New East Photo Prize finalists announced

Calvert 22 Foundation and The Calvert Journal today announce the finalists for the inaugural New East Photo Prize. The award seeks to champion outstanding projects that offer an insightful, contemporary perspective on the people and countries of the New East.

The 11 finalists come from a range of countries across the New East, from Poland and Russia to Croatia and Kyrgyzstan. Their work is diverse in style and subject matter, from landscape to portraiture, social commentary and vibrant still life.

Work by all the finalist photographers will be shown in a group exhibition at Calvert 22 Foundation’s space in London from 4 November – 18 December 2016. They will also have their work featured by New East Photo Prize partners The Guardian, Bird in Flight and other regional organisations.

Entries to the New East Photo Prize are being judged by an international panel of leading figures from photography, art and the media, including award-winning photographers Donald Weber and Alexander Gronsky; Roger Tooth, Head of Photography at the Guardian and Observer; award-winning artist Taus Makhacheva; and Ekow Eshun, Creative Director of Calvert 22 Foundation.

The winner of the New East Photo Prize will be announced on 1 December and offered the opportunity to publish a photobook based on their submitted work.

The finalists are as follows:

Ziyah Gafic, Bosnia: Paradise Lost

Katrina Kepule, Sit Silently

Eugenia Maximova, Associated Nostalgia

Sasha Rudensky, Tinsel and Blue

Alexander Sergejevich Epikhov, Badlands

Andrey Shapran, Cape North. Chukotka

Michał Siarek, Alexander

Michał Sierakowski, Uranium

Lana Stojicevic, Black Hill

Danila Tkachenko, Lost Horizon

Vladimir Vasilev, T(h)races

More information about the New East Photo Prize can be found here. Get to know the full list of shortlisted photographers in Week 1 of our special report on the prize.