Prix Pictet has announced its list of 12 photographers shortlisted for its tenth edition of the award during the opening week of Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles. Titled Human, the theme invites photographers to explore the numerous ways in which humankind has been shaped and continues to shape the environments and societies we inhabit. The artists shortlisted here engage with a range of topics including relationships between people and between humans and nature, social injustice, and environmental and indigenous precarity:
Hoda Afshar (Iran/Australia)
Gera Artemova (Ukraine)
Ragnar Axelsson (Iceland)
Alessandro Cinque (Italy/Peru)
Siân Davey (UK)
Gauri Gill (India)
Michał Łuczak (Poland)
Yael Martínez (Mexico)
Richard Renaldi (US)
Federico Ríos Escobar (Colombia)
Vanessa Winship (UK/Bulgaria)
Vasantha Yogananthan (France)
The executive director of Prix Pictet, Isabelle von Ribbentrop, has said in a statement: ‘Instead of the future of photography, I like to think about photography for the future. The power of the image lies in its ability to foreground critical and urgent environmental issues in a visually impactful yet direct way… It is extremely exciting to work with forward-looking creatives, who are not just passionate about their medium but about leaving a positive legacy in our world. For us at the Prix Pictet, we are committed to our goal of changing and shaping our future planet for the better, through harnessing the power of photography.’
An exhibition of works by these 12 artists will be presented at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, where the winner of Human will be revealed on 28 September 2023. The exhibition will continue to tour over a dozen international venues. The winner will be chosen by a jury consisting of Sir David King (Founder and Chair of Climate Crisis Advisory Group), Funmi Iyanda (Creative Director of OYA Media), Philippe Bertherat (President of Musée d’art Modern et Contemporain, Geneva), Sally Mann (winner of Prix Pictet Fire, 2021), Jan Dalley (arts editor of Financial Times), Duncan Forbes (Head of Photography at Victoria and Albert Museum, London), Jeff Rosenheim (Joyce Frank Menschel Curator in Charge of Photographs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). They will be awarded a prize of CHF100,000 (around £87,000).
In addition to September’s announcement of the winner, Prix Pictet will publish a book that will showcase the work of all 12 photographers.
