The twelve shortlisted photographers have been selected for the seventh Prix Pictet, Space, has been announced at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
The photographers are: Mandy Barker [b. 1964, UK] based in Leeds, Saskia Groneberg [b. 1985, Germany] based in Munich, Beate Guetschow [b. 1970, Germany] based in Berlin and Cologne, Rinko Kawauchi [b. 1972, Japan] based in Tokyo, Benny Lam [b. 1967, Hong Kong] lives and works in Hong Kong, Richard Mosse [b. 1980, Ireland] based in New York City and Ireland, Wasif Munem [b. 1983, Bangladesh] based in Dhaka, Sohei Nishino [b. 1982, Japan] based in Tokyo, Sergey Ponomarev [b. 1980, Russia] based in Moscow, Thomas Ruff [b. 1958, Germany] based in Düsseldorf
Pavel Wolberg [b. 1966, Russia] based in Tel Aviv, Michael Wolf [b. 1954, Germany] based in Hong Kong.
The Prix Pictet Space exhibition will go on show from 6 to 28 May 2017 at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. The winner of the CHF 100,000 Prix Pictet will be announced by Prix Pictet honorary president Kofi Annan on 4 May 2017.
Now in its seventh cycle, the Prix Pictet was founded by the Pictet Group in 2008. Today the Prix Pictet is recognised as the world’s leading prize for photography. The award focuses on a theme that promotes discussion and debate on issues of sustainability. The prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs is awarded for a body of work that addresses most powerfully the theme of the award, which for this cycle is Space.
The Jury for Prix Pictet Space is: Sir David King (Chair), UK Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change; Valérie Belin, photographer, Laureate of sixth Prix Pictet; Martin Barnes, Senior Curator, Photographs, V&A; Philippe Bertherat, former managing partner, Pictet Group; Jan Dalley, Arts Editor, Financial Times; Dambisa Moyo, economist and author; Sebastião Salgado, photographer; Wang Shu, architect.
Sir David King, Chair of the Jury, said today: “The works presented for this edition of the Prix Pictet were of an exceptionally high standard. The range of creative response by the some 700 photographers nominated for the award was truly remarkable. Reviewing work of such quality and diversity was no easy task, but no less fascinating for that. After a long debate we arrived at a shortlist of twelve artists. On behalf of the jury I should like to congratulate each of them. We very much look forward to reviewing their work at the V&A next year.”
Each cycle of the Prix Pictet tours the world, including exhibitions in over a dozen countries annually, bringing the work of the shortlisted photographers before a wide international audience. The Prix Pictet is also published in book form, with detailed documentation of the work of each of the shortlisted photographers, together with images from the wider group of nominees and essays by leading writers on the theme of the prize.
The six previous laureates are Benoît Aquin (Water), Nadav Kander (Earth), Mitch Epstein (Growth), Luc Delahaye (Power), Michael Schmidt (Consumption) and Valérie Belin (Disorder).
Top Photo: Sergey Ponomarev: November 16, 2015. Migrants arrive by a Turkish boat near the village of Skala, on the Greek island of Lesbos. The Turkish boat owner delivered some 150 people to the Greek coast and tried to escape back to Turkey; he was arrested in Turkish waters. Series: Europe Migration Crisis – 2015 – Scala