© Pieter Ten Hoopen, Agence Vu/Civilian Act
_F_rom July 12 – August 25, 10 Corso Como Gallery and Fondazione Sozzani present the World Press Photo 2019 exhibition. Considered the world’s leading competition for press photographers, photojournalists, and documentary photographers, the annual photo contest awards photographers for the best images contributing to the past year of visual journalism. The exhibition features the best photojournalistic images of the past year selected from more that 4,500 photographers from 129 countries.
For the 62nd edition of the Photo Contest, the World Press Photo Foundation introduced a major new award: The World Press Photo Story of the Year. This new award honors the photographer whose visual creativity and skills produced a story with excellent editing and sequencing that captures or represents an event or issue of great journalistic importance in 2018. Among the three nominees for World Press Photo Story of the Year, Pieter Ten Hoopen (Netherlands/Sweden), won the new award with The Migrant Caravan in the “Spot News” category.
During October and November 2018, thousands of Central American migrants joined a caravan heading to the United States border. The caravan, assembled through a grassroots social media campaign, left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on 12 October 2018, and as word spread drew people from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. They were a mix of those facing political repression and violence, and those fleeing harsh economic conditions in the hope of a better life.
People run to a truck that has stopped to give them a ride, outside Tapanatepec, Mexico, on 30 October 2018. Some drivers charged to give travelers a lift for part of the way, but most offered services free as a sign of support. © Pieter Ten Hoopen, Agence Vu/Civilian Act
Another winner from the Netherlands is Jasper Doest who won the second prize with Flamingo Socks in the category “Nature – Singles”.
The bird was brought by plane from neighboring island Bonaire, after spending a few weeks in a local rehabilitation facility. Such lesions are common among captive flamingos, as they have very sensitive feet and are used to walking on soft ground. After a few weeks of care the bird was transported back to Bonaire. There are around 3,000 breeding pairs of Caribbean flamingos on Bonaire, and a further 200 to 300 birds on Curaçao.
Doest also won the second prize with his series Meet Bob in the category “Nature – Stories”. Bob, a rescued Caribbean flamingo, lives among humans on the Dutch island of Curaçao. Bob was badly injured when he flew into a hotel window, and was cared for by Odette Doest who runs Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben (FDOC), a wildlife rehabilitation center. During Bob’s rehabilitation, Odette discovered that he had been habituated to humans, and so would not survive if returned to the wild. Instead, he became an ‘ambassador’ for FDOC, which educates local people about the importance of protecting the island’s wildlife.
Since 1955 the World Press Photo Contest organized by the Amsterdam-based World Press Photo Foundation has recognized professional photographers for the best pictures contributing to the past year of journalism. The prize-winning pictures are presented in an exhibition visiting around 100 cities in about 45 countries over the course of the year and seen by more than 4 million people worldwide.
The Fondazione Sozzani was established in 2016 by Carla Sozzani and is dedicated to the promotion of culture through photography, fashion, the fine arts, and applied arts. It has assumed the patronage of Galleria Carla Sozzani, founded by Sozzani in Milan in 1990, and continues all relevant public functions that the Galleria has supported for the past 29 years. The Foundation has supported World Press Photo for 25 years through the consecutive exhibition of the winners of the World Press Photo Contest.
Founded in Milan in 1991 by former fashion editor and publisher Carla Sozzani, 10 Corso Como is recognized as the world’s first concept store, with a curated mix of fashion, design and art in a succession of spaces alongside a restaurant and café and an art and photography gallery. 10 Corso Como’s visual identity, interior and iconic logos are designed by American artist Kris Ruhs, inspired by the idea of bringing art into the everyday environment. Over the past almost 30 years, 10 Corso Como has expanded internationally with venues in Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing. The Seaport District in New York is its first U.S. location.