Allendale, NJ—Leica Camera is inviting professional photographers to submit entries to the 2014 Leica Oskar Barnack Award international photography competition. Applications and photographic projects will be accepted online from December 15, 2013 through January 31, 2014 at leica-oskar-barnack-preis.de. The awards will be presented during the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie festival in Arles, France, July 2014.
Beginning in 2014, Leica is doubling the value of the cash prizes, in celebration of Leica’s centennial in 2014. The winner of the main category of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award will be presented with a cash prize of 10,000 Euros (approximately $13,500 U.S.) in addition to a Leica M camera and lens, valued at an additional 10,000 Euros. The Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award for emerging talents, aged 25 and under, will garner a cash prize of 5,000 Euros ($6,750 U.S.) and a Leica M camera with a lens.
“Leica has a history of cultural engagement that goes back several decades, particularly in the fields of photography and music, as well as in the areas where the two overlap,” said jury member Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, general manager of Leica Galleries International. “Sponsorship of photography as a creative art form has a long tradition at Leica, and the promotion of emerging talents is a particularly important part of this. So, for the centennial of Leica photography, it was only logical that we should increase the value of the prizes for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award and the award for up-and-coming photographers.”
For the first time in the award’s history, there will be a prize presented in a third category—the Leica Oskar Barnack Public Award. The winner of this category will be determined from a shortlist of candidates selected by the jury in a vote organized in collaboration with i-shot-it.com, an online platform for photographic competitions. The winner of this category will receive a cash prize of 2,500 Euros. All of those who participate in the vote will be eligible to win a compact camera and other Leica prizes. us.leica-camera.com
