JURY
The awarding of the fellowships and the prize is decided by an independent jury of five renowned Hungarian and international professionals. The work of the jury is supported by a secretary, who has no right to vote. The award judging process is completed through a series of online and in-person private sessions conducted in English.
The members of the Capa Grand Prize Hungary jury in 2019:
Photo: Gergely Tarján
Katalin Spengler
President of the jury, Art collector, professional journalist, editor
She is a founding member of the IC-Central Europe Committee of the Pompidou Center of the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris. Between 2015 and 2017, she was a board member of the Pompidou Photography Committee. Since 2013, she has participated in the work of Tate’s Russia and Eastern Europe Acquisitions Committee. She is president of MOME’s Consistory. She works as the professional curator of the Art-craft-design auction of the Mosoly Foundation. From 1997 until 2016, she worked at the Műértő Művészeti és Műkereskedelmi Folyóirat journal of HVG, regularly publishing articles about contemporary art and the arts market. She edited three volumes of the bilingual contemporary arts album titled The Budapest Business Journal’s Contemporary Art in Hungary. She has opened several contemporary arts and design exhibitions, and she regularly gives professional and educational lectures. She has been an arts collector since 1992.
Arnis Balcus (1978) is a photographer, Editor-in-Chief of FK Magazine and the Director of Riga Photomonth. From 2004 – 2009 he was living and working in London, received a master’s degree in photography at the University of Westminster in 2005. He participated in various exhibitions since 1994, has exhibited in Riga, London, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, etc., as well as have published a photo book titled Victory Park (2016). Arnis participated as an expert at portfolio reviews in Arles, Moscow, Kaunas, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Derby, Madrid and Landskrona photo festivals, as well as nominating and evaluating entries for photo contests such as Prix Pictet, Bird in Flight Prize, Google Photography Prize and others. He is a founder and director of Riga Photomonth festival that runs in the capital of Latvia since 2014.
Arnis Balčus
Photographer, Editor-in-chief of FK Magazine, Director of Riga Photomonth
Katharina Mouratidi
Artistic Director of f³ – freiraum für fotografie
Katharina Mouratidi is the artistic and executive director of the Berlin based Society for Humanistic Photography (Gesellschaft für Humanistische Fotografie, GfHF) since 2006. In this position she is planning, curating and realizing photographic exhibitions and projects in collaboration with renowned art and cultural institutions both nationally and internationally, among them: “Kai Wiedenhöfer, WARonWALL” (an exhibition on the Berlin Wall, 2016); „Robert Knoth and Antoinette de Jong, Poppy – Trails of Afghan Heroin“ (C/O Berlin, 2016); „Beloved Afghanistan – Photographs by Anja Niedringhaus“ (with Gisela Kayser, Willy-Brandt-Haus Berlin, 2015). In April 2017 the organization opened its own exhibition space in Berlin-Keuzberg. f³ – freiraum für fotografie presents five to six exhibitions of international renown as well as emerging author photographers – dealing with social and political issues – per year.
Bas Vroege (1958) studied economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam (1976-1979, BA) and photography at Art Academy St. Joost in Breda (1979-1981). From 1981-1993 he was director of Perspektief, Centre for photography in Rotterdam, and the Fotografie Biënnale Rotterdam (1988-1992). He also acted as the editor in chief of Perspektief Magazine from 1980-1995. Vroege is a member of the International Board of Advisors of the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre (Beijing, China) and he has been a member of the Supervisory Board of World Press Photo and ISEA (Inter Society for Electronic Arts). He also works as an an independent curator and was responsible for various exhibitions. As an advisor he has worked for several institutions in the Netherlands. He is currently lecturing curatorial studies at the Masters in Film & Photographic Studies at the University of Leiden. Vroege founded Paradox in 1993 and has been the organisation’s director since.
Bas Vroege
founder and director of Paradox
Emma Bowkett
director of Photography, FT Weekend Magazine
Emma Bowkett is Director of Photography at the FT Weekend Magazine. Joining in 2009, she was integral to the small creative team who reworked the visual language of the magazine for the 2010 re-launch. Emma has curated exhibitions for the Triennale der Photographie Hamburg, Peckham 24 in London and in 2018 co-curated PhotoEast festival. She is a visiting university lecturer, and regularly participates at international portfolio reviews, festivals, art fairs and awards. She is part of Magnum Photos Professional Practice, which supports young and emerging photographers. She won the inaugural Firecracker Contributors Award, which recognises women who have had a substantial impact on the photography industry, voted for by professional photographers. Emma is the co-curator for a Financial Times special supplement and day of events as part of Photo London. Emma has a Masters degree in Image and Communication from Goldsmiths University London.
István Virágvölgyi studied freehand drawing, desktop publishing and photography and earned a master’s degree from library and information studies at Eötvös Loránd University. He worked at the leading Hungarian news portal Origo first as photo editor and then as head of photography between 2007 and 2011 after which he joined MTI Hungarian News Agency as head of the photo desk. Since 2014 he works at the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center (Budapest, Hungary), he is the secretary of the Robert Capa Photography Grand Prize Hungary. He also lectures about documentary photography and photo editing at the Budapest Metropolitan University.
István Virágvölgyi
photo editor, curator, secretary of the Capa Grand Prize Hungary
