The winners of the 2020-21 Nikon Photo Contest have been announced, with Grand Prize awards for photo and short film categories each winning ¥500,000 (approximately $4,565 / £3,348 / AU$6,300). Other prizes on offer included mirrorless Nikon Z-series cameras and lenses.
The recipient of the photo competition Grand Prize was a piece entitled “Radiance”, entered by Amin Nazari, from Iran. Meanwhile, the short film competition Grand Prize winner was a piece entitled “Escaping from Karma”, entered by Rei Kuroda from Japan. The winners were selected from the 65,062 entries submitted by approximately 26,000 people from 150 countries and regions around the world.
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In both the photo and short film competitions, there are two categories. The Open Category has the theme of 'Connect' and has no age restrictions, while the Next Generation Category has the theme 'Passion' and is only open to those aged 25 or under (as of 31 December 2020).
The archive video of the online awards ceremony will be released on the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 website at the beginning of October. The winning works will also be showcased at the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 street exhibition, taking place in Tokyo’s Shibuya, New York and London later this year.
Grand Prize photo competition winner
Grand Prize short film competition winner
Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021's Lead Judge Neville Brody commented: “What amazed me was the number and quality of the entries that were submitted, despite the pandemic and the personal challenges it brought upon every practitioner, every human being on the planet. Within the entries, we saw a wide range of interpretations of the world. From very different, private points of view, to points of view that revealed ideas which were more universal – there was a lot of reflection of personal narratives.
"We saw some very moving, highly emotional entries this year that stunned the judges – images of personal suffering, and of beauty, of captured lives, of joy, and of magic. It’s been an extremely difficult year for every individual, and to create works that somehow communicate these challenges shows that photography and video are very powerful tools to capture these narratives.”
The winning works will be showcased in public street exhibitions in Tokyo, New York and London. During the exhibition period, works will be viewable at various locations in each city. The exhibition will start in Shibuya, Tokyo, from 05-18 October, before moving on to New York from 18-31 October. The final exhibition will be held in London from 01-14 November. An online exhibition will also be held on the Nikon Photo Contest 2020-2021 website from 05 October.
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