The Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2024
Once again, the world-renowned photography award will be making an important statement with regard to the role and significance of contemporary photography, by presenting and honouring a selection of current image series. This year marks the 44th edition of the LOBA.
As in previous years, renowned curators, gallery owners, art directors and picture editors, as well as numerous photographers from around the world, will use their individual expertise and experience to nominate up to three photographic series, which will each include between 15 and 20 images. The only requirements for a nomination are that the photographs be of a documentary or conceptual-artistic nature, and deal with the relationship of humanity to the environment. This humanistic constant has been a feature of the LOBA competition, since its inception in 1979. That was the year in which Oskar Barnack, the developer of the Ur-Leica and whose name is given to the competition, would have been 100 years old.
The Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award has complemented the main category since 2009, and is granted to a photographer under 30 years of age. Once again, nominees will be selected in collaboration with, and through proposals submitted by international institutions and colleges.
After viewing all the submissions, the five-person, international jury will come together to deliberate in May, at Leica Camera AG’s headquarters in Wetzlar. From a shortlist of up to twelve series, they will choose the LOBA 2024 winners in the main and newcomer categories.
In the coming summer months, all the shortlisted series will be presented on the LOBA website. The announcement and award ceremony for the winners of both categories will then take place in Wetzlar in October 2024.
The LOBA’s reputation continues to grow steadily, and its financial endowment also makes it one of the most important international photography awards. The main prize is endowed with 40,000 euros and Leica camera equipment valued at 10,000 euros; while the newcomer receives 10,000 euros and a Leica Q3. Furthermore, the LOBA winning series, together with those shortlisted, will be presented in a touring exhibition, which will first be hosted at the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar in October. Afterwards, the series will be on display in Leica galleries and at selected photo festivals worldwide. The series by the two winners and all the shortlisted nominees will also be presented in depth in the accompanying catalogue.