Honorable Mention / 2023 / Fine Art / People

• Photographer
  Maggie Shannon, United States

Over the course of 2020-2021, I followed midwives in the United States to explore what it means to bear life in a time of grief. Midwives provide guidance and guardianship rooted in generational wisdom, combining medical expertise with emotional support. When a difficult process is made even harder by a global pandemic and new laws restricting access to abortion, the need to be honest about childbirth and our own bodies is even more important. This pandemic has disproportionately affected women, and this project illuminates some of the burdens they must bear.