On 21 November2024 the winners of the VONOVIA AWARD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY No. 7 were presented with their awards at a ceremony in Berlin. Sibylle Fendt won in the ‘Professionals’ category with her photo series ‘Bevor es soweit ist’, while Jakob Eckstein impressed in the ‘New Talents’ category with his photo series ‘BESICHTIGT’.
Image above: VONOVIA AWARD FÜR FOTOGRAFIE 2024 (v.l.n.r. Martin Brockhoff, Jakob Eckstein, Sibylle Fendt, Daniel Riedl).
The photographic explorations deal with important issues in today’s society and at the same time reflect very personal perspectives on home – the award-winning works focus on the self-determined end of life in familiar surroundings and the high demand for urban living space. The expert jury recognised the photo series in particular for their multi-layered and courageous narrative approaches to the universal theme of HOME.
PRICE ‘PROFESSIONAL’
SIBYLLE FENDT
‘Before the time comes’ (2024)
In her photo series ‘Before the time comes’, Sibylle Fendt focusses on people who accompany their loved ones as they die at home in the last days of their lives. With her camera, she visits people who want to spend the last phase of their lives surrounded by family and friends, in a place where they can be closer to themselves and their loved ones than anywhere else and where they are not just guests. The intimate photographs show how familiar surroundings can be an important anchor, especially in the time of farewell, providing security and support despite the indescribable grief.
‘Sibylle Fendt finds a visual language for the difficult subject of dying. There is an atmosphere of trust in her photographs that gives the home a special quality – both for the dying and for the families accompanying them. The protagonists of her pictures find a balance in the room, the photographs radiate warmth and a peaceful atmosphere. She succeeds in showing a view of others that emanates from her own world of experience.’
– Jury statement
NEW TALENT’ AWARD
JAKOB ECKSTEIN
‘BESICHTIGT’ (2024)
In his photo series ‘Besichtigt’, Jakob Eckstein accompanies people over several months with his camera as they look for a flat, capturing moments of hope and disillusionment, of closeness and rivalry. In his black and white photographs, Jakob Eckstein shows himself as an observer of the current reality on the housing market in cities like Berlin. His images tell of the deeply human search for a home in a city where living space has become a scarce commodity. At the same time, they document the struggle for a piece of living space, the need for security and the associated challenges.
© Jakob Eckstein
‘Jakob Eckstein has taken up an important and topical subject, his work is based on thorough research. He has the courage to confront what he has found and finds powerful images from his observations. He skilfully chooses the methods and visual language of observational photography and uses the space of the flats as a stage for randomly appearing protagonists.’
– Jury Statement
EXHIBITION IN SPRING 2025 IN HANOVER
From 16 March 2025, the six photo series from the master class of the VONOVIA AWARD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY No. 7 will be shown in Hanover. In cooperation with the Sprengel Museum and the Marktkirche, the exhibition aims to reflect different perspectives on the topic of home in public spaces and in the church and to promote social dialogue. Further exhibition stations are to follow in 2025.
JURY OF THE VONOVIA AWARD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
The high-calibre jury headed by Martin Brockhoff (photographer) includes Peter Bialobrzeski (photographer), Anna Gripp (editor-in-chief of Photonews), Daniel Riedl (board member of Vonovia), Nina Röder (professor at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences Hamburg), Linn Schröder (professor at HAW Hamburg), Reinhard Spieler (director of Sprengel Museum Hannover) and Ingo Taubhorn (artist and exhibition organiser, president of the German Photographic Academy).
