Created in 2008, under the impetus of Pictet, the Prix Pictet has rapidly established itself as the world’s leading prize in photography and sustainability.
Theme of seventh cycle announced
From "Disorder" to "Space"
On 8 July 2016, at a special evening screening in the Roman Theatre in Arles during the Rencontres d’Arles Festival, Stephen Barber, Chairman of the Prix Pictet, announced that the theme for the next cycle of the award would be Space.
Théâtre Antique, Arles
The shortlist for the Prize will be announced at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris on 10 November 2016 during Paris Photo. The work of the finalists selected for the seventh cycle will be displayed in an exhibition at London's Victoria & Albert Museum opening in May 2017, when the winner of the Prix Pictet will also be announced by Prix Pictet honorary president Kofi Annan. The Prix Pictet exhibition in London will coincide with the third edition of Photo London (17-21 May 2017).
In its first six cycles the Prix Pictet has received over 2,000 nominations and staged over 80 exhibitions in 32 cities. To date some 250,000 people have visited Prix Pictet exhibitions.
Latest winner
Valérie Belin
Valérie Belin was on Thursday 12 November 2015 announced as winner of the sixth Prix Pictet photography prize, chosen for her series Still life, 2014.
Valérie Belin, Winner of the 6th Prix Pictet Award Ceremony "Disorder", Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris November 2015
Why the Prix Pictet?
The Prix Pictet has a unique mandate — to use the power of photography to communicate crucial messages to a global audience; and it aims to uncover photographs that communicate an important message about global environmental and social issues with the broad theme of sustainability.
Since it was established, the Prix Pictet has become one of the world's most important champions of photography and sustainability. The first two cycles of the Prix Pictet have surpassed expectations and the prize now plays to a global audience of over 400 million.
The Prix Pictet has two elements: the prize of CHF 100,000 awarded to the photographer who, in the opinion of the independent jury, has produced a series of work that speaks most powerfully to the theme of the award; and the Commission, awarded by the Partners of the Pictet Group, in which a nominated photographer is invited to undertake a field trip to a region where Pictet is supporting a sustainability project.
Each cycle has a specific theme. The first five cycles were Water, Earth, Growth, Power and Consumption. Previous winners have been Michael Schmidt (5th cycle, Consumption), Luc Delahaye (4th cycle, Power), Mitch Epstein (3rd cycle, Growth), Nadav Kander (2nd cycle, Earth), Benoit Aquin (1st cycle, Water).
"It is my hope that the Prix Pictet will help to deepen understanding of the changes taking place in our world and raise public awareness about the urgency of taking preventative action. The images submitted for the Prix Pictet confront us with the scale of the threat we face and they act to inspire governments, businesses — and all of us as individuals — to step up to the challenge and support change for a sustainable world."
Kofi Annan, Honorary President, Prix Pictet
Partners of the Prix Pictet
Media
The Financial Times is the global media partner of the Prix Pictet. The Prix Pictet has regional and specialist media partnerships with Canvas Magazine (UAE), ArtAsiaPacific, Le Monde, The Washington Post and Monocle.
Publisher
teNeues is the publishing partner of the Prix Pictet.
Galleries
Jouve Associés, Les Rencontres Arles Photographie and the Saatchi Gallery are the event partners of the Prix Pictet.
Museums
In Arles in July 2013 the Prix Pictet announced a historic partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. These international museum partnerships signal an important new phase in the development of the Prix Pictet and will provide a major platform for the work of the shortlisted photographers.
The Prix Pictet Awards Ceremony and Finalists’ Exhibition now alternates between London and Paris, with the V&A hosting the fifth edition in May 2014.
Related information
More information about the photographers and the prize is available on the Prix Pictet website.