FELLOWSHIP-WINNERS OF THE CAPA GRAND PRIZE HUNGARY 2021

The first jury of the Capa Grand Prize Hungary 2021 has awarded fellowships to László Róbert Bácsi, Éva Szombat, and Balázs Turós, for their entries titled “Lost Territories”, “I Want Orgasms, Not Roses (working title)”, and “The Nature of Things”, respectively on October 21, 2020. It is the fourth time the fellowships are awarded, each including a grant of HUF 500,000+200,000 (approx. €2200).

The Robert Capa Photography Grand Prize Hungary was founded in October 2014 by the Capa Center in order to recognize the work of artists who produce an outstanding achievement in the field of Hungarian photography. The awards are decided in two stages by juries of Hungarian and international professionals. In a year’s time the three fellows will report to next year’s jury regarding the progress of their projects. Thus, in October 2021, one of them will receive the grand prize, which includes an award of HUF 3 million (approx. €9,300).

​FELLOWSHIPS OF THE CAPA GRAND PRIZE HUNGARY 2021

LOST TERITORRIES

László Bácsi Róbert

My work concerning the life of people living in Nagorno-Karabah started with a short newspaper article in 2009. What touched me immediately was the duality and the state of mind resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union, shared by many regions: their countries became independent, but for various reasons their independence was not recognised by the great powers. For the people of Nagorno-Karabah and those of several other succession states, life is like a boat that is stranded in open waters between the two banks, unable to come to a standstill or call at any port. For them the collapse of the Soviet Union brought no real freedom, but mostly painful armed conflicts of varying length which they have been unable to leave behind for a long time. Taking photos in these regions, understanding their situation and deepening this understanding has been an important project for me since 2009. Nagorno-Karabah This area in the Caucasus, inhabited mostly by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The following years were characterised by economic crisis, then an open war broke out between Azerbaijan and the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabah, in which thirty-five thousand people died. The two neighbouring countries are still at war officially, since to this day Azerbaijan claims the province of Nagorno-Karabah, inhabited mostly by Armenians, as their own territory. The aftermath of this war, together with that of the Armenian Holocaust, can still be felt in the everyday life of the people, the new conflict reopened the old wounds. The walls are hung with old photos, the faces reflect sorrow. Weapons are common in many households. Many a times grandparents bring up their grandchildren because part of the generations between them, which are supposed to play a pivotal role in the society, have perished in the war. This situation is worsened and maintained by the fact that there are boundaries between these territories, with unofficial border guards, unofficial stamps, governments and ministers. I had the first opportunity to take pictures here in 2009, then in 2010, 2011 and 2015. Transnistria In 2013 I continued the work the objective of which was to give an account of the life of people in similar situations and show their countries. That is why I travelled to Transnistria, or the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, a land whose history and situation is similar to those of Karabah. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the narrow strip of land east of the Dniester river, breaking free from Moldova, declared its independence on 2nd September 1990 with strong Russian support, after a successful referendum and a short war against Moldova. In accordance with the peace treaty signed on 21st July 1992 the Moldovan authorities have no say in the politics of this territory. To this day no country in the world has officially recognised the independence of this land. I think that the collapse of the Soviet Union and its circumstances have been completely forgotten in the last few years, and while the world's attention has been occupied by the conflicts that have developed since then, in many respects time has stopped in these regions. This has taught us many things and brought about phenomena that need to be understood and documented. That is why I would like to continue this work, so that I could explore some areas I have not been to (Gagauzia, Dagestan, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, among others), and so that I could return to Transnistria and Karabah. I think that a deeper understanding and presentation of these areas, their inhabitants and their tribulations could teach us a relevant lesson both on a national and on an international level.

