Photography is Always With ‘Art Style’ in Sharjah
Sharjah Art Foundation is pleased to announce the five winners of this year’s Vantage Point Photography Awards. The awards were presented during the opening of the annual photography exhibition Vantage Point Sharjah (VPS) at Al Hamriyah Studios on Friday, 16 September 2022.
This year, Md Fazla Rabbi Fatiq won the first prize, while the four runners-up were Hady Barry, Kirti Kumari, Morteza Niknahad and Neec Nonso. An international jury of prominent photographers—Solmaz Daryani, Lamya Gargash and Sohrab Hura— selected the winner and four runners-up, who received a cash prize of 5,000 USD and 1,500 USD each, respectively.
The exhibition’s opening programme included a talk with the awardees, where they shared the stories behind their winning photographs as well as details about their inspiration and practice.
Manifesting the spirit of experimentation in lens-based image making, VPS presents works that celebrate photography’s ability to perceive social realities and the diversity of contemporary lives from multiple perspectives.
The 10th edition of VPS received more than 450 submissions to its open call. Works by 66 artists from 34 countries were selected for the exhibition, which will remain on view until 11 December 2022.
Introduced in 2013 to cultivate public engagement with photography as an artistic medium, VPS has evolved into a dynamic platform that embraces multiple approaches to photography, from photojournalism and photo essays to experimental work in both analogue and digital forms.
About Sharjah Art Foundation
Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. Under the leadership of founder Hoor Al Qasimi, a curator and artist, the Foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The Foundation’s core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.
Established in 2009 to expand programmes beyond the Sharjah Biennial, which launched in 1993, the Foundation is a critical resource for artists and cultural organisations in the Gulf and a conduit for local, regional and international developments in contemporary art. The Foundation’s deep commitment to developing and sustaining the cultural life and heritage of Sharjah is reflected through year-round exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational programmes in the city of Sharjah and across the Emirate, often hosted in historic buildings that have been repurposed as cultural and community centres. A growing collection reflects the Foundation’s support of contemporary artists in the realisation of new work and its recognition of the contributions made by pioneering modern artists from the region and around the world.
