Got rejected for the Burtynsky book grant for the second time. They chose to produce a book on aging and the family or as the jury put it "images of her family members interacting with textiles, household objects and each other" over children and families living in garbage. Guess they thought it was the more important story to tell. I do like the photo included below. The subject of one family thou seems to lack scope. Would like to see more photos, the interacting with textiles and household objects sounds BIZARRE!
You got to love the totally impersonal generic email the CONTACT TEAM sent out. Looks to be written by a robot.
A depressing failure again. I doubt I will ever have a real photo book published. A lifetime of photography, a lifetime of devotion and not one book, rather pathetic.
You got to love the totally impersonal generic email the CONTACT TEAM sent out. Looks to be written by a robot.
A depressing failure again. I doubt I will ever have a real photo book published. A lifetime of photography, a lifetime of devotion and not one book, rather pathetic.
Burtynsky Grant
Birthe Piontek, Holding, 2015, from Abendlied. Courtesy of the artist.
2018 Burtynsky Grant awarded to Birthe Piontek for Abendlied
Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky and CONTACT established the Burtynsky Grant in 2016—a $5,000 annual grant to support Canadian artists and photographers who are at the advanced stages of developing a photobook for publication.
The jury—Edward Burtynsky, Taia Kwinter (Associate Managing Editor, Aperture), Maxine Proctor(Managing Editor, BlackFlash; director and co-founder, Toronto Art Book Fair) and Marcus Schubert (Director of Media, Publications & Exhibits, Burtynsky Studios)—considered many innovative and compelling book projects from across Canada.
“Birthe Piontek’s Abendlied examines how individual relationships in a family are shaped by the processes of growing up, aging, and eventually letting go. Piontek’s well-resolved book project sequences images of her family members interacting with textiles, household objects, and each other to weave a cohesive yet curious narrative about identity and belonging.” – The Jury
Good morning,
Thank you for your submission to the 2018 Burtynsky Grant. We received close to 100 submissions from across Canada, and the jury considered many innovative and compelling projects.
The winner of this year’s grant is Vancouver-based Birthe Piontek for her photobook Abendlied. The jury would also like to acknowledge two Honourable Mentions: Eve Tagny’s Lost Love and Ian Willms’ We Shall See. See our website for more details: https://scotiabankcon
We hope you will consider submitting to the grant again in 2019. Until then, we wish you all the best.
The CONTACT Team