Synopsis

1978. Róbert László Bácsi was born in Budapest on 27th November 1978. He is a Prima Primissima Junior Prima award winner freelance photographer. He is interested mainly in documentarist photography, he feels closest to portrait and social representation. He has won numerous awards with his work in the Hungarian Press Photo Competition, notably the André Kertész Grand Prize and the Márton Munkácsi award for best collection. He received the József Pécsi Scholarship three times, he was Press Photographer of the year in the Axel Springer Photo Competition twice, and he received second prize in the NPPA Best Of Photojournalism International Competition. His work has been published in several magazines, for example in the National Geographic Magazine, Hamu és Gyémánt Magazine, Reader’s Digest and in the daily Népszabadság. ------------ Personal details: Name: Róbert László Bácsi Date&Place of birth: 27th November 1978, Budapest E-mail: robertbacsi@gmail.com Web site: PICTORIAL COLLECTIVE www.pictorialcollective.hu ------------ Studies: 1997 - 1999 6. Industrial Polytechnic Institute - photography 1993 - 1997 Óbuda-Békásmegyer Secondary School ------------ Professional activity: 2011 - Freelance photojournalist 2009 - 2011 Crossroad - Photojournalist, vice photo editor 2004 - 2009 Hölgyvilág - Photojournalist, vice photo editor 2005 - 2006 Városképek – Cultural and society magazine of Szentendre - Photojournalist, photo editor 2000 - 2004 Max Photo Lab black and white developer 1999 – 2000 Magyar Hírlap – photo column (internship) ------------ Awards: 2020 Hungarian Press Photo Competition, Portrayal of society - documentary photography (stories) – 3nd prize 2018 Hungarian Press Photo Competition, Portrayal of society - documentary photography (stories) – 2nd prize 2016 Hungarian Press Photo Competition, Portrayal of society - documentary photography (stories) – First Prize 2015 NKA Project grant 2012 NKA Project grant 2011 Loffice Portfolio Review - prize 2009 - 2011 József Pécsi Fine Art Photography Grant 2010 NPPA BOP 2010 Still Photo Winners Enterprise Picture Story (smaller markets) – 2nd prize 2009 Axelspringer Competition – Photojournalist of the Year award 2009 Photo District News – Travel Portrait category prize 2009 Hungarian Press Photo Competition, Portrayal of society - documentary photography (stories) – 2nd prize 2008 Príma Primisszima Junior Príma Prize 2008 Axelspringer Competition – Photojournalist of the Year award 2007 Hungarian Press Photo Competition - André Kertész Grand Prize, Best documentary photography with a focus on people 2007 Hungarian Press Photo Competition Portrait series – 1st prize 2007 Hungarian Press Photo Competition - Munkácsy Márton Special Prize for the best collection 2007 Axelspringer Competition – Special prize 2006 Axelspringer Competition – 1st and special prize 2006 Hungarian Press Photo Competition, Art, stories – 3rd prize 2005 Axelspringer Competition – 1st and 3rd prize 2000 City of Szentendre Competition – 3rd prize 2000 Competition of the Local Government of Minorities – special prize 1998 32nd National Photo Competition of Pécs – 1st prize ------------ Exhibitions: 2016 World Photo exhibition accompanying exhibition 2013 Hungarian Press Photo exhibition 2011 Dom Fotografie Liptovský Mikuláš, House of Photography Liptovsky Mikulas, group exhibition 2011 Hungarian House of Photography in Mai Mano House – Karabah exhibition 2009 Photos from the Himalaya,BIG galleria, Szentendre 2006 Gasworks, House of Future, Budapest 2005 Cityscapes, Szentendre 2003 Healers, Budapest Municipality 2002 Sziget, Budapest, Örökmozgó Cinema 2000 Exhibition of the Szentendre Competition, Szentendre 2000 Zsáka (individual exhibition), Szentendre - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Curriculum vitae

My work concerning the life of people living in Nagorno-Karabah started with a short newspaper article in 2009. What touched me immediately was the duality and the state of mind resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union, shared by many regions: their countries became independent, but for various reasons their independence was not recognised by the great powers. For the people of Nagorno-Karabah and those of several other succession states, life is like a boat that is stranded in open waters between the two banks, unable to come to a standstill or call at any port. For them the collapse of the Soviet Union brought no real freedom, but mostly painful armed conflicts of varying length which they have been unable to leave behind for a long time. Taking photos in these regions, understanding their situation and deepening this understanding has been an important project for me since 2009.

