Twelve finalists selected in prestigious international photographic competition
This year, more than 3,200 photographers from 108 countries took part in and submitted their work to enter the long-established international photographic competition, organised by Leica Camera AG. This is a new record number of entrants in the history of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award. The announcement of both category winners will take place on 28 September at an official awards ceremony in Berlin. During EMOP Berlin – the European Month of Photography – Leica will publicly present the work of all twelve finalists for the first time in a grand exhibition at the ‘Neuen Schule für Fotografie Berlin’, from 29 September to 23 October 2016.
The twelve finalists are as follows:
• Juan Pablo Bellandi, Venezuela: ‘Chasing HAMPA’
• Fulvio Bugani, Italy: ‘Soul y Sombras’
• Scarlett Coten, France: ‘Mectoub’
• William Daniels, France: ‘C.A.R.’
• Vincent Delbrouck, Belgium: ‘New Paintings’
• Guillaume Herbaut, France: ‘Ukraine: Maidan to Donbass’
• Stéphane Lavoué, France: ‘The North East Kingdom’
• Max Pinckers, Belgium: ‘Two Kinds of Memory and Memory itself’
• Guilio Piscitelli, Italy: ‘Informal facilities in the Jungle’
• Clémentine Schneidermann, France: ‘The Unbearable, the Sadness and the Rest’
• Sadegh Souri, Iran: ‘Waiting Girls’
• Esther Teichmann, Germany: ‘Mondschwimmen’
The members of this year’s Leica Oskar Barnack Award jury were: Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Chief Representative Leica Galleries International (Austria), JH Engström, photographer and last year’s award winner (Sweden), Christine Ollier, Art Director Galerie Filles du Calvaire (France), Chris Boot, Executive Director Aperture Foundation (USA) and Lorenza Bravetta, Director Camera – Italian Centre for Photography (Italy).
Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Chief Representative Leica Galleries International, said, “The entire jury was impressed by the number of entrants, and the ongoing diversity and quality of the portfolios from 108 countries entered in this year’s competition. This once again underlines the international importance of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, to which we have responded this year with its new alignment. The return of the prestigious award to Germany, and the roots of the man who lent it his name, was a wish that was very close to our hearts. We are looking forward to sharing the delight of the finalists at the exciting award-giving ceremony and the grand exhibition in Berlin.”
With prizes amounting to a total value of 80,000 euros, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award is one of the industry’s most prestigious photographic competitions. The winner in the main category will be honoured with a cash prize of 25,000 euros and Leica M-System equipment (a camera and lens) valued at an additional 10,000 euros. The winner of the Newcomer Award will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros and will also be presented with a Leica rangefinder camera and lens. In order to honour the work of all twelve finalists, this year’s competition will be the first to award cash prizes of 2,500 euros each for the works of a further ten photographers in addition to the awards for the winners of the two main categories.
A special issue of LFI Magazine presenting the winners and finalists, and their comprehensive portfolios, will be published to accompany the Leica Oskar Barnack Award.