In September 2021, the Eiger Foundation, based in Geneva, Switzerland, launched a new photobook award: the Eiger Foundation Photobook of the Year Awards. This annual prize supports work that contributes significantly to the evolving narrative of photography. In 2022, the prize will be offered to the most memorable photographic publication by a photographer from or working in Africa. Photobooks that are eligible for the 2022 award must have been published between 1 January 2019 and 1 January 2022. A prestigious jury of experts on African photography and art will decide on the winner of the $20,000 main prize as well as four runners-up, who will receive $3,000 each.
African Masks, installation view. Photo © Marguerite Rossouw
The Jury
Elvira Dyangani Ose (Director, MACBA – Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art), Touria El Glaoui (Founding Director, I-54 Contemporary African Art Fair), Ben Krewinkel (Photo Historian and African Photobook Expert), Aaron Yeboah Jr (Founder and Curator, African Lens), Katharina von Flotow (Filmmaker, Photographer, and Independent Curator), Roger Ballen (Photographer, Artist, and Founding Director, Inside Out Centre for the Arts), and Leonard O’Brien (Chairman,the Eiger Foundation).
Based in Switzerland, the Eiger Foundation works closely with the Inside Out Centre for the Arts in Johannesburg, South Africa, to promote African photography and other art forms through exhibitions, educational programmes, competitions, and creative exchanges. Founded in 2012, the Eiger Foundation aims at promoting photography as an important art form in Africa and beyond. According to Managing Director Leonard O’Brien: “EIGER stands for quality and inspiring photography and is more than just another art prize. EIGER represents a journey of discovery, inspiration, dialogue, and creating a mark for future generations.” Besides the Eiger Foundation Photobook of the Year Awards, a scholarship, a series of lectures and exhibitions, and the Eiger Collection are in the making.
Entry conditions
•The Eiger Foundation Photobook of the Year Award distinguishes a book whose main content is photography, featuring the work of one or more photographer(s).
• The book must be produced in physical form.
• Entries may only be submitted by the photographer, the publisher, or a third party acting with the
photographer’s consent.
• Exhibition catalogues or museum publications, as well as text-only publications, are not eligible.
• The book may comprise photographs of any genre or topic.
For more Information on the Eiger Foundation, its Photobook of the Year Awards, and how to apply, click on this link