I WANT ORGASMS, NOT ROSES (WORKING TITLE)

Éva Szombat

My career as a photographer has always been defined by the notion of happiness. The process started with The Happiness Book (2014), which featured practical advice for readers about achieving this state. The book itself was a guide, a sort of self-help art piece, printed only in a very limited number. Two years later my series Practitioners centered on people who have found their own path to happiness, and were able to redefine their fate and describe their lives as happy, even after a serious trauma or a tragic event. I examined my own happiness in my series Beyond The Curve, through two different lenses: I turned 30 and was getting ready to marry, so I tried to know and accept myself on the cusp of a social tradition. Beyond The Curve chronicled the process of preparing to become a wife, in 2017, in Hungary. My series from 2020, If Even Jesus Smiles On The Cross, examined the relationship between young people and certain church-themed objects, and how faith and faith-related iconography appears in their homes. My plan was to fuse my artistic motives and my personal interests, to align female stories with the research into happiness, and to document its presence through the most personal and intimate objects: sex toys. I published an open call, looking for people willing to go public with their own sex toys. I’ve shot portraits of the subjects with their toys, and conducted interviews with their owners. The first models came from my circle of friends, but soon others saw that these works were non-explicit and respectful, so more and more people applied, people outside of my social circles, not connected to me by mutual friendships or acquaintances. The images were shot on film, due to its tangible quality, and the pressure of having to plan in advance. The lights were adjusted to produce a more intimate quality in the room. The interviews are not meant to be used in full, stronger statements will be quoted and used as captions. The series went through several different titles, and now has the working title of I Want Orgasms, Not Roses, taken from one of the interviews. Due to the longer duration of the series, my approach has changed. I am not only drawn to the wide range of objects, but to the personal stories as well. I was also surprised how my subjects are opening up to my questions. Even women whom I’ve just met for the first time. The interviews are mostly about abuse, trauma, and anxiety, and about how sexuality became an exit path from these. I have realized during the process that the series needs a much deeper and well-reasoned approach than my initial one. So this is why the first step of my plan work would be to reconsider the photos and interviews with the help of academic material I have discovered since. Some of these sessions have not taken the social aspect into consideration, these interviews, or in some cases, complete shoots would be redone. The second step would be to increase the number of potential subjects, to cast a wider net for candidates. The series started with friends and acquaintances, but further along the line, the applicants started to differ in age and social standing. My goal is to present and document these differences in a much wider spectrum in the completed material. The final step would be to complete the series with a sufficient number of subjects and present it in the form of a book and an exhibition. The latter’s installation and presentation would put a special focus on creating intimate spaces. My aim with the book is to have it also function as an educational tool, not exclusively as a work of art. The book would not just include the interviews and portraits of the subjects, these materials would be complemented by my own collages. These collages, and in some cases, photographs would illustrate my own changing perception in relation to my own work, how it altered attitude toward sex toys, sexuality, and I also had to grapple with the same thoughts I try to focus on with my photos. My goal is to produce a book, in the style of a scrapbook, which would have the visual style of a diary, and would include photos, collages, and texts as well.

