San Diego Hosts the Only US Stop for Prix Pictet Human

The San Diego Museum of Art welcomes Prix Pictet Human, the latest exhibition from the world’s leading award for photography and sustainability, to the Museum of Photographic Arts at the SDMA galleries—the only US stop on the international tour!

Exploring the Essence of Humanity

The Prix Pictet Award was founded in 2008 by the Pictet Group to harness the power of photography to draw attention to the critical issue of global sustainability. There have been 10 cycles of the Prix Pictet award, each with its own theme highlighting a particular facet of sustainability.

The current cycle, Prix Pictet Human, showcases the work of 12 outstanding photographers shortlisted for the tenth cycle of the award. Their work constitutes a powerful exploration of the various facets of the theme: Human.

Each of the shortlisted photographers explores our shared humanity and the vast spectrum of our interactions with the world in their own unique way.

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, and the collapse of economic processes to the traces of human habitation and industrial development, gang violence, borderlands, and migration.

Showcasing Global Photography

“We are honored to welcome Prix Pictet to MOPA@SDMA for the third time and as the only US venue of the Prix Pictet Human exhibition tour,” said Roxana Velásquez, Executive Director and CEO at The San Diego Museum of Art.

“The thought-provoking photography in this show shares important messages and inspiration. We hope all will come to see this important and timely exhibition.”

“We are delighted to present the outstanding work of the cycle’s 12 shortlisted artists in San Diego,” said Isabelle Von Ribbentrop, Executive Director 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. This is a value we share with The San Diego Museum of Art.”

“The opportunity to tour and share this work with the public in America is a privilege for us, and we hope this exhibition will be a powerful reminder of the urgency of the climate crisis.”

Gauri Gill Wins Prix Pictet Human

At a ceremony at the Victoria & Albert Museum in September 2023 that kicked off the international tour of Prix Pictet Human, Indian photographer Gauri Gill was announced as the winner of Prix Pictet Human.

Gill was selected from the shortlist of 12 photographers by the prize’s independent jury.

Gill’s work emphasizes 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.

Introducing the People’s Choice Award

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.

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.

The shortlisted photographers are: