Saudi Visual Arts Commission Announces The Winners Of The Kingdom Photography Award 2022
The Saudi Visual Arts Commission is delighted to announce the winners of The Kingdom Photography Award. The inaugural edition of the competition invited Saudi and international photographers to capture natural and urban landscapes of AlWajh Governorate and the Red Sea coast before submitting their photographs in the three categories of the competition: - Underwater, Nature Along the Coast and Urban Environment.
The award was launched by the Visual Arts Commission in Saudi Arabia to inspire creative exploration and cross-cultural exchange, within the Kingdom and beyond, through the medium of photography. Local and international photographers participated in the initiative to capture the varied and inspiring landscapes of The Kingdom. The coastal area around AlWajh was chosen as the region for the Award’s inaugural edition for its unique beauty and fascinating history.
The winners of The Kingdom Photography Professional Grant are:
The winners of The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition are:
This year’s competition attracted over 450 entries from across 14 countries. A specially formed panel of judges shortlisted 17 photographers who took part in the photography expeditions to AlWajh Governorate and the Red Sea coast. The photographs resulting from the expedition trips will be showcased in an exhibition which will take place from 9-11 December 2022 at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The exhibition will be curated by Saudi photographer and The Kingdom Photography Award judge, Moath Alofi. Other members of the judging panel include US-based award-winning environmental photographer and member of the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers specialising in aerial landscape photography, Daniel Beltra; prominent photographic consultant and founder of Tintera photography gallery in Cairo, Zein Khalifa; and founding member of the Saudi Art Council, member of Tate’s Middle East and North Africa Acquisition Committee and the Serpentine’s Future Contemporaries, member of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Middle Eastern Circle, and collector of contemporary photography, Abdullah Al-Turki.
Professional Grant winner, Andrea Dina Alkalay’s (Argentina) triptych and diptych landscape photographs of the Ral Mountain region document the unusual geological rock formations and draw attention to their archaeological, anthropological, and geological significance. “Although the art of seeing is frequently used to describe photography, humans create perceptions and thus connections with the land through all our senses, not just sight. To see these landscapes is to try to understand the mechanism that produces them, to decipher how they have evolved'' says Andrea Dina Alkalay.
Osman Ali Abusunnon, The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition Underwater Category Winner, 2022
Mohammed Abdulrahman Lahi, The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition Urban
Environment Category Winner, 2022.
Dina Amin, CEO of the Visual Arts Commission, said, “The Kingdom Photography Award is a milestone in Saudi Arabia’s rapidly evolving cultural landscape. We are excited to be hosting the inaugural exhibition at Hayy Jameel, showcasing works from the local and international talent who took part in this competition. We would like to congratulate this year’s winners and thank all participants for their commitment and contribution. We look forward to future editions of The Kingdom Photography Award and to welcoming new and additional participation from the incredible pool of talented photographers from Saudi Arabia and around the world.”
The Kingdom Photography Award judge and exhibition curator, Moath Alofi, commented, “The Kingdom Photography Award highlights the incredible creativity that comes through photography, encompassing a breadth of approaches and perspectives. I am honoured to have the opportunity to curate an exhibition that exemplifies the significance and prominence of photography in Saudi Arabia and internationally, at this particular time. It is a privilege to be a part of the award’s inaugural year and to present such incredible winning works.”
The three winners of The Kingdom Photography Professional Grant each receive cash prizes of 113,000 SAR ($30,000) along with vouchers worth 18,750 SAR ($5,000) for purchasing photography equipment. The three winners of the Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition receive 20,500 SAR ($5,466) along with vouchers worth 20,000 SAR ($5,333) purchasing photography equipment.
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