Main Exhibition
Prix Pictet Human
Organised by The Prix Pictet, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre and the Goethe-Institut Thailand
at Main Exhibition Gallery, 9th floor, (L wing), Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
The shortlisted photographers are:
Hoda Afshar, Iran
Gera Artemova, Ukraine
Ragnar Axelsson, Iceland
Alessandro Cinque, Italy/Peru
Siân Davey, UK
Federico Ríos Escobar, Colombia
Gauri Gill, India
Michał Łuczak, Poland
Yael Martínez, Mexico
Richard Renaldi, US
Vanessa Winship, UK/Bulgaria
Vasantha Yogananthan, France
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) is pleased to announce it will host Prix Pictet Human, the latest exhibition from the world’s leading award for photography and sustainability, in cooperation with Pictet Group and the Goethe-Institut Thailand. Founded in 2008 by the Pictet Group with the goal of harnessing the power of photography to draw attention to the critical issue of global sustainability. To date, there have been ten cycles of the award, each with its own theme highlighting a particular facet of sustainability. This will be the first time Prix Pictet has been exhibited in Thailand.
The current cycle, Prix Pictet Human, showcases the work of twelve outstanding photographers shortlisted for the tenth cycle of the award. Their work constitutes a powerful exploration of the various facets of the theme Human. In their own unique way, each of the shortlisted photographers explores our shared humanity and the vast spectrum of our interactions with the world. The shortlisted portfolios span documentary, portraiture, landscape, and studies of light and process, and explore issues ranging from the plight of Indigenous peoples, conflict, childhood, the collapse of economic processes, to the traces of human habitation and industrial development, gang violence, border lands, and migration. Their work evaluates our role as stewards of the planet and sheds light on the critical issues of global sustainability, the central concern of the Prix Pictet since its inception seventeen years ago.
A key component of the exhibition in Thailand is an extensive accompanying programme, developed in collaboration with BACC, Prix Pictet, and the Goethe-Institut Thailand. The programme will include a comprehensive educational component for exhibition visitors at BACC. In addition, the program will feature artist talks and a workshop led by one of the international photographers showcased in the exhibition. Through these events, we aim to engage Thailand’s photography community while fostering a deeper dialogue between photographic practice and ecological discourse.
At a ceremony at the Victoria & Albert Museum (the first stop of the international tour), in September 2023 Indian photographer Gauri Gill was announced as the winner of the Prix Pictet Human, receiving the prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs. Gill was selected from the shortlist of twelve photographers by the prize’s independent jury. Gill’s work emphasises her belief in working with and through community, in what she calls ‘active listening’. For more than two decades, she has been closely engaged with communities in the desert of western Rajasthan, Northern India and for the last decade with Indigenous artists in Maharashtra.
At the close of the exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Colombian photographer Federico Ríos Escobar was announced as the winner of the inaugural Prix Pictet People’s Choice Award, receiving the prize of 10,000 Swiss francs. Ríos Escobar’s poignant work captures the heart-wrenching realities of South American children whose parents have embarked on the perilous migrant journey through the treacherous Darién Gap, a near-impassable stretch of jungle on the Colombia- Panama border. The People’s Choice Award was introduced to allow the public to vote for their favorite shortlisted series and to create further dialogue around the vital issues the Prix Pictet explores.
Adulaya Hoontrakul, Director of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre says of the collaboration “It is an honour for the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre to host the Prix Pictet’s Human cycle, presenting the deeply resonant work of twelve shortlisted artists whose practices engage critically with the climate crisis. At a time when environmental urgencies increasingly define our collective futures, this exhibition reminds us of the vital role photography plays—not only as witness, but as a catalyst for reflection, resistance, and care. We are grateful for the opportunity to share this global conversation with our audiences in Bangkok, and to contribute to the ongoing dialogue around sustainability through art.”
“We are delighted to present the outstanding work of the cycle’s twelve shortlisted artists in Bangkok,” said Stephen Barber, Chairman at Prix Pictet. “For over a decade, our mission at Prix Pictet has been to showcase the best of global photography, focusing on the urgent topic of sustainability. The opportunity to tour and share this work with the public in Thailand is a privilege for us, and we hope this exhibition will be a powerful reminder of the urgency of the climate crisis.”
“We are excited to collaborate with Prix Pictet and our longstanding partner BACC to bring Prix Pictet to Thailand for the first time,” said Johannes Hossfeld, director of Goethe-Institut Thailand. “The photographers featured in Human represent the highest level of international photographic art practice. Human deepens the urgently needed conversation about humanity’s impact on our communities. Workshops and talks are our way to ensure engagement with Thailand’s local photography community.”
Image Gallery
