Mandana Mahdavi is a documentary photographer based in the USA. Born to Iranian-German parents and raised in London, she spent years in Madrid and New York, drawing on a rich multicultural foundation. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and a Master’s in Management, she began her career in the visual arts industry before transitioning to photography. This multidisciplinary background shapes her research-driven, narrative-focused approach. She is an alumna of the International Center of Photography’s (ICP) Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism program, where she received the Director’s Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited at venues such as the ICP Museum, Chashama, and the Old Truman Brewery. In 2021, she was selected to participate in the Eddie Adams Workshop XXXIV and awarded the Documentary Arts Fellowship for her project This Place Called Home. Her work ÂME earned an honorable mention in the Emerging Artist category from the Lucie Foundation and was a finalist for The Alexia Grant in 2023. She is currently developing Flood of Dark, an exploration of endometriosis and the politics of gendered pain, supported by The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation. In 2025, she was honored with the Artist Fellowship in Photography from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Mandana’s work is distinguished by her dedication to long-form, community-centered storytelling, delving into themes of identity, resilience, and social justice while uncovering the psychological undercurrents that shape human experience.
Acheivements
2025 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Photography, The New York Foundation for the Arts, USA
2024 Rita K. Hillman Foundation Fellowship, The Rita Hillman and Alex Foundation, USA
2024 New York Portfolio Review, USA
2023 The Alexia Grant (Finalist), The Alexia, USA
2022 Emerging Artist Scholarship (Honorable Mention), Lucie Foundation, USA
2021 Eddie Adams Workshop XXXIV, USA
2021 Documentary Arts Fellowship, Documentary Arts, USA
2021 Director’s Fellowship, International Center of Photography, USA
Education
2023 Journalism and Trauma, Poynter Center, USA
2022 (Advanced) Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism, International Center of Photography, USA
2021 Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism, International Center of Photography, Online
2017 Professional Photography Course, London Institute of Photography, UK
2010 Management MSc, Bayes Business School, UK
2006 Biomedical Sciences BSc, University College London, UK
Selected Exhibitions
2024 Der Greif, Guest Room: Tina Campt and Keisha Scarville, Online
2023 Parallel Horizons, Chashama, USA
2023 Faculty and Staff Showcase, International Center of Photography, USA
2022 Shifting Selves, International Center of Photography Museum, USA
2021 This Was the Year That Was, International Center of Photography, USA
2018 Free Range Shows, The Old Truman Brewery, UK
Selected Features
2025 NYFA, ‘Introducing the 2025 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellows, Finalists, and Panelists’, August 2025
2023 Musee Magazine, ‘Parallel Horizons: An International Photography Collective Exhibition in Chelsea’, October 2023
2023 Blind Magazine, ‘A New Collective is Born in New York’, September 2023
2023 Visura, ‘Parallel Horizons features nine international artists navigating landscapes of transformation’, September 2023
2023 Artdoc, ‘Parallel Horizons’, September 2023
2023 The Alexia at Newhouse/Syracuse University, ‘A Look Back: The Alexia 2023 Winners’, May 2023
Selected Publications
2023 PhotoVogue, Featured Photographer
2022 Shift Magazine, Featured Photographer
Talks
2023 Artist Talk at the Parallel Horizons Exhibition, Chashama, moderated by Alexey Yurenev