Bengali photographer Nayeem Siddiquee with the shot Somewhere under the red sky is the Winner Overall of URBAN Photo Awards 2021, chosen by president of the jury Bruce Gilden among the first ranked in the Streets, People, Spaces and Creative categories in the Single Photos section.
Bruce Gilden announced his choice in a video speech during the URBAN awards ceremony, Saturday 30 October at the Auditorium of the Museo Revoltella, as part of the Trieste Photo Days 2021 festival, in north-eastern Italy.
“It was tough to pick an overall winner”, Gilden said. “I have to admit I was overwhelmed by the red sky.”
Winner of the Projects & Portfolios section was Luca Meola with Crackland. The project, focused on a problematic neighborhood in Sao Paulo in Brazil, was selected by Paolo Pellegrin, present in the room, who personally rewarded the author.
Francesco Cito instead presented the Canadian photographer Nicolas St-Pierre with the URBAN Book Awards trophy for the volume Where Have The Birds Gone?
“The work of Nicolas St-Pierre”, according to Cito, “is an intellectual fantasy conducted with mastery and a skilful photographic language. Good photography, engraved, well structured, and masterfully post produced.”
The English photographer Joseph Ford was crowned Best Author of this twelfth edition of the contest: a recognition for his very personal authorial creativity.
During his long video speech, Bruce Gilden also commented on the projects he had selected for Real people, the tribute book in his honor born from the Bruce Gilden Special Prize, from which a collective exhibition in Rome was taken at the Galleria Umberto Mastroianni of the Museums of San Salvatore in Lauro.
Gilden, chased by the art director of the festival Angelo Cucchetto and journalist Rebeka Legovic, proved to be a direct and honest president of the Jury, but above all a great professional and a true lover and connoisseur of photography.
Francesca Pompei, winner of the New Buildings Special Award, was also awarded: founder of Matrix4Design Andrea Boni presented her the trophy for the photo Sharada #04 and announced that the New Buidings award will be repeated in 2022 for the third year in a row. Harry Giglio was also awarded as the winner of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival Special Prize with the shot Time Traveller.
