Bruno Oliveira, Liz Lambert Win Clervaux Photography Prizes

On Thursday 6 October 2022, local photographers Bruno Oliveira and Liz Lambert received the jury prize and the incentive prize, respectively, as part of the first edition of the "Prix de la Photographie - Clervaux Cité de l'image".

Earlier this year, the Municipality of Clervaux and the Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg (CAL) jointly launched this new photography prize, which rewards the work of a photographer and one of his / her recent contemporary photographic works. The prize favours photography that meets the requirements of artistic quality, research, innovation and originality.

The "Prix de la Photographie - Clervaux Cité de l'image" is for a total amount of €7,000, fully financed by the municipality of Clervaux and divided into two prizes: the jury prize of €5,000 and the incentive prize of €2,000.

For this first edition, photographers were free to choose the theme dealt with in their work, in the spirit of encouraging creativity and the production of new works.

The jury responsible for designating the finalists was chaired by Thomas Seelig, who has been director of the photographic collection at Museum Folkwang in Essen (Germany) since 2018. The jury selected thirteen finalists out of 48 applications; these finalists are exhibiting their works from 5 to 23 October 2022 in the pavillon of the Hall Polyvalent in Clervaux.

The opening of the exhibition of the finalists' works, as well as the award ceremony, took place on Thursday, with two of the finalists receiving a prize.

The jury prize was awarded to Bruno Oliveira for his series "Coentro e Cachorros", made up of 24 individual images. His work represents instantaneous moments during his trip to Cape Verde. He described his work as follows: "Cape Verde is aptly named. On the island of Santo Antão, colour is a place, a room, a landscape, a person, a memory and gives rhythm to the lives and stories of its inhabitants. Coriander perfumes the air and the dishes, vibrates with intensity by its green in my eye and by its flavour on my palate, confusing my senses and my ideas. I am its colour and its smell, like the stray dogs that accompany me and guide me from chance encounters to unusual places and scenes".

The incentive prize was awarded to Liz Lambert for her composition of a series of seven images which she described as follows: "In this work, I combine intimate self-portraits with spontaneous photos of everyday details that allow me to stop, touch me and inspire me. Their symbiosis reflects my personal confrontation with my perception of the body and the world, my hypersensitivity and religion. The series of images not only complement each other through lines, but also through the stories they tell together. As a whole, the work leaves room for subjective interpretations...".

The "Prix de la Photographie - Clervaux Cité de l'image" is initiated by the municipality of Clervaux and the CAL, with the support of the following partners: the Centre National de l'Audiovisuel (CNA), Clervaux - Cité de l'image asbl (CDI) and Lycée Edward Steichen (LESC).

The works of the finalists are exhibited at the Hall Polyvalent in Clervaux until 23 October 2022; the exhibition is open to the public Wednesday to Friday from 14:00 to 17:00 and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 18:00.