The expert jury convened in Vienna at the beginning of September, selecting the five most convincing artists from a total of 372 entries.

Carl Aigner, founder of “EIKON“, the international art magazine for photography, and director of the Niederösterreichischen Landesmuseums St. Pölten since 2002, served as the prominent jury chairman. He was supported by two other Austrian members: Fleur-Christine Swoboda, head of the Galerie WestLicht Schauplatz für Fotografie (Westlicht photo gallery), along with Thomas Trummer, curator for modern and contemporary art at the Österreichischen Galerie Belvedere. The jury’s international know-how was ensured by Andrej Reiser, the well-known Slovakian photographic artist and journalist. He is founder of the German “Bilderberg“ photo agency, and for the last ten years has served as the chairman of the international jury selecting the winner of “Czech Press Photo“, the prestigious competition for professional photography. The other international member was Maria Vassileva, executive curator of the Sofia Art Gallery.

„The second Henkel Art.Award impressed with a high number of entries, which more than doubled in comparison with the first award. The variety of the works is very impressive, they range from documentary to conceptual self-conception. It is surprising that black-and-white photography is represented only marginally, the artists entered mostly colored photographs. “, says jury chairman Carl Aigner.