extensively in Japan every year.