This year, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) enters into its 41st edition. The 2021 jury includes:
- 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 (Great Britain)
- Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Art Director and General Representative of Leica Galleries International (Austria)
www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/loba-2021/die-jury.html
In May, the jury will come together at Leica Camera AG headquarters in Wetzlar, to deliberate and come up with a shortlist of a maximum of twelve series for the main category, and six for the Newcomer category, and to decide on the winners of LOBA 2021. Once again this year, around 100 photography experts from over 40 countries have submitted their proposals. Based on his or her expertise and experience, each nominator submitted up to three photo series. The stipulations for a Leica Oskar Barnack Award nomination, require that the photographs be part of a documentary or conceptual-artistic body of work, and deal with the relationship of humanity to the environment. This humanistic constant has defined the LOBA since its inception in 1979. That year, the developer of the Ur-Leica, whose name graces the competition, would have been one hundred years old. In addition to their proposals for the main award, each nominator was also asked to nominate a photographer under 30 years of age for the LOBA Newcomer Award.
During the summer months, all the shortlisted candidates and their series will be introduced on the LOBA website. The announcement of the winners in both categories, will be made during the award ceremony in Wetzlar at the beginning of November 2021.
Following a significant increase in 2020, the prize monies will remain the same for 2021: the main award receives 40,000 euros and Leica camera equipment valued at 10,000 euros; the newcomer receives 10,000 euros and a Leica Q2. Furthermore, the winning series will be part of a touring exhibition that will first be presented on the occasion of the award ceremony in November in Wetzlar, and will then be shown at Leica Galleries and Photo Festivals around the world. The winners and shortlist candidates will also be presented in a catalogue.
Further information at: www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com
The list of all the LOBA 2021 nominators can be found on the LOBA website: www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/loba-2021/die-nominatoren.html
Interviews with selected nominators are also found at the same site: www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/insights.html