ARLES.- The names of the twelve photographers, whose outstanding portfolios on the theme of Power have been shortlisted for the fourth Prix Pictet, were announced this evening in the opening week of the global photography festival, Les Rencontres d’Arles.

The twelve artists shortlisted for the fourth cycle of the Prix Pictet, the world’s leading prize in photography and sustainability, will now prepare their work for the finalists’ exhibition to be held at the Saatchi Gallery in London in October. The exhibition will run from 10 – 28 October 2012.

The Shortlist is drawn from ten countries on four continents: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, France, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

They are:

• Robert Adams (United States, 1937)
Nominated for series: Turning Back, 1999

• Daniel Beltrá (Spain/United States, 1964)
Nominated for series: Spill, 2010

• Mohamed Bourouissa (Algeria/France, 1978)
Nominated for series: Périphérique, 2006

• Philippe Chancel (France, 1959)
Nominated for series: Fukushima: The Irresistible Power of Nature, 2011

• Edmund Clark (UK, 1963)
Nominated for series: Guantanamo: If the Light Goes Out, 2009

• Carl De Keyzer (Belgium, 1958)
Nominated for series: Moments Before the Flood, 2009-2011

• Luc Delahaye (France, 1962)
Nominated for various works: 2008-2011

• Rena Effendi (Azerbaijan, 1977)
Nominated for series: Still Life in the Zone, 2010

• Jacqueline Hassink (Netherlands, 1966)
Nominated for series: Arab Domains, 2005-2006

• An-My Lê (United States/Vietnam, 1961)
Nominated for series: 29 Palms, 2003-2004

• Joel Sternfeld (United States, 1944)
Nominated for series: When It Changed, 2007

• Guy Tillim (South Africa, 1962)
Nominated for series: Congo Democratic, 1997-2006

The winner of the fourth Prix Pictet will be announced by Kofi Annan, Honorary President of the Prix Pictet, on Tuesday 9 October, at the opening of the finalists exhibition of the shortlisted works at the Saatchi Gallery in London.

The mandate of the Prix Pictet is to use the power of photography to raise public awareness worldwide to the social and environmental challenges of the new millennium. Launched in 2008 by the Geneva-based private bank Pictet & Cie, the Prix Pictet has rapidly established itself as one of the world’s leading photography prizes.

The Prix Pictet has two elements: a prize of CHF 100,000 awarded to the photographer who, in the opinion of the independent jury, has produced a series of work that addresses most powerfully the theme of the award; and the Commission, awarded by the Partners of Pictet & Cie, in which a nominated photographer is invited to undertake a field trip to a region where the Bank is supporting a sustainability project.

Each year the award is centred on a distinct theme. The fourth theme of the Prix Pictet is Power, a theme with enormous breadth, embracing contradiction and paradox in equal measure that has uncovered images and issues that are both awe-inspiring and disturbing.

Professor Sir David King, Chairman of the Prix Pictet Jury, commenting on the Shortlist, said today:

First, I would like to congratulate all the shortlisted artists. But I would also like to thank all of the nominated artists who submitted their work for this cycle of the Prix Pictet. The quality of the material under review made the judging process an immensely challenging but richly rewarding experience. It is a measure of the volume and variety of first-rate photography offered to our judges that we took a considerable time to arrive at the shortlist. Inevitably there are a great many images and compelling sustainability stories that we have not been able to include on the shortlist. When the overall quality of the submissions is considered, the achievement of the twelve shortlisted artists is all the more remarkable.’