In 2024 I was named Creative Photographer of the Year at The Creative Industry Awards. Two years later, the Global Reputation Forum named me Creative Visionary of the Year 2025/26, presented by the Lord Mayor of Westminster in a room that included a three-time Grammy winner. So: do awards matter? Honestly — yes, and less than you think, and more than you think. Let me untangle that.
What awards don't do
They don't improve the work. The morning after the ceremony, my unfinished projects were exactly as unfinished. An award is a mirror pointed at what you already did — the seven years of Aworan, all of it visible in the Aworan collection, existed before any jury noticed.
What they actually change
- Press finds you. The award became coverage in The Nation, Vanguard and beyond — all collected on press and awards. Journalists need a hook; an award is a ready-made one.
- Doors pre-open. Galleries reply faster. Open call juries read your statement differently. The phrase award-winning does silent work in every bio.
- Collectors gain confidence. Art is an emotional purchase justified rationally. An award is part of that rational justification.
- You gain permission. The quietest effect and the largest: you stop auditioning for the title of artist.
To stand in that room and receive this honour is not just a personal milestone. It is a statement about what visual storytelling can do, and where it belongs.
How to think about applying
Enter awards the way you enter exhibitions — strategically, budgeted, without attaching self-worth to outcomes. Prioritise juried recognition over pay-to-win schemes; research who judged and who previously won. My guide to winning open calls applies almost unchanged to award submissions.
The only sustainable motivation
Awards are weather. The work is climate. If recognition comes, use its momentum — mine carried Aworan into the RBSA Summer Show and BAFA within months, as the timeline on my exhibitions page shows. If it doesn't come yet, the work is still the point. Read my story if you want the fuller philosophy — and when your moment comes, get in touch so I can cheer for you.
Work with me. For fine-art prints and exhibition enquiries, contact me here. For weddings, editorial and lifestyle photography across the UK and Nigeria, visit CameraBoss.co.uk.