Hasta La Ideas

(Photo: Prix Pictet)

It’s been quite a year for London-based photographer Nadav Kander. In January, he made a splash with the special inauguration issue of The New York Times Magazine, which devoted its entire feature well to his 52 full-page color portraits of “Obama’s People.” The quirky portfolio garnered him the title of International Photographer of the Year in the International Photography Awards, announced last month during the Lucie Awards Gala. Kander’s latest honor spotlights a body of work far beyond the Beltway. He is the winner of the 2009 Prix Pictet for his photographs of the life and landscape along the banks of China’s Yangtze River, which he traced from its mouth in Shanghai to its source—about 4,000 miles away—in Qinghai Province. Kander was presented with the CHF 100,000 (approximately $98,000) award by former United Nations Secretary Kofi Annan at a ceremony held last week in Paris.

Now in its second year, the Prix Pictet is a Pictet & Cie-sponsored global photography competition that seeks to promote sustainability. This year’s theme was “Earth.” The twelve photographers shortlisted for the 2009 prize included Andreas Gursky, Edward Burtynsky, Naoya Hatakeyama, and Ed Kashi, who was awarded the 2009 Prix Pictet Commission. The American photographer will travel to Madagascar and produce a series of photographs to bolster the work of Azafady, a charity that works to eradicate poverty, suffering, and environmental damage in the island nation. An exhibition of work shortlisted for Prix Pictet is on view through November 23 at the Passage de Retz in Paris and then tours to Thessaloniki (December), Dubai (January), and Eindhoven (March). Go here for an online preview.

Previously on UnBeige: