Biography
In 2026 photographer Annelies Damen was awarded an important award in Italy: The Collector.Chain Prize, Art Defender’s photography award 2026 in Milan.
Chaired by Walter Guadagnini, the jury was captivated by her Longing for Lamu (2025) series, a photographic series on presence and erasure, identity and vulnerability.
For over two decades, Annelies Damen has returned to the Lamu Archipelago off the coast of Kenya. Drawn to its rich coastal heritage, Damen found in the islands both a sustained source of artistic inspiration and a space for encounter. Through extended conversations with African and Swahili women, she came to understand the specificity of their faiths, skills and social systems, as well as the informal networks of mutual support that structure their daily life. Unparalleled and addictive, her world expanded in unexpected ways. Compelled by the women’s radiance, dignity and resilience, Damen began to photograph them, allowing their presence and stories to shape the work.