PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD HIPA’s Tenth Seasons’ Winners Announced

The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) announced the winners of its tenth season of competition, 'Humanity'. Brazilian photographer Ary Bassous won the coveted grand prize of USD$ 120,000. In contrast, Arab creativity saw photographers Yousef Al Habshi Al Hashmi from the United Arab Emirates, Marc Abou Jaoude from Lebanon and Fatima Zahra Cherkaoui from Morocco.

The always-competitive Indonesian lens resulted in many wins across HIPA's various competitions throughout the year and four places in this season's competition with photographers Yadi Setiadi, Bambang Wirawan, Charles Saswinanto and Amri Arfianto, all amongst the winners. Adding to the exciting results is the double victories achieved by five countries: India, Italy, France, Spain, and Turkey.

Secretary General Ali bin Thalith shared his gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council and Patron of HIPA, for his continued support for HIPA and the art of photography. Bin Thalith continued, "Today, we are witnessing a great milestone for HIPA as we complete our first decade. We commemorate the occasion by shining a light on a global issue that has captured the world's attention – humanity. This season we were humbled by the awe-inspiring and emotionally charged photographs we received that not only dug deep but also unearthed, through photography, the essence of what it means to be human. In these photographs, we felt a myriad of emotions ranging from absolute despair to pure kindness and joy."

The Secretary General of HIPA, His Excellency Ali bin Thalith / Courtesy of HIPA

Bin Thalith continued, "Our journey began with the vision set by His Highness, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Patron of HIPA. Since our launch, the Award has reached 203 countries, been inspired by 272,537 photographers and verified 468,941 outstanding entries that met our competition terms and conditions; but, this is just the beginning. We look forward to supporting, nurturing and continuing to grow our photography community for many more years to come."

Bin Thalith also praised the region's achievements, congratulating Arab photographers hailing from the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Morocco. They continue to grow from strength to strength and overcome obstacles that millions of photographer's face every day in their creative journey. He concluded by adding, "A photographer's lens has proven time and again that it has the power to make a difference in our world, and we encourage all our photography community to continue sharing impactful stories using their creative voice."

American photographer, Gary Knight is Co-Founder and Director of the VII Photo Agency; Co-Director of the VII Foundation; Director and Founder of VII Academy. And as one of the judges for the tenth season added, "Humanity is the most important thing a lens can capture. It is important to photograph and understand others and to be able to communicate that through photography; photography is a unique tool that gives us the ability to talk about others and show the conditions they are in and the feelings they are going through."

He continued by expressing, "It is clear that this year's winners have interpreted Humanity in powerful and diverse ways. Photographing others in love, in crisis, or exploring the lives of others, is one of the most special things we can do as photographers. In sum, Humanity is indeed the perfect title for the Award; It is the most amazing celebration."

Grand Prize

The Grand Prize winner, USD $120,000, goes to Ary Bassous from Brazil for his photo of Dr Juliana Ribeiro. After eight hours of continuous work in the emergency room with people infected with the Covid-19 virus, her face reflects the painful human stories that have consumed the entire world.

The Grand Prize winner, Ary Bassous from Brazil / Courtesy of HIPA

Special Award Recipients

The tenth season set the stage, yet again, for our special awards, including the Photography Content Creator Award, the Emerging Person/Organisation in Photography Award, and the Photography Appreciation Award. Our Special Awards recognise photographers and organisations who have dedicated themselves and contributed positively to the photographic industry

American photojournalist Randy Olson is the recipient of the Photography Appreciation Award for his 30-plus years of leadership in projects and initiatives in more than 50 countries. He is also the founder of 'The Photo Society' – a multi-award winning initiative dedicated to telling the world's stories through photography. National Geographic Society published a book of his work in their 'Masters of Photography' series. Olson was the Magazine Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year International (POYi) competition. He was also awarded POYi's Newspaper Photographer of the Year—one of only two photographers to win in both media.

Randy Olson / Courtesy of HIPA

The Photography Content Creator Award is dedicated to another formidable American photographer and biologist,Cristina Mittermeier, co-founder of the Conservation Society' SeaLegacy', contributing photographer to National Geographic, featured photographer for Sony and editor of twenty-six picture books on environmental issues. She was recognised as National Geographic's 2018 Adventure Photographer of the Year. In the same year, she was recognised as one of the most influential women in ocean conservation by Ocean Geographic. More recently, she was named by The Men's Journal as one of the 18 most adventurous women in the world.

Cristina Mittermeier / Courtesy of HIPA

This year's Emerging Person/Organisation in Photography Award goes to The International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP), a US-based nonprofit organisation whose mission is to support environmental and cultural conservation through ethical photography and filmmaking. Since the organisation opened its doors in 2005, iLCP's members have participated in over 50 expeditions, resulting in over 10,000 images and countless stories. Through solution-based storytelling, iLCP expeditions have resulted in significant conservation.

Tenth Season Judges

Brent Stirton | South Africa

A South African photographer, Senior Correspondent for Getty Images and a Fellow at the National Geographic Society, Brent Stirton specialises in documentary and investigative photojournalism. Since 2007, he has focused most of his attention on man's connection with the environment. His works are regularly published by: National Geographic Magazine, GEO, Le Figaro, Le Monde, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Time, The New York Times Magazine, The UK Sunday Times Magazine and many other respected international titles.

In 2016, Brent won the National Geographic Magazine Photographer's Photographer Award. His accolades include 12 awards from World Press Photo, 13 awards from The Pictures of the Year International, winner of the Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year three years in a row by the Natural History Museum of the UK and multiple Lucie Awards, including International Photographer of the Year. Brent placed second in HIPA's Fifth Season Awards, 'Happiness'. He has worked on Emmy and Bafta Award-winning documentaries and received a Peabody Award for his work with Human Rights Watch.

Brent remains committed to sustainability, health and the environment, working with conservation groups around the world, spending years in the field in the course of documenting their work. He feels that the work these people are doing is vital and under-recognised. He aims to shine a light on these individuals to preserve world heritage on behalf of us.

Brent Stirton / Courtesy of HIPA

Catalin Marin | Romania

Catalin Marin is an architectural, interior and lifestyle photographer based in Dubai for the past 15 years. He has lived in the Middle East for 20 years and has travelled extensively to over 85 countries. His background in design has given him a unique perspective and an eye for detail which has allowed him to work with top tier clients across the region, providing creative imagery for clients like Emirates Airlines, Marriott, Samsung, Virgin Australia and many others.

His works have been featured by Nikon, BBC Travel, Lonely Planet Middle East, Time Out, Mondo*ARC and Geo Magazine. Since 2007, he runs a popular travel photography blog at http://www.momentaryawe.com/blog, with over 1250 articles published so far, attracting more than a million visitors since its inception.

Catalin Marin / Courtesy of HIPA

Hanaa Turkistani | Saudi Arabia

She is a Saudi artist, photographer and academic trainer from Jeddah, with a BA in Art Education. Her studies in Arts played a role in rooting her artistic personality; since 2005, photography became the title of her passion. Hanaa believes that modern and old buildings tell beautiful stories, so her interest is based on architectural photography, cities, and nature, allowing her to travel constantly to see architectural models worldwide. Hanaa is a representative of Nikon School in the Middle East since 2020, holder of PSA GOLD from NBPC International Photo Salon and a certified trainer of photography. She has hosted numerous lectures and workshops around the GCC countries.

Her works have been published in La PEDRERA, a British book on architecture around the world. In addition, Masterclass Magazine published her works several times, and some of her photographs have been included in the first edition of the e-book, Wephoto Through the Eyes of Women. Hanaa participated in many exhibitions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Italy, Tajikistan, Morocco, and Pakistan, and the Cairo Opera House Art Exhibition 2017.

Hanaa Turkistani / Courtesy of HIPA

Ziyah Gafić | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnian photographer Ziyah Gafic is an award-winning photojournalist and videographer based in Sarajevo, focusing on societies locked in a perpetual cycle of violence and Muslim communities worldwide - covering essential stories in over 50 countries. Ziyah's photographs have received many prestigious awards, including multiple awards at World Press Photo; Grand Prix Discovery of the Year at Les Rencontres d'Arles; Hasselblad Masters Award; City of Perpignan Award for Young Reporters at Visa pour l'Image; Photo District News; Getty Images grant for editorial photography; TED fellowship; Prince Claus grant; and Magnum Emergency fund grant.

His work is regularly published in leading international publications. In addition, Ziyah authored several monographs, including 'Troubled Islam – short stories from troubled societies', 'Quest for Identity' and the most recent 'Heartland'.

Ziyah Gafić / Courtesy of HIPA

Eric Bouvet | France

French photographer Eric Bouvet began his photographic career in 1981 after studying art and graphic industries in Paris. His interest in photography sparked at the age of 8 when he watched the first live television images of the Apollo 11 mission landing on the moon. He then realised the importance of news and historical moments, not to mention capturing them on film. Bouvet worked as a staff photographer at the French photo agency Gamma during the 1980s and launched his freelance career in 1990. He first won international recognition with his 1986 pictures of the rescue efforts in the aftermath of a volcano eruption in Omeyra, Colombia. Since then, Bouvet has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Chechnya, Sudan, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Israel, Northern Ireland, Kurdistan, Surinam, Burundi, Libya, and Ukraine.

He has covered major international events, including the funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran, Tiananmen Square in China, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Prague's Velvet Revolution, the US attack on Libya, the release of Nelson Mandela, the Olympic Games, and the migrant crisis in Europe. He has also worked on many 'society' stories, including life in Russian jails, young sailors on aircraft carriers, French police working in the Paris suburbs, France's

His work has been published in many international magazines, including Time, Life, Newsweek, Paris-Match, Stern, The New York Time's Magazine and The Sunday Times Magazine. He has also led photographic campaigns of the United Nations, various NGOs and charities, including Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), International Red Cross (ICRC), Medecins du Monde (MDM), and Action Against Hunger (ACF). In addition, for the past 20 years, he has given workshops in Arles and many European countries. Along the way, Bouvet has received five World Press Awards, as well as two Visa d'Or Awards (Perpignan Photo Festival), the gold medal for the 150th anniversary of photography, the Bayeux-Calvados Award for War Correspondents, the Public Award from Bayeux-Calvados, the Front Line Club Award, the Paris-Match Award, and the ‘2020 Photographer of the Year Award by Polka.

Eric Bouvet / Courtesy of HIPA

Gary Knight | United States of America

American award-winning photographer and a co-founder and director of the VII Photo Agency, Gary Knight is also the co-director of the VII Foundation and director and founder of the VII Academy. Gary is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Frontline Club, London; Co-founder of The GroundTruth Project, Boston; Founding Director of the Program for Narrative & Documentary Practice at the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University; twice chair and President of the World Press Photo Award. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2009; and a Logan Non-Fiction Fellow at the Carey Institute in 2017. He was a contract photographer for Newsweek in the 1990s and 2000s. Gary has worked as a photographer worldwide since the late 1980s, early in his career in conflict photography, and more recently, with an increased focus on anthropology and socioeconomics.

Gary Knight / Courtesy of HIPA