Announcement of the Grand Prize winners of the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021
September 22, 2021
Award-winning works from the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 will be exhibited in street exhibitions in three world-famous cities
TOKYO - Nikon Corporation (Nikon) has been proud to host the Nikon Photo Contest — one of the world's largest photography competitions — for over 50 years, since its inception in 1969. The winners of the Grand Prize awards for each category of the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 were selected from the Excellence Award winning works, and announced at the online awards ceremony held on September 17th.
Winners of the Grand Prize, Excellence Award, and Special Encouragement Awards were selected from 65,062 entries received from approximately 26,000 people from 150 countries and regions around the world. Additionally, two works were recipients of the Nikon's Selection Award, chosen by Nikon employees.
From among the works that received Excellence Awards, the Grand Prize recipients for each category were selected. The recipient of the Grand Prize for the photo competition was a work titled "Radiance", entered by Amin Nazari (Islamic Republic of Iran) from the Open Category, while the Grand Prize for the short film competition recipient was a work titled "Escaping from Karma", entered by REI KURODA (Japan) from the Next Generation category. The archive video of the online awards ceremony will be released on the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 website at the beginning of October.
Winning works will be showcased at the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 Street Exhibition, taking place in Tokyo's Shibuya, New York and London.
Grand Prize winner of the photo competition
Story
The senior citizen pictured in this work was admitted to Razi Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran, in order to receive treatment for COVID-19. Throughout Iran, many people were infected and there were fatalities every day. The virus has caused serious problems in various facets of society, affecting social interactions, employment and education, etc.
Grand Prize winner of the short film competition
*Images are captured from a part of the film
Story
The theme of this work is liberation from the various constrictions of society, while also touching upon the subjects of feminism, race, and nationality. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about drastic changes to everyone's lives. People found themselves unable to count on what was previously taken for granted, and what was previously believed to be unwavering became increasingly uncertain. This film was created based on the notion that perhaps, liberation exists in the transformation of, or escape from, the colossal systems that have been built into place.
Lead Judge Neville Brody's comments on the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 (Summary)
What amazed me was the number and quality of the entries that were submitted, despite the pandemic and the personal challenges it brought upon every practitioner, every human being on the planet. Within the entries, we saw a wide range of interpretations of the world. From very different, private points of view, to points of view that revealed ideas which were more universal — there was a lot of reflection of personal narratives. We saw some very moving, highly emotional entries this year that stunned the judges — images of personal suffering, and of beauty, of captured lives, of joy, and of magic. It's been an extremely difficult year for every individual, and to create works that somehow communicate these challenges shows that photography and video are very powerful tools to capture these narratives.
Winning works will be exhibited as a worldwide street exhibition in Tokyo's Shibuya, New York, and London
The winning works will be showcased by being publicly displayed in street exhibitions in the cities of Tokyo, New York and London, famed around the world for the great variety of entertainment on offer. During the exhibition period, works will be viewable at various locations in each city. The exhibition will start in Shibuya, Tokyo, lasting from October 5th to October 18th, afterwards moving on to New York for the period of October 18th to October 31st. The final exhibition will be held in London from November 1st to November 14th.
An online exhibition will be held on the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 website as well, beginning on October 5th.
Street Exhibition Information
- Shibuya, Tokyo (October 5th to October 18th)
- New York (October 18th to October 31st)
- London (November 1st to November 14th)
Visit the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 website for further information on winning works and the street exhibitions.
The information is current as of the date of publication. It is subject to change without notice.