Featured Image Above: Escape by Mohamad Jalilzadeh, Iran
ZIPA 2025 announces winners from over 30 countries, featuring 1,500+ submissions judged by an international jury. Exhibition and publication to follow.
December 27, 2025
Zyne International Photography Awards (ZIPA) 2025 has successfully concluded its inaugural edition, witnessing participation from more than 350 photographers across over 30 countries worldwide, with an impressive 1,500+ submissions received across five photography categories. The remarkable international reach, credibility, and artistic depth of ZIPA 2025 were made possible by an esteemed panel of five internationally acclaimed jury members, whose global reputations and artistic legacy played a pivotal role in establishing the award’s stature from its very first edition.
ZIPA was envisioned and organized by its founding members, Ali Zolghadri and Vivek Verma. Ali Zolghadri is an internationally acclaimed fine art and conceptual photographer, celebrated for his minimalist and surreal black-and-white works. With more than 136 awards across 25 countries, his photographs have been exhibited globally and featured in leading art and photography publications. A UAE Golden Visa honouree, Ali has also served as a jury member for numerous international photography competitions. Vivek Verma is a landscape and abstract photographer, based in Mumbai, India. He is also the founder and Chief-Editor of Zyne — an international magazine on photography that bridges visual culture, philosophy, and mental wellness. He runs a photography blog, Creative Genes where he writes about intersection of law and photography, mental health and well being of creators, among others. Recipient of multiple national and international honors, his work has been exhibited globally and published in several print media.
The year’s distinguished ZIPA 2025 jury panel included:
- Ali Zolghadri (UAE & Iran)
- Remon Diaz (Miami, USA)
- Jozef Danyi (Czech Republic)
- Zuzana Fajmonová (Czech Republic)
- Pavel Ziegler (Prague, Czech Republic)
The judging process was conducted in two structured stages. In the first stage, each category underwent an expert-led shortlisting by the assigned genre specialist. In the second stage, all jury members collectively scored the top three shortlisted images in each category to determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners, as well as the overall winner and runner-up of ZIPA 2025.
The five competition categories included Abstract, Minimal, Black & White, Street, and Landscape Photography.
In adddition to the category winners, a number of exceptional works outside the Top 50 finalists were recognized as ZIPA Jury-Selected, serving as honorary mentions for artistic merit. Furthermore, fifteen outstanding works (top three from each category) were selected as Zyne Editor’s Choice, separately.
Recognition and opportunities awarded to the winners include:
- Exhibition of ZIPA Gold-winning works at historic Chithrasala Art Gallery, Thiruvananthapuram, from 21–25 January 2026. The gallery traces its origins to 1935, when it was inaugurated by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma—the last reigning Maharaja of the princely state of Travancore—situating it within the cultural legacy of present-day Kerala.
- Publication of ZIPA Gold, Silver and Bronze winning photographs in the February 2026 issue of Zyne (print + digital) magazine, along with a few curated photographs from Jury-Selected and Editor’s Choice. The inaugural issue of the magazine (August 2025) witnessed more than 700 organic downloads across the globe, without paid promotions.
- Feature of Top 50 finalist works across the ZIPA website, Creative Genes blog, and official social media platforms, along with certificates and digital badges.
- Exclusive interviews of two selected award-winning artists to be published in the February 2026 issue of Zyne magazine.
- Publication of the complete set of ZIPA 2025 winning images in the annual award book, to be released soon.
ZIPA 2025 has set a strong foundation as a credible and artist-centric international photography award, committed to celebrating visual excellence and fostering global photographic dialogue.
For complete results and further information, please visit: www.zyneawards.com
Media Contact:
Email: zynemagindia@gmail.com
Website: www.zyneawards.com
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