Once again, twelve photographers have made it onto the shortlist for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA). All the series on the shortlist can be found at www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/en/ and, in the coming weeks, each will be presented in more depth.

For the 44th time, Leica Camera AG is honouring outstanding finalists with the internationally renowned photography award, following an elaborate selection process. The excitement about the identities of the winners of the main and the newcomer awards will remain unabated, until 10th October. Once again, the award ceremony will be combined with a big celebration at Leica headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany. Until then, the series of all the finalists on this year’s shortlist will be presented on the LOBA website: www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/en/ .

In a first step, 80 international photography experts from around 50 countries submitted their proposals for LOBA 2024. In a second step, the jury came together to decide on the shortlist, including the winners in the main and newcomer categories. The LOBA Newcomer Award goes to a photographer under the age of 30, from nominees proposed in collaboration with major international photography institutions and universities from 20 countries.

Following the award ceremony on 10th October 2024, all the LOBA series will be part of a grand exhibition held at the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar, Germany, with the kind support of WhiteWall. The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue. After these events in Germany, the shortlisted LOBA 2024 series will be shown at further Leica Galleries and photo festivals around the world.

The LOBA is one of the most prestigious and highly endowed awards in the field of photography. The winner of the LOBA main category receives 40,000 euros and Leica camera equipment valued at 10,000 euros. The winner of the Newcomer Award receives 10,000 euros and a Leica Q3.

The members of the 2024 LOBA jury are:

Dimitri Beck, Head of the Photography Department at Polka (magazine, gallery, factory), France

Per Gylfe, Director of Education at the International Center of Photography (ICP), New York, USA

Ciril Jazbek, Photographer and LOBA Newcomer Winner 2013, Slovenia

Amélie Schneider, Head of the Picture Editorial Department at Die Zeit, Germany

Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Art Director and General Representative of Leica Galleries International, Austria.

Dimitri Beck, speaking about LOBA 2024:

“The LOBA is undoubtedly a milestone in the international photography scene and plays a key role in promoting good visual storytelling. The presentation of a shortlist of twelve photographers and their works is important, to explore the diversity of visions and stories happening today.”

Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, speaking about LOBA 2024:

“The collaboration with the nominators and the jury’s discussions surrounding the various series were, once again, highly enjoyable and enriching. The results are impressive; and it seems more important than ever to offer committed photographers a forum where their series can respond to current challenging problems. Therefore, it is not surprising that climate and the environment, social and ethnic conflicts, violence and marginalisation are at the centre of many of the series. All of the series show a humanistic view of the difficult situations in the world. I’m particularly pleased that even more women photographers entered the competition this year."

Overview of the LOBA 2024 shortlist series (main and newcomer categories) in alphabetical order:

Forough Alaei: The Underneath of the Calm Streets of Iran

Since Mahsa Amini’s violent death in September 2022, many women have dared to rebel against the official state rules of conduct. In her series, the Iranian photographer (born 1989) portrays young Iranian women who live the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom,” with confidence. Whether dancer, restaurant manager, motorbike racer, car mechanic or stunt woman: a new generation of young women is visibly fighting for their rights.

Anush Babajanyan: Nagorno-Karabakh War and Exodus

The series centres around the many years of conflict that have ravaged the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, stretching along the southeast of the Lesser Caucasus. It was an area predominantly inhabited by Armenians, until they fled in September 2023. The photographer shows the threats, displacement and uncertain future of the families she portrays. Babajanyan was born in Armenia, in 1983, and lives in Germany. Her work has received numerous awards and she is a member of Agency VII.

Emily Garthwaite: Tears of the Tigris

Born in 1993, the British photojournalist and her series follow the 1,900 kilometres of the River Tigris – from its source in Turkey, all the way to its mouth in Iraq. Garthwaite examines political loyalties, ethnic ties, national borders and the changing geography. The river is on the brink of an environmental disaster which will affect roughly 30 million people who live in the river’s catchment area, threatening the region’s cultural heritage.

Ksenia Ivanova: Between the Trees of the South Caucasus

Born in Russia, in 1990, and currently living in Berlin, the photographer’s project was produced from 2019 to 2023, and offers insight into the as-yet-unresolved conflict in the South Caucasus. In August 2008, Russia stationed troops in neighbouring Georgia, and declared the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Considering the war in Ukraine, the series asks fundamental questions about the future of this region and the consequences for the people living there.

Maria Gutu: Homeland

Many children in Moldova grow up without parents. Due to economic reasons, about one quarter of the population has left the country in the last twenty years. The starting point for the series is the Moldovan photographer’s own story. Born in 1996, she grew up with her grandparents. The outcome is a poetic search for roots, for a home, the meaning of which changes, time and again – even in the understanding of the children.

Lucas Lenci: Inattention Era

For many people, daily life is defined by a constant sensory overload. Born in 1980, the Brazilian photographer presents a series of empty public spaces, which he sees as metaphors for the overwhelming excess of information, which people are unable to process. Lenci describes the state of an era that is characterised by omnipresent distraction and inattention.

Adriana Loureiro Fernandez: Paradise Lost

The Venezuelan photographer (born 1988) describes the desolate situation in the South American country as a sort of personal diary. She has been documenting the land’s collapse for around ten years. Poverty, inflation, violence; but also, the hope of a young generation who have not – compared to many others – abandoned the country. “Somewhere between the beauty and the horror is Paradise Lost,” as the photographer says.

Sara Meneses Cuapio: Raízhambre (Root Hunger)

The forests on the slopes of Matlalcuéyetl, an inactive volcano in Tlaxcala, Mexico, have been largely devastated, due to both illegal logging and a bark beetle infestation. This not only impacts the environment, but also influences the world view of the Nahua culture, for whom the forest is a place of ritual. In her series, the photographer (born 1995), who herself has family ties to the area, shows the connection between the destruction of nature and the loss of cultural heritage.

Davide Monteleone: Critical Minerals – Geography of Energy

How can sustainability emerge in the future without repeating the errors of the past? The series questions the change-over to renewable energy sources, which is due to the desired change in the global energy industry. The Swiss photographer (born 1974), who lives in Italy, reveals the problems related to the complex geopolitical, social and ecological effects of copper, lithium and cobalt mining in Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia.

Ingmar Björn Nolting: An Anthology of Changing Climate

When it comes to the fight against the climate crisis, Germany has ambitious goals – but the status quo is as complex as it is paradoxical. The desire to be a climate-neutral industrialised nation by 2045 is creating social and ecological dynamics that are leading to an increasing division in society. In his series, the German photographer (born 1995) explores the question of how social consensus can find answers to the challenges of climate change.

Tong Niu: Express Delivery

After a golden decade, the Chinese logistics and courier branches have changed and are experiencing slower growth. The series by the Chinese photographer (born 1998) was taken primarily in the Jiangsu region. Taken in large format, the images show daily big-city life for people dealing in e-commerce and express deliveries; but the photographer also accompanies them on journeys to their original home towns, which they migrated from in the hope of a better future.

Etinosa Yvonne: It’s All in My Head

The research-based multimedia project by the Nigerian photographer (born 1989) deals with survival, following experiences of violence and terrorism. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa – a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state that is constantly struggling with atrocities and conflicts of varying degrees. Since 2018, Yvonne has been working with over sixty traumatised adults and children in different parts of the country.

Please find further information at: 

Leica Camera AG 
Ann-Kristin Löhr 
Global PR Coordination 
E-Mail: Ann-Kristin.Loehr@leica-camera.com 
Internet: www.leica-camera.com