What do the people think about LuganoPhotoDays and LuganoAward?
It was a very nice surprise because I thought I had only won the “Wildlife & Nature” category, but then the jury selected me as the overall winner of the Premio Città di Lugano. The group exhibition was great with fellow photographers Pablo E. Piovano’s series, “The Human Cost of Agrotoxins” and “Balcanica” by Enrico Carpegna, winner of “Reportage & Documentary”. Congratulations to the festival for putting Lugano on the international photo map.
I chose LuganoPhotoDays to propose the work on the Balkan route because I was impressed by the quality of the previous editions and the authors who had participated and won.
It was gratifying to receive the first Reportage prize, to be hosted, to have the exhibition, the catalogue and also the Fujifilm prize.
The award opened up further possibilities for me to continue my work on the infrared border in Mexico, and to exhibit a future exhibition in Turin (Italy) and various publications.
When they told me that I had won both the IBSA Foundation – Covid19 section and the overall winner of Lugano Award, I couldn’t believe it.
It is the first time that a “zero kilometer” work has managed to have such a great echo.
I proposed Awakenings at LuganoPhotoDays because it is a very serious international competition and because I was struck by the quality of the winners of the previous editions and also because I believed that a work that spoke of Covid not as death, but as a return to life was important. I thank all the jury.
The victory in 2015 with project named “Kopankas”, gave me new energy and motivation to deepen the history of the Donbass coal miners
Winning the LuganoPhotoDays photo contest was a great early-career opportunity to have my work exhibited and to meet professionals in the delightful setting of Lugano. Thanks for everything!