Synopsis

ÉVA SZOMBAT CV Lives and works in Budapest Freelancer photographer Lecturer at MOME Photography Department from 2018 EDUCATION Moholy- Nagy University of art and Design, Department of Photography - Master’s degree - 2010-2012 - Budapest Esag Penninghem - visual Communication Department - 2009 -Paris Moholy- Nagy University of art and Design, Department of Photography - Bachelor’s degree - 2007-2010 - Budapest Secondary School of Fine and Applied Arts - Department of Photography - 2001- 2006 - Budapest SELECTED GROUP SHOWS Imago Lisboa - CSL - 2020 - Lisbon Guest+appearance - Pannonhalma Archabbey – 2020 - Pannonhalma Bodyscape - Kiscell Museum - 2020 - Budapest Eight Weeks - Capa Center - 2020 - Budapest Meow! - Capa Center / 8F Gallery - 2020 - Budapest PW / PV - Paralell Vienna - 2019 - Vienna Fotográfica Bogotá - FUGA - 2019 - Bogota Über Leben Am Land - Kunst Haus Wien Hundertwasser - 2019 - Vienna Futures Talent Pool - Unseen - 2018 - Amsterdam Experiencing Images - Capa Center - 2018 - Budapest MOME 33 - Capa Center - 2018 - Budapest 585 000 m2 - Jerusalem Biennale - 2017 - Jerusalem The Way they See - National Museum - 2017- Warsaw ECHoES - Alma Gallery - 2016 - New York 585 000 m2 - White Box - 2016 - New York Book Days - Curated tables by Peter Puklus - C / O Berlin - Berlin tEXt:bilD / bilD:tEXt ii - Fotogalerie Wien - 2015 - Vienna Second Skin - Capa Center - 2014 - Budapest In the kitchen, in bed, in public - Mai Manó House - 2013 - Budapest Gender Pool - DEFO Lab - 2012 - Budapest r.í.c.Chicks: Ív&Candie - Liget Gallery - 2012 - Budapest XY Human dignity via MOME - Ludwig Museum - 2012 - Budapest Goldener Kentaur – Münchner Künstlerhaus - 2011 - München MOME Masters - Hungarian Cultural and Scientific Centre - 2011 - Helsinki MOME Masters - TMI Gallery - 2011 - Tallin Cloudfactory - Mai Manó House - 2010 - Budapest A step beyond - via FFS - Galerie Treppenhaus - 2009 - Erlangen Maecenas Days - Kunsthalle - 2008 - Budapest SOLO SHOWS We change lives - Telep Gallery - 2018 - Budapest Practitioners - Supermarket Gallery - 2016 - Budapest Happiness Exhibition - Supermarket Gallery - 2014 - Budapest Artificial Nature - Lumen Gallery - 2011 - Budapest AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS Futures Talent - nominated by Capa Center - 2018 NKA Artist Fellowship - 2018 Magnum Workshop scholarship from Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center with Antoine d’Agata - 2017 József Pécsi Photography scholarship - 2013-2015 FFS Photographic fieldwork in New York - 2014 Pál Takács Shcolarship - 2011 Scholarship of the Republic - 2011 Nikon Photo Contest international - Emerging Talent Award 2005, 2007 Escher Károly Photo Contest - 1st Prize - 2006 OTHER Association of Young Hungarian Photographers (FFS) member - 2008 - 2017 SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Huffington Post, Vice, Gup Magazine, Ignant, Feature Shoot, Neon, Blink magazine, Vogue Spain, Polyester, Contemporary Lynx

Curriculum vitae

I Want Orgasms, Not Roses (working title) is an ongoing series, where I create portraits of women with their sex toys, while conducting interviews with them about their sexual past, present, and their experiences in the field. The subjects either responded to my open call, or were specifically asked to participate in the photo shoot, which was usually conducted in their homes, or if that was unavailable, a familiar space. My goal is to highlight the state of female sexuality, and to decrease the stigmas of sex toys and its relation to the sex lives of women. My work aims to be a selection of case studies, showing positive examples to those trying to chart their own sexuality.

THE NATURE OF THINGS

Balázs Turós

SYNOPSIS Prelude My project started two years ago with the simple statement that every day we get one day closer to the moment of our death. The question may arise as to why, at the age of thirty, do I contemplate at all the passing of life? “All our anxiety is rooted in the fear of death... One has a basic need for subsistence, and thus one is terrified at the thought of his own mortality. So that one may ease his own anguish over his own transience and contingency of existence, he adopts the ethos of the culture, according to which reality is stable and constant.” (Vera A. Békés) My own generation’s perspective can hardly be considered stable, in many ways we are living in uncertainty. I find that many people in my circle of friends as well as my broader environment struggle with various mental problems such as panic disorder, depression or anxiety. For a few years, I have also been experiencing the symptoms of the latter myself. The more advanced a society is, the less important religion becomes in people’s lives. This tendency can also cause feelings of uncertainty. Since my everyday life does not involve any religion at all, I feel like I’m losing a key point of reference in life. Hence, I started using photography in order to fill this void. I aim to find points of reference through an analytical view of the world, experiencing the order that surrounds us. About my grandmother Following my grandfather’s death three years ago, my grandmother’s health started to quickly deteriorate; she was diagnosed with early dementia a year and a half ago. As my whole family, especially my mother, take good care of her, my grandmother’s mental and physical deterioration has somewhat slowed down but despite all this her mental confusion is still noticeable. Sometimes she has delusions, and recently it got to the point where she did not recognize my mother. This state has only been temporary so far, but there are concerns that she will develop more and more severe symptoms over time. I first started taking photos of my grandmother as I was testing my new camera, however, later on I realized how closely her condition had been related to my original thesis, which has since evolved into a joint effort. Our collaboration can be regarded as a sort of symbiosis. It is terribly difficult for my grandmother to leave the house, and therefore, everyone is used to visiting her in her home. Nonetheless, I have started taking her to exciting places because of the photo shoots, which she really enjoys, and the positive impact of all the new stimuli on her state is very clear. During my visits to my grandmother’s home, I used to find it very hard to have a conversation with her as we didn’t really have a lot of topics in common, however, today I feel like we are able to connect with each other much better as a result of the photo shoots. Planned execution of the project I consider continuity to be the most important criterion of my work. This is important not only because of the project, but also because of my grandmother. When we skip the photo shoots for a few weeks her mental state deteriorates noticeably. There are some locations I have planned to visit with my grandmother, such as the Visonta Coal Mine, the Sand Island of Göd or the Szentbékkálla Stone Field. I plan to execute the project in two different forms. On the one hand, I plan to put up an exhibition where images would interact with each other through their arrangement and scale, creating a single unit. On the other hand, I would like to make a photo book. Over the past two years I have taken a lot of pictures of which only a small part can be used in the aforementioned installation. The images represent a mixture of perspectives and styles, which I would like to bring together in the form of a photo book. In addition to the photo shoots with my grandmother, I would also like to work on images that reflect upon my own feelings. Lastly, there is another compelling topic related to my initial thesis regarding the perception of an ever faster moving time, which I would like to place a greater emphasis on in the photo book project.

Synopsis

RESUME I was born in Budapest in 1990. Upon graduating from high school, I studied at the Department of Photography at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME), where parallel to my studies I was Head of the Student Union for two years. After having completed my bachelor’s programme, I worked in England for a year and a half at a non-profit organization called FotoNow. Once I returned to live in Budapest, I obtained a master’s degree in Photography at MOME. For over 10 years I have been organizing workshops for children in collaboration with the Hello Wood team (‘DEMO Camp’) and I have also been helping students prepare for the photography course at MOME since 2015. Today, there are nearly an entire year of students who entered the university after learning about photography from me or attending my analog photography workshops. After earning my master’s degree, I was awarded the József Pécsi Fellowship in 2018, 2019 and 2020. My work was exhibited at the Ludwig Museum, the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center as well as the Hungarian National Gallery.

Curriculum vitae

As a child, it was hard for me to imagine what it is like for someone who isn’t afraid of the dark. Will death seem less scary when we grow old? Is the ability of accepting it essentially a question of faith or rather of disposition? Do we perceive time moving faster because of its nature? These were the questions I started to address two years ago. Since then, my grandmother has been diagnosed with dementia and the original project has slowly transformed into a joint effort. Her disease carries in it the very source of my own fears. If the moment of our death means the complete disappearance of our personality, does that mean that we can regard dementia as a state like that very moment on pause, in which day after day we slowly drift away from our own selves? Observing my grandmother’s mental and physical alteration, I aim to get closer to acceptance, meanwhile striving to experience the perfect order in the world, which equally involves destruction and the passing of life.
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