Denmark is showcasing the work of photojournalists! The Danish National Library is hosting the winners of the Danish Press Photography Award organized by the Danish Union of Press Photographers. Open until August 9, visitors can see the work of the award winners in fields such as sport, current affairs, and also series of reports produced in 2025.
It is the huge photograph of a demonstration in Greenland, taken by Oscar Scott Carl, that welcomes the visitor on an entire wall. We are on March 15, 2025, and all the towns of this semi-autonomous territory are mobilizing, taking part in the largest demonstrations the country has ever known. Many Greenlandic flags, red and white, can be seen being waved by a crowd with solemn expressions. The message is clear: Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, reads the caption.
The tone of the exhibition is set. The works of the photojournalists display the main challenges we are facing. War in Ukraine, genocide in Gaza, but also e-sports and online prostitution: the reports are rooted in our era and tell reality as closely as possible, using only a camera and a highly mastered art of storytelling.
Mads Nissen, photographer for the national daily newspaper Politiken, focused on children who are members of gangs in Scandinavia. He met and photographed the daily lives of these young people who, sometimes barely in middle school, handle guns and knives and obey the orders of their leaders. A chilling yet striking report.
Ukrainian teenagers are also confronted with human horrors. Many have enlisted in the army to defend their country following the Russian invasion of 2022. Among them is the son of a soldier killed at the front, photographed by Nichlas Pollier at his father’s grave. Another award-winning series also documents the daily lives of those who remain despite the war. Ólafur Steinar Rye Gestsson focused on people living with disabilities in Ukraine. They number 2.7 million across the country and have remained there. Deaf people cannot wait for the sirens, and people with physical disabilities can hardly get to shelter. The photographer met people who continue to live in their homes and others in centers, most of which lack adequate resources.
Among the award-winning works were also those dealing with the engagement of Danish youth. Christian Falck Wolff photographed the attempted occupation of the headquarters of the Maersk Group, the Danish shipping giant, accused of transporting weapons to Israel, which is accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice. Dressed in white coveralls and keffiyehs, the hundreds of activists, including Greta Thunberg, were evacuated.
The Danish Press Photography Award, organized every year and exhibited at the National Library, highlights the work of staff and freelance photojournalists. Firmly rooted in current affairs, this exhibition gives photojournalism the recognition it deserves. In a world where the weight of words is fading away, the impact of photographs is imprinted on our minds. Hence the importance of defending it, supporting it, and exhibiting the work of these image journalists.
The World Around Us
Until November 2028
The Black Diamond / Det Kongelige Bibliotek
Søren Kierkegaards Pl. 1,
1221 København,
Danemark
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