NEW YORK, July 8, 2022 – Prix Pictet, the world’s leading prize in photography and sustainability, has announced ‘Human’ as the theme for the 10th cycle of the award.
The announcement was made at a presentation at the Théâtre Antique of the work of Sally Mann, last year’s Prix Pictet Laureate, as part of the annual photography festival Les Rencontres d’Arles on the evening of Thursday 7 July.
Commenting on the theme, Isabelle von Ribbentrop, Executive Director, Prix Pictet, said: “We quite rightly celebrate human creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship but too often our triumphs in science, engineering and technology come at monumental cost. The human story is more often a tale of conflict and despair than of nurture, love and co-existence.
“Yet it would be too easy to read the human story as one of tragic hubris. Yet it does not end here. We stand on the threshold of the future wondering which way the dice will fall. Our wager with posterity is that human ingenuity, intelligence, and resilience of spirit is powerful enough to insist upon a very different future for the human story.”
The shortlist of photographers will be announced in early 2023. A major exhibition of the shortlisted portfolios will be held to accompany the award ceremony at the V&A in London in September 2023. The winner of the 10th cycle will receive a cash prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs (£86,000, USD105,000).
The nine previous Prix Pictet winners are Benoit Aquin (Water), Nadav Kander (Earth), Mitch Epstein (Growth), Luc Delahaye (Power), Michael Schmidt (Consumption), Valérie Belin (Disorder), Richard Mosse (Space), Joana Choumali (Hope) and Sally Mann (Fire).
The Prix Pictet was founded by the Pictet Group in 2008. Today, the award is recognised as the world’s leading prize for photography. On an approximately 18-month cycle, each theme aims to promote discussion and debate on critical issues of sustainability. The winner is chosen for the body of work that speaks most powerfully to the theme of the award.
Each cycle of the Prix Pictet tours globally, with exhibitions in over a dozen locations, bringing the work of the shortlisted photographers to a wide international audience.
The Prix Pictet podcast A Lens on Sustainability brings together global creators, thinkers and photographers to discuss photography and sustainability. Collaborators and guest speakers have included Don McCullin, Hannah Starkey, Sebastião Salgado and Taryn Simon. The podcast is available via Spotify, Apple and the Prix Pictet website.
SOURCE Pictet Group