A photographer whose eye was mutilated during the social unrest was awarded the Visual Arts Awards, the Ministry of Culture announced on Saturday.
Nicole Kramm Caifal received the Rodrigo Rojas de Negri Award, for young talent in photography, after a careful evaluation process by a specialized jury. The professional was injured on December 31, 2019 while covering the New Year celebration in Plaza Baquedano – also known as Plaza Italia or Plaza de la Dignidad.
In the midst of clashes between protesters and members of the Carabineros of Chile, an injury caused him to lose 90% of vision in his left eye.
Subsequently, due to the events, she filed a complaint with the Chilean Human Rights Commission and is being sponsored by the Coordinator of Victims of Ocular Trauma and the Academy of Christian Humanism, according to a note from Woman Magazine.
Young talent
The award was created in 2007 with the aim of stimulating young talent in the field of photography, who stand out for their quality and innovation. This prize is named after Rodrigo Rojas de Negri as a way of highlighting the figure and social commitment of the young photographer who died from burns inflicted by military agents in 1986. It is the oldest award with ten editions held and has recognized artists such as Tomás Munita (2007), Fabián España (2010) and Zaida González (2012).
This year it was awarded to Kramm (Santiago, 1990), Chilean documentary photographer and audiovisual director, whose work stands out for its commitment to making visible the social, political and environmental problems of communities in Chile and Latin America. She began as an autodidact in street press and has professional studies as a photojournalist and documentary film director, among others.
In the words of the jury – the same one that evaluated the Antonio Quintana Prize -, “his work builds a solid body of documentary work that, in turn, dialogues with the work of Rodrigo Rojas de Negri, providing a perspective, questioning and positions on the exercise of photography with respect to political, territorial, community and human rights contingencies, from an authorial, biographical and courageous place.”
Other award winners
She was also awarded Julia Toro Donoso with the “Antonio Quintana, for his career in photography” award, and Luis Alarcon Lopezco-founder of the Metropolitan Gallery, with the “Carmen Waugh, for her career in visual arts” award.
“As the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, we are happy to resume the Visual Arts Awards, as it reaffirms our commitment to the sector and its various agents. Through this distinction we want to value and support the career and talent of those who, through photography and management, permanently contribute to the cultural development of the country,” he said. Carolina Arredondo MarzanMinister of Culture.
The coordination of these awards is organized by the Executive Secretariat of Visual Arts of the Ministry of Culture. The award ceremony will take place on August 19 as part of the activities to commemorate World Photography Day.
Antonio Quintana Award, for career in photography
Inspired by the prominent Chilean photographer Antonio