The top-class international jury of this year's Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) has been named. The selection process of the renowned photography award is thus entering the decisive phase.
Around 100 photography experts from over 40 countries selected up to three photo series based on their personal expertise and experience and submitted them to this year's LOBA jury for the main category. In addition, each nominator was also able to nominate one series by a photographer under the age of 30 for the LOBA Newcomer Award. The prerequisite for nomination in both categories was that the photo series had to be documentary or conceptual-artistic works that deal with the relationship of human beings to their environment. This humanistic constant has accompanied LOBA since the first call for entries in 1979.
Image © Leica Camera AG, Leica Oskar Barnack Award Jury 2021
This year, the international jury consists of the following greats from the photography industry:
Sandra M. Stevenson, Assistant Editor, Photography, The New York Times (USA).
Ralph Gibson, Photographer (USA)
Santiago Lyon, Photographer and Head of Advocacy and Education, Adobe (Spain)
Dr Michael Pritchard, Director Education and Public Affairs, Royal Photographic Society (UK)
Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Art Director and General Representative of Leica Galleries International (Austria)
In May, the jury will define a shortlist of a maximum of twelve series in the main category and six in the newcomer category from the submissions. Subsequently, the winners of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2021 in both categories will be named by the jury.
During the summer months, the series of all shortlisted candidates will be presented on the LOBA website. The winners of both categories will be announced at a festive award ceremony in early November 2021 in Wetzlar, at the headquarters of Leica Camera AG.
The prize money, which was significantly increased last year, will remain in place in 2021: The main prize is worth 40,000 euros and a Leica camera kit worth 10,000 euros. The newcomer receives 10,000 euros and a Leica Q2. In addition, the winning series will be on display in Leica galleries worldwide and at selected photo festivals as part of a touring exhibition that will be presented for the first time at the awards ceremony in Wetzlar in November. Winners and shortlisted candidates will also be presented in a catalogue.
An overview of all LOBA 2021 nominators, interviews and interesting background information on this year's jury can be found on the LOBA website.
