The Celebration of Photography was once again a highlight of the Leitz Park calendar this year, bringing together the international Leica community. The event on 9 and 10 October was not only a celebration of the winners of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, Davide Monteleone and Maria Guțu, but also a moment to honor the induction of Herlinde Koelbl into the Leica Hall of Fame.
The 2024 LOBA winners, Davide Monteleone and Maria Guțu: This year’s two winners were honored with the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2024 at a celebratory ceremony at Leica headquarters on the evening of 10 October 2024. In the 44th round of the photography prize, the LOBA jury awarded the main prize to Davide Monteleone, who was born in Italy in 1974 and resides in Switzerland. In his series “Critical Minerals – Geography of Energy”, he scrutinizes the complex geopolitical, social, and environmental effects of today’s international energy industry with a focus on renewability. Photographer Maria Guţu, who was born in Moldova in 1996, was the winner in the LOBA newcomer category with her very personal series “Homeland”, which explores labor migration from her home country. Both series and the complete LOBA Shortlist 2024 with works from ten additional artists will be on display at the Ernst Leitz Museum until January 2025. More information is available at www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com
Herlinde Koelbl in the Leica Gallery Wetzlar. On the same evening as the LOBA award ceremony, Herlinde Koelbl was inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame in the foyer of Leica Camera AG. The evening before, she provided a very personal insight into her work in an entertaining talk with Karin Rehn-Kaufmann. As a keen observer, experienced author, and insightful chronicler, she has long been one of the most important German photographers and is known in particular for her long-term projects. With around 50 works from 10 series, the exhibition now open at the Leica Gallery Wetzlar provides illuminating insights into the rich life’s work of the photographer, who was born in 1939. The exhibition features photographs from the workgroups “Artist Portraits” and “The German Living Room” as well as portraits of Angela Merkel from the series “Traces of Power”. The Leica Picture of the Year 2024 is a motif from one of her most recent series, “Metamorphoses”, in which the photographer explores the beauty of transience in the form of withering flowers. The Leica Picture of the Year is available in a limited edition worldwide exclusively through Leica Galleries.
Celebration of Photography – a place of encounters: The event was once again a great experience for all guests and covered, besides award ceremonies and exhibitions, a wide array of topics related to Leica photography.
We’re already looking forward to next year with excitement and anticipation, as this will mark a whole century of Leica photography, with the first Leica cameras being produced in series in 1925.
Leica Camera AG would like to thank all staff, partners and supporters who made the Celebration of Photography possible once again this year. Particular thanks goes to WhiteWall and Weingut Leitz.
Please find further information at:
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
Leica Camera – A Partner for Photography
Leica Camera AG is an international, premium manufacturer of cameras and sports optics. The legendary reputation of the Leica brand is based on a long tradition of excellent quality, German craftsmanship and German industrial design, combined with innovative technologies. An integral part of the brand's culture is the diversity of activities the company undertakes for the advancement of photography. In addition to the Leica Galleries and Leica Akademies spread around the world, there are the Leica Hall of Fame Award and, in particular, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), which is considered one of the most innovative sponsorship awards existing today. Furthermore, Leica Camera AG, with its headquarters in Wetzlar, Hesse, and a second production site in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, has a worldwide network of its own national organisations and Leica Retail Stores.