André Kertész Hall

Women’s destinies in the world

“Marie Claire’s articles are about and for women. Thus, since women are the heart and soul of our magazine and since we have always worked with the biggest names in Photographic Reportage, Marie Claire launches the Marie Claire International Photography Award inviting submissions of photo series about the lives of women.”

Since its foundation Marie Claire magazine has gathered women’s stories from all over the world. We know the weight of these stories and the strength of the images accompanying them. There are photo essays that we cherish for ever as they make us dream, wander, shiver, or even cry sometimes. As a tribute to all the talented photographers who put their sensitivity and resolve at the service of women, telling their joys, their sorrows, their strife, their struggles and victories, here and all over the world, for the first time Marie Claire magazine presents the Marie Claire International Photography Award, the only International Photography Award dedicated to women. The initiative was launched with the support of the 34 international Marie Claire editions. This is the first international photography contest and award in the world that invited submissions depicting women’s stories and situations from professional photographers from around the world. In the end, 10 contestants were shortlisted from the 311 contestants. The international jury selected the British photographer Jackie Dewe Mathews with her series Trafficantes as the winner; she was awarded with 5000 EUR and a Nikon D800 D-SLR.

The nine shortlisted artists:

Guia Besana (Italy) • Colin Delfosse (Belgium) • Misha Friedman (Moldova) • Stéphanie Gengotti (Italy) • Anahit Hayrapetyan (Armenia) • Diana Markosian (Russia) • Fausto Podavini (Italy)• Irina Popova (Russia) • Alessandro Viganò (Italy)

Members of the jury

Christine Leiritz, Editorial director, Marie Claire France, President
Françoise Huguier, photographer • Aline Pujo, president of the IACCCA • Tina Ahrens, co-founder of emphas.is • Christian Caujolle, co-founder of Vu Agency • Florence du Luart, Editorial director, Marie Claire International • Séverine Harzo, Editor in chief, Marie Claire International • Philippe Gruson, Art director, Marie Claire France • Corine Hamel, Photographic department manager, Marie Claire France • Trish Halpin, Editorial director, Marie Claire UK • Joanna Coles, Editorial director, Marie Claire USA • Jackie Frank, Editorial director, Marie Claire Australia • László Krisztina, Editorial director, Marie Claire Hungary • Deng Li, Editorial director, Marie Claire China • Emmanuella Mirabelli, az Photographic department manager, Marie Claire Italy • Monica Serino, Editorial director, Marie Claire Brazil • Kee Yeun Sohn, Editorial director, Marie Claire Korea • Olga Zaretskaya, Editorial director, Marie Claire Russia

The Exhibition

The Award Winner's series is published in Marie Claire France and in several Marie Claire International editions. To salute all of the 10 shortlisted participants, an exhibition of their works was organized in partnership with Artelier Vikart in Paris in November 2012. The Hungarian House of Photography in Budapest is the first stop of the traveling show showcasing all of the shortlisted series with their 100 photographs.

Ten photographers, ten stories in one hundred photos – about the WOMAN.
Different roles in different locations. Prisoners, soldiers, young mothers. Living among the most desperate circumstances, being the sole breadwinner of their families, yet trusting in the future, a mother. Holding out by her spouses side till the end, or a mother with her daughter considered too extreme in her set of values by the majority. Patients for whom life itself is the disease. Believers believing in the power of prayer, or young people who aim to change socially expected roles. Women, everyday heroes.
The series exhibited – with the exception of one – take reality as their starting point and engage in capturing that very reality. From the series of events, they highlight often difficult, other times joyful moments. They show the various circumstances, tasks, and faces of women through portraits, still lifes, and other situations photographed.

The photographers are all strongly committed to socially sensitive topics who, by either exploring the life of communities or one single fate, show that they believe in the power of photography and the importance of visual story-telling. They do not forget that even one photograph can change the world.

The Marie Claire magazine

Marie Claire is an internationally published monthly fashion magazine that became unique in the market of glossy publications through its novel and provocative choices of subject matter. The magazine is now present in 34 countries; it was first published in Hungary in April 2007. Both in its appearance and its content, the Hungarian Marie Claire offers a trend-setting and distinctive composition of powerful, provocative journalism, inspiring and accessible fashion, as well as beauty.