When the winners were announced on January 31, the biggest surprise for Mescus was hearing her own name. After months of applying to music magazines and hearing little back, she had begun to doubt her direction.
“I was not expecting it in the slightest,” she says.
A week on from the night she received her award, Mescus’ life has resumed its usual rhythm. She arrives at our interview in the midst of a busy weekday afternoon, a pink can of Monster in hand. “I’d lost a lot of confidence in my photography, so having my work recognised at a regional level has restored a lot of faith in myself and my craft.”
The award recognises her portfolio of work shaped by the live music and creative communities of the North East, where Mescus both studies and finds most of her subject matter. Much of her photography unfolds in cosy, darkened venues, pressed up against the edge of a stage where coloured light spills across performers and their crowds. Motion blur, glow and saturated colour recur throughout her work.
Now in the final year of her degree in Journalism, Media and Culture, Mescus has been contributing to student journalism since she first arrived at university. Alongside her degree, she hosts a radio show on women in the music industry and serves as Head of Culture at The Courier. But it’s been about a year now since she first opened up her Instagram account, @amyinthecrowd, and started immersing herself fully into one of her long-time passions - photography.
“A main priority for me is being able to tell a story with my photography,” she says. Judges praised the “dynamic flair” of her work, a style she traces back purely to practice and experimentation.
Her connection to music began in Middlesbrough, where she grew up and spent much of her early teens attending local gigs with friends. The Westgarth Social Club was a regular fixture. “It was this little creative hub of people just giving it a go,” she says. “I loved that kind of space.”
Mescus’ work has emerged in a moment when venues like the Westgarth are facing mounting financial pressures and growing closures in the post-pandemic era. But their absence has shaped how she approaches her photography – she hopes her work can direct attention towards artists and communities that might otherwise remain local secrets.
“There aren’t as many spaces anymore, or at least they’re not showcased enough,” she says.
With renewed confidence and a growing portfolio behind her, Mescus plans to keep photographing the gigs and artists that first inspired her. For her, the goal remains simple: to capture the energy of live music and ensure the North East’s creative communities are seen.