Every year for a quarter of a century, the Reinhardt von Graffenried Foundation in Berne has recognized the best of Swiss photojournalism. Photographs published in the daily press over the previous year are eligible for submission. The winning images are then presented in an exhibition shown in the three main linguistic regions in Switzerland. The itinerant exhibition is often coupled with World Press Photo.
The results of Swiss Press Photo 16 were announced on February 16 with the help of seven jurors including: Lar Boering, managing director of World Press Photo; Daphné Anglès, picture editor at New York Times; Koni Nordmann, photography director at Tages Anzeiger in Zurich, as well as the author of this article.
The individual award-winning images and picture stories in 2016 offer a great variety. The emblematic shot of the FIFA corruption scandal — the Zurich arrest captured by Pascal Mora — won the first prize in the News Story category. The white sheet concealing a FIFA executive creates a frame within the frame, which, by withholding information, only adds to the scandal. In contrast, Mara Truog’s portrait of a 120-year-old Swiss woman (first prize in the People category) lays bare the passage of time in a serene face.
Similarly, Niels Ackermann’s series on Children of Chernobyl depicts a Ukrainian reality at odds with the customary alarmist images from the country (first prize in the World category). Daniel Rihs’ photo report on a religious holiday celebrated by Eritreans in the Canton of Aargau powerfully resonates in a Switzerland concerned by the influx of war refugees (first prize in the Swiss Stories category)
INFORMATION
Swiss Press Photo 16
www.swisspressaward.ch
