Prix Pictet: Latest News

Growth Book wins award

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:06:00 +0000

It was announced recently that the Prix Pictet Growth book had been awarded ‘Best Photographic’ book at this year’s British Book Design and Production Awards. This is a great honour as it was selected from a collection of noteworthy publications including Alexander McQueen; Savage Beauty and Brian Cook’s; Landscapes of Britain. Many thanks and congratulations are due to Together Design and teNeues Publishing for making it all possible. The judges commented, “This thoughtfully curated collection of photographs is complimented by clear and bright reproduction of the images. The care taken in their layout means that there is nothing to distract from their evocative visual fascination.” Growth was published in 2010, and contains photos from the third cycle of the Prix Pictet, the theme of which was Growth. Growth can be bought through the teNeues website, where you can also find the recently published Ushirikiano, a monograph of Chris Jordan’s photographs from his recent visit to Kenya, as part of the third Prix Pictet Commission.

Chris Jordan's 'Ushirikiano' photos premiered in London

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:58:00 +0000

The Prix Pictet Growth cycle reached its conclusion this week with the opening of an exhibition of photographs by Chris Jordan at Diemar/Noble Photography, London. The opening was attended by over 300 guests from the fields of business, art and sustainability – a diverse audience whose uniformly positive response to these often harrowing images reflects the Prix Pictet's unique achievement in highlighting the critical issue of sustainability through photography. Chris Jordan’s beautiful and disturbing images were shot this summer in Northern Kenya where he completed a fieldtrip for the third Prix Pictet Commission. The Tusk Trust, whose work in Kenya is currently being supported by Pictet & Cie, facilitated Jordan’s journey through this remote part of Africa, ensuring access to community and wildlife conservancies many miles from the usual tourist routes. The resulting series, which Chris Jordan calls Ushirikiano (‘partnership’ or ‘collaboration’ in Swahili) focuses on the precarious existence of the drought stricken communities that inhabit Kenya’s Northern Rangelands. While not universally bleak, a chilling requiem for elephants slaughtered by poachers lies at the heart of this series. ‘I hope’, says Jordan, ‘these photos can serve as a visual reminder of the trail of destruction we leave, and the damage we do to our own spirits, when we forget our relationship with nature, our own human dignity and our connection with the higher purposes of life.’ With the launch this week of the fourth cycle of the Prix Pictet and its theme of Power, Chris Jordan’s words are a timely reminder of the central purpose of the Prix Pictet – to raise public awareness worldwide of the social and environmental challenges of the new millennium. English Press Release
French Press Release

Infinite Balance opens in San Diego on 14 October

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:33:00 +0000

This first Prix Pictet exhibition in the US will open at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) in San Diego with an event on 14 October. Under the title ‘Infinite Balance: Artists and the Environment’ the exhibition will showcase works selected from among those shortlisted under the three themes that have defined each cycle of the Prix Pictet to date, Water, Earth and Growth. The aim of the exhibition is to illustrate the magnitude of the sustainability issues we all face. As well as the three laureates - Benoit Aquin, Nadav Kander and Mitch Epstein – the exhibition includes works by Sammy Baloji, Edward Burtynsky, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Susan Derges, Andreas Gursky, Naoya Hatakeyama, Chris Jordan, Yao Lu, Vera Lutter, David Maisel, Edgar Martins and Michael Wolf. ‘Infinite Balance’ will be at MoPA, San Diego until 5 February 2012. To coincide with the exhibition, shortlisted artists Chris Jordan, who was also awarded the Growth Commission, will be giving a public talk at MoPA on 17 November at 7pm.

Growth laureate Mitch Epstein presents at Les Rencontres d’Arles and fourth theme of Power is announced

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:21:00 +0000

The theme of the fourth Prix Pictet will be Power. Announcing the new theme, Stephen Barber, the Chairman of the award, said: "From the awesome power of the natural world and of industrial power harnessed by man, to the spontaneous power of people to effect change, 'Power' has enormous breadth, embracing contradiction and paradox in equal measure. As a theme it is positive and negative. In short, 'Power' has the potential to uncover images and issues that are both awe-inspiring and disturbing." The context for this announcement was a headline presentation at Arles’ Théâtre Antique by the third Prix Pictet laureate Mitch Epstein. Epstein’s epic images from his award winning series on energy production and consumption in the United States were accompanied by a commentary from the artist and a specially composed score performed by the cellist Erik Friedlander. Director of Les Rencontres d’Arles, François Hébel said, "The evening projection offered by Prix Pictet to the Rencontres d'Arles this summer was a delicious moment of photography, music, poetry and politics. The Roman antique theatre was filled with more than 2000 spectators, when the pictures of Mitch Epstein appeared on the 9 meters screen under the stars. The subtle and concerned photographer delicately read his text as his pictures where projected, alternatively with the marvelous jazz musician Erik Friedlander playing cello. The international crowd of photography professionals and fans, gave a standing ovation after the performance, appreciating both the esthetics and the delivered message about growth. A marvelous esthetical and meaningfull evening like the Arles attendees love." Calendar of announcements for the fourth Prix Pictet October 2011
Nominations open Jury announced
Prix Pictet Commission winner Chris Jordan exhibition opens in London January 2012
Nominations close Spring 2012
Shortlisting July 2012
Announcement of shortlist at Les Rencontres d'Arles October 2012
Winner of fourth Prix Pictet announced
Prix Pictet Commission winner announced English Press Release
French Press Release

Jordan in Kenya

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:37:00 +0000

Shortlisted photographer Chris Jordan is currently touring the Nakuprat Conservancy in Northern Kenya where, with the support of the UK-based charity, Tusk Trust he is making a series of images for the third Commission. Jordan’s series will be a response to the issues of sustainability faced by local people in the region. Tusk Trust is responsible for the development of over forty different programmes of conservation and sustainable community development in 17 African countries. Tusk’s field projects are designed not only to protect wildlife, particularly endangered species, but to help alleviate poverty and encourage sustainable development and education amongst many poor rural communities who live alongside wildlife. The photographs that Chris Jordan makes for this Commission will be premiered at Diemar Noble Photography, London in October 2011. Chris Jordan was shortlisted for the Prix Pictet ‘Growth’ for his series Midway: Message from the Gyre documenting the plight of the numerous albatross chicks that ingest lethal quantities of plastic from rubbish dumped at sea.

First Whitechapel/Prix Pictet Conversation on Photography: Thomas Struth and Nana Last

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:34:00 +0000

The first in the series of Whitechapel/Prix Pictet Conversations on Photography took place at the Whitechapel gallery in London on 7 July 2011. This inaugural discussion featured shortlisted artist Thomas Struth and the distinguished designer and academic, Professor Nana Last. It took place against the backdrop of Thomas Struth: Photographs 1978 – 2010 a major exhibition of Struth’s work that opened at the Whitechapel, earlier that week. In front of a full house, Struth discussed his long and successful career and the many influences and inspirations in his work. He talked extensively about the Paradise Series, for which he was shortlisted for the Prix Pictet, and about the curatorial thinking behind the current exhibition that features over 70 works made between 1978 - 2010. This Conversation was the first in a series of Whitechapel/Prix Pictet conversations on contemporary photography. The next conversation will take place at the Gallery in the Autumn.

Tour Takes Shape

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:47:00 +0000

The first group of dates for the Prix Pictet tour have now been released. They are as follows:

The Galerie Christophe Guye,Zurich (26 May - 14 April); Galeria Carla Sozzani, Milan (9 June - 31 July);the Arteversum,Dusseldorf (1 - 28 September); Jardin Botanico,Madrid ( 6 October - 30 November), the Empty Quarter, Dubai (October). Other venues are still to be finalised in Europe, the Middle East, North America, Russia, Hong Kong and India.

Mitch Epstein named winner of Prix Pictet Growth

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:22:00 +0000

The winner of the third cycle of the Prix Pictet was announced by Kofi Annan, Honorary President of the Prix Pictet, at the Passage de Retz, Paris. American photographer, Mitch Epstein, was awarded the prize on 17 March 2011 for his series entitled American Power.
The annual Prix Pictet Commission was awarded to American photographer Chris Jordan. This cycle of Growth will be working with Tusk Trust in Africa which will focus on supporting the Nakyprat Conservancy, a new community-led initiative in Kenya.

Mitch Epstein Interview with BBC's The Strand

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:27:00 +0000

Listen here to BBC’s, The Strand with Harriett Gilbert. Mitch Epstein, winner of this year's Prix Pictet, for work which raises global social and environmental awareness, talks about his project American Power. Epstein explains how his five year journey round the USA produced a portfolio packed with evidence that the one-time land of plenty is now a place of greed and devastation. Click here to listen.

Prix Pictet featured in Sunday Times Magazine

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:05:00 +0000

The Sunday Time Magazine recently ran a story on Prix Pictet, contained within the 11 page article were 5 double page spreads of work from the shortlisted artists for this years Prix. The final announcements for both the Prix winner and the selected artist who will undertake this years commission will be announced at the Passage de Retz in Paris on Thursday 17th March. View