With Jeremy Ayer, Laura Giana Binggeli, Claudia Breitschmid, Arunà Canevascini, Chalotte Favre, Corinne Futterlieb, Assaf Hinden, Ruben Hollinger, Ianne Kenfack, Pablo Lerma, Marianne Maric, Ronald Pizzoferrato, Tim Rod, Léonard Rossi, Tara Ulmann, and Stephane Winter.

The 2021 edition of the Prix Photoforum received proposals from 114 artists and photographers. The jury – composed of Danaé Panchaud (director, Photoforum Pasquart), Brigitte Lustenberger (photographer and member of the committee), Yann Mingard (photographer and member of the committee), Myriam Ziehli (artist, curator and lecturer) and Nicolas Polli (artist, designer and publisher) – has selected sixteen artists and photographers for the exhibition of the Prix Photoforum 2021, has nominated one laureate and has awarded two special mentions.

The Prix Photoforum is one of the few photography awards in Switzerland with no limits on nationality, age or career stage, and no determined theme. As a result, each year it presents a great diversity of works, testifying to the richness of the contemporary photographic scene and the diversity of uses of the photographic image. The projects selected this year highlight in a striking and singular way the concerns of today’s society, and include many projects dedicated to social, environmental, feminist, or LGBTIQ+ struggles. Alongside these projects are works that offer counternarratives of collective or individual history. Some artists also tackle more introspective themes, often developed during the first long lockdowns, which is conducive to such approaches. Finally, some photographers present projects stemming from conceptual research on the photographic medium itself and the status of the photography artist.

The Prix Photoforum 2021, endowed with CHF 5,000, was awarded to the artist Tara Ulmann for her project Chère Liberté, éloge au Pardon. This project bears witness to the passage from child to woman through the prism of an imposed femininity and inherited transgenerational traits. Through a photographic, literary and performative process, the artist deconstructs her body, the meaning of identity, social roles, the figure of the father and mother, childbirth, orientalist fantasy, or the male gaze. The different temporalities, natures of images and photographic mediums intersect and connect in an edition that echoes the traditional diary.

The jury gave a special mention to the artist Marianne Maric for her project Last dance in Valparaiso. This work, produced in Chile during the 2019 riots, highlights the artist’s outlet for the frightening and chaotic situation that the country and its citizens were experiencing during the artist’s visit to the Festival International de Fotografia de Valparaiso.

A special mention was also awarded to the artist Claudia Breitschmid for her video Entsammlung. This film-essay examines the concept of conservation and destruction using the archives of the town of User in Switzerland as a starting point. The video explores the selection process of historiography and raises questions about what is considered worthy of preservation in our society.

During the sixth edition of the Kick-Off-Day, on 16 October 2021, professionals from the fields of art, curating, publishing and the art market met and advised the artists in preparation for the exhibition at Photoforum Pasquart.

Image © Tara Ulmann

Image © Charlotte Favre

Image © Jeremy Ayer

Image © Corinne Futterlieb

Image © Laura Giana Binggeli

Image © Tara Ulmann

Image © Claudia Breitschmid

Image © Ruben Hollinger

Image © Ronald Pizzoferrato

Image © Assaf Hinden

Image © Tim Rod

Image © Aruna Canevascini

Image © Stephane Winter

Image © Léonard Rossi

Exhibition view