Press Releases

The Syngenta Photography Award 2013 Winners Announced May 15

2013-05-15
by photoxels
5 min read

The Syngenta Photography Award Rural-Urban Exhibition:

  • aims to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue about the relationship and tensions between urban and rural environments, and to further explore the impact these issues have on global resources

There are two categories of the Syngenta Photography Award 2013

  • Open Competition is open to both professional and amateur photographers

    • The first, second and third place winners of the  Open Competition will receive US$ 5,000, US$ 3,000, and US$ 2,000 respectively

  • The Professional Commission is for professional photographers whose major income is derived from photography

    • The first place winner will receive a US$15,000 prize, in addition to up to US$25,000 to complete the commission

    • The second and third place winners will receive US$10,000 and US$5,000 respectively

The judging panel this year is chaired by the author and curator William A. Ewing.

  • The other members of the panel are:

    • Irina Chmyreva (Russia) curator and researcher of photography

    • Stephen Dunbar-Johnson (UK) publisher, International Herald Tribune

    • Milton Guran (Brazil) curator and photographer

    • Malu Halasa (Jordan/Philippines) writer and editor

    • Marcus Lyon (UK) photographer

    • Mike Mack (US) Syngenta Chief Executive Officer

    • Liu Heung Shing (China) photographer and photo editor

PRESS RELEASE

The Syngenta Photography Award 2013 winners announced

  • Polish documentary photographer, Jan Brykczyński, wins Professional Commission for his series Árnes
  • Holly Lynton (USA) wins Open Competition for Sienna, Turkey Madonna
  • Winning images included in exhibition at Somerset House, London
  • Total prize money of US$ 65,000

The Warsaw-based documentary photographer Jan Brykczyński has tonight, Wednesday 15 May, been announced as the winner of the Syngenta Photography Award Professional Commission at a ceremony at Somerset House, London.

Jan Brykczyński (Poland) was selected by an international jury, chaired by the author and curator William A. Ewing, for his series “Árnes”, which documents an isolated region in the Icelandic Western Fjords and responding to this year’s Rural-Urban theme. Here he spent several months studying the relationship between the natural surroundings and the village’s small community.

In addition to the US$ 15,000 prize money, Brykczyński will receive a grant of up to US$ 25,000 to complete a commission, a central part of the professional competition. “Farming Tribes” will explore the relationship between human beings and nature in four of the world’s major urban spaces – New York, Yerevan, Warsaw and Nairobi. As an award-winning photojournalist Brykczyński’s work has featured worldwide in such publications as Der Spiegel, Le Monde, foto8 and Lense Culture.

Mimi Mollica (Italy), announced as the second place winner for the Professional Commission, was awarded US$ 10,000, and Pablo Lopez Luz (Mexico) received US$ 5,000 in third place.

Holly Lynton (USA) was announced as winner of the Open Competition for “Sienna, Turkey Madonna”, in which a farm worker embraces four turkeys that are to be slaughtered for Thanksgiving on an independent farm in the small town of Shutesbury, Massachusetts. The image is part of the series, “Bare Handed”, in which Lynton explores communities struggling to maintain agrarian traditions despite the challenges of globalization. Lynton’s work, which has been exhibited nationally and internationally, has featured in the New York Times, Photo District News and the New Yorker.

In the Open Competition, Vitaliy Popkov (Ukraine) was the second place winner and in third place, André François (Brazil). The three Open Competition winners will receive US$ 5,000, US$ 3,000, and US$ 2,000 respectively.

The winning images of both categories will be included in the Syngenta Photography Award Rural-Urban Exhibition at Somerset House, London from 17 -21 May, 2013 which aims to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue about the relationship and tensions between urban and rural environments, and to further explore the impact these issues have on global resources.

William A. Ewing, chairman of the jury, said: “The jury was unanimously impressed with the high standard of entries in the first year of the award. It was a great pleasure to see the commitment and dedication the photographers brought to their work and the wide range of approaches to the rural-urban issue. There were many fine images, and many possible winners, but ultimately the jury unanimously selected Jan Brykczyński and Holly Lynton because of their singular artistic vision, the high quality of their work, the surprising perspective they brought to bear on the theme and the importance of the story they had to tell. They both examine simple, human scale lives under pressure. I shall personally look forward to seeing the new work that Jan Brykczyński as part of his commission proposal which will explore the attempts of what he calls ‘Urban Tribes’ to live in new ways.”

Mike Mack, CEO Syngenta, said: “The winning photographers have created stunning images that bring to life some of the tensions and tradeoffs associated with rapid urbanization. With nearly 200,000 people moving to cities every day, urban and rural environments will increasingly compete for land, water and energy. We believe that these photographs can help spark an important conversation about what is needed to create a sustainable future for both environments.”

For full details of all the Syngenta Photography Award finalists, please visit http://www.syngentaphoto.com. Syngenta is one of the world’s leading companies with more than 27,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information about us please go to www.syngenta.com.