1138 photographers, a world of gazes: the 6th edition that confirmed an intuition

Since its creation, the International Photography Competition organised by the General Foundation of the University of Salamanca, through CENIE, has been a singular territory within the Iberian cultural landscape: a place where photography does not compete, but converses; where the image is not limited to representing, but to questioning; where longevity ceases to be a demographic concept and becomes a human story—complex and full of nuance.

 

In its 6th edition, held in 2025, this vocation reached an especially revealing expression: 1,138 photographers from multiple countries and cultures chose to come together to look at the world from a different place. Their massive participation is not merely a sign of interest; it is the confirmation of an intuition that CENIE has defended for years: age does not define us. The gaze does.

 

A global community shaped by a shared impulse

 

The extraordinary diversity of participants is not a matter of chance. It shows that the competition has positioned itself at a point where sensibilities, artistic traditions, emotions and universal questions converge. The origins of the authors form a living map: major European cities, rural territories in Latin America, Asian communities where visual memory is a sacred asset, African countries where photography serves both as historical record and cultural affirmation.

 

There are established photographers with decades of experience and young creators searching for their voice. Some work with analogue processes, others explore digital narratives. Some capture the human body with an almost sculptural light, while others observe everyday spaces with documentary delicacy.

 

Yet despite this diversity, they all share the same impulse: to look at longevity without clichés. To let the image illuminate what often goes unnoticed. And, in that search, to make the motto of this edition their own:

 

“Age does not define us. The gaze does.”

 

A common language for a global challenge

 

One of the great strengths of this edition is seeing how photography can act as a bridge between cultures. The images received form a tapestry of sensibilities that, though different, recognise one another.

 

There are scenes portraying the passage of time in rural communities, where longevity is expressed through gestures that sustain centuries-old traditions. There are urban portraits showing the vitality of those who live long lives in cities that change at a rapid pace. There are intergenerational stories celebrating bonds. There are deep gazes that, without uttering a word, claim dignity. There are photographed silences that contain more truth than any speech.

 

And in each of these images beats the same idea: longevity is not only a matter of years lived, but of meaning built. And that meaning is expressed in the way we look at, understand and represent people over time.

 

An archive that grows and forces us to look better

 

With the works from this edition, CENIE surpasses 15,000 photographs received since the competition began. This archive is not merely a collection; it is a living document of how our perception of age and time evolves.

 

Within its visual pages, a profound shift can be seen: each year, more photographers approach longevity without falling into standardised imagery. Without resorting to easy nostalgia or fragility as the only narrative. They show it as a rich, diverse, contradictory and deeply human experience.

 

The 1,138 participants of this year have expanded this archive in a decisive way. Their works not only enrich a cultural repository; they also contribute to a more ambitious task: renewing the visual imagination of long-lived societies. Pointing out that the value of a life is not measured in timelines, but in gazes capable of recognising meaning, beauty and continuity.

 

Thus, this archive fulfils a double function: it documents and it guides. It allows us to observe how we change as a society and indicates what kind of gaze we need in order to move towards a more just and conscious culture.

 

A before and after in the history of the competition

 

The participation of 1,138 photographers makes this edition a milestone. Not only because of the volume, but because of what that number represents: trust. Trust in CENIE’s cultural project. Trust in its ability to narrate longevity from a place that combines science, art and social sensitivity. Trust that the image can transform the way we understand long life.

 

This year has shown that the competition is not an isolated event, but a permanent space for reflection. A cultural laboratory where new ways of seeing are tested and where photography becomes a tool for thought.

 

And the international response is, precisely, the best proof that the motto of this edition is not a slogan, but a declaration of principles embraced by the artistic community. Because the authors who participated did not send photographs “about age”: they sent gazes. And those gazes are what define the power of the competition.

 

Celebrating diversity, celebrating what comes next

 

What truly elevates this edition is the chorus formed by those 1,138 photographers. Their works show that, when it comes to portraying longevity, the world does not speak with a single voice, but with many. And it is that polyphony that reveals the richness of the theme.

 

For CENIE, this edition once again confirms that photography is a meeting point between disciplines: science, emotion, memory, aesthetics and humanity. A place where it is possible to build a broader, more luminous and more just narrative about the passage of time.