Jury for photo of the year 2021

The members of the jury for Photo of the Year 2021 are:

LOUISE WOLTHERS (DK) holds a PhD in art history and is head of research and curator at the Hasselblad Foundation, where she carries out research into the theory, history and contemporary practices of photography. She is in charge of research projects that produce publications and exhibitions, including WATCHED! Surveillance, Art and Photography (2015-2017) and Thresholds: Interwar Lens Cultures, together with partners at University of Gothenburg (2018-2021). She regularly publishes in scientific books and journals, including Journal of European Studies, Photography & Society and Photographies.

“Photography is easy. Photography is difficult” (Paul Graham). Mobile devices allow many of us easy access to picture making, but in order to understand the power of the image, question the meaning of visibility and explore different ways of seeing, we need practitioners who are devoted to photography: Architects, artists and photographers who study, work, experiment, fail and repeat. As we’re surrounded by and constantly contributing to an abundance of circulated imagery, it is as important as ever to be reminded of the complexities and magic of photography.” – Louise Wolthers.

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CHRISTINA CAPETILLO (DK) holds a PhD and is an architect, photographer and editor of the Landskab magazine. Her field of exploration is contemporary landscape and she has had her photographic works exhibited in Denmark and abroad.

“Our contemporary landscape is a hybrid landscape where culture has evolved from civilisatory islands encompassed by wild nature to a force on par with that of nature. This all-conquering state of culture has emerged as Earth has become a total field of human manipulation. We may now consider nature to be threatened islands in a sea of culture.

Contemporary photography mediates this condition and plays a central role as we seek out other representations and new narratives about Earth that may help us change our behaviour and achieve a green transition.”

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TRINE BERTHOLD (DK), architect, partner at schmidt hammer lassen architects 2003-2018, partner at LOOP Architects 2018-2020 and pro dean at Aarhus School of Architecture 2014-2017. Currently part of Projekt Kongelunden, where she is responsible for the new stadium in Aarhus.

”The Smartphone enables med to grab beauty on the way, transforming concrete landscapes in to abstract compositions”

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TORBEN NIELSEN (DK) architect, Rector at Aarhus School of Architecture since 2010, has a lifelong passion for architectural photography and has participated as judge in several competitions.

“To me, photography is a craft that captures memories – it preserves glimpses of the world that contain much more than what you see. For the photographer himself, each photograph contains a whole stream of memories about what preceded and what came after the moment the photo contains or describes. To the spectator of the photograph, it sets free thoughts that go far beyond what can be seen. It merges with your own world and flow of memories. And it expresses thoughts and feelings – but it can also describe objects and moments accurately and to the point. Close to something we might call reality – yet without being it. I am delighted that it was, once again, possible to arrange this competition for architecture students. Just like the drawing, the photograph is important to architects both as a tool for sketching and to describe and capture situations that matter to you or someone else – and it forms the basis of what we build and have built.” – Torben Nielsen.

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Read more about the competition or register now.

The composition of the jury

The person responsible for the competition has the task of putting together a jury with the right professional qualifications. The jury consists of both internal and external members. Number and composition vary from year to year.

To support the work of finding qualified candidates for the jury, the person responsible for the competition obtains proposals from the school’s employees and others. This can be done through dialogue with the relevant professional environments or as open inquiries. It allows candidates to express their interest and helps to support the overall composition of the field of candidates.

It is then the person responsible for the competition who composes the final jury. The jury is approved by the principal.

When appointing members to the jury, there is a particular focus on the risk of bias during the selection, and in the final composition, there will be a focus on the value of diversity in the jury.

Photo Of The Year is sponsored by