Diana Sosnowska Wins 3rd Place in 2026 Lenscratch Student Prize for 'Total Internal Reflection'
Diana Sosnowska, a visual artist of Polish-Italian descent, secured 3rd Place in the 2026 Lenscratch Student Prize for her project titled 'Total Internal Reflection'. This achievement earned her a $750 prize, a feature on Lenscratch, a mini exhibition, and merchandise. Recently completing her MFA at the University of South Florida, she transitioned from tableau photography to a focus on how reality is constructed. Her project delves into the U.S. government's Project Stargate, employing archival research, collage, sculpture, and AI to explore image creation and trust, structured in three acts: AI, radio, and research. Sosnowska, who holds a BA in Photography from Robert Gordon University, has exhibited her work globally and is keen on teaching.
Key facts
- Diana Sosnowska won 3rd Place in the 2026 Lenscratch Student Prize for her project 'Total Internal Reflection'.
- The prize includes a $750 cash award, a feature on Lenscratch, a mini exhibition on the Curated Fridge, and a Lenscratch T-shirt and tote.
- Sosnowska recently received an MFA from the University of South Florida.
- Her project investigates Project Stargate, a CIA program involving psychic and remote viewing experiments.
- She uses AI image generator Adobe Firefly to create images from descriptions in Project Stargate archives.
- She also uses SSTV (Slow-Scan Television) to transmit images via radio waves, drawing analogies to quantum entanglement.
- Sosnowska's work has been exhibited at The Bridge and Tunnel Gallery (New York, NY), Le Stanze della Fotografia (Venice, Italy), Galerie Joseph (Paris, France), Studies in Photography (Edinburgh, UK), and the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (Tampa, FL).
- She is a recipient of the British Journal of Photography's Female in Focus award (2022) and the SPE Student Award for Innovations in Imaging (2026).
Entities
Artists
- Diana Sosnowska
- Drew Leventhal
- Mike Mandel
- Larry Sultan
- Trevor Paglen
Institutions
- Lenscratch
- Curated Fridge
- University of South Florida
- Project Stargate
- CIA
- Adobe Firefly
- Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture
- The Bridge and Tunnel Gallery
- Le Stanze della Fotografia
- Galerie Joseph
- Studies in Photography
- Florida Museum of Photographic Arts
- British Journal of Photography
- SPE (Society for Photographic Education)
- Robert Gordon University
- Vassar College
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Aperture Foundation
- PhMuseum
- National Geographic
- Fulbright Program
Locations
- United States
- Italy
- Poland
- Scotland
- New York, NY
- Venice, Italy
- Paris, France
- Edinburgh, UK
- Tampa, FL
- Ireland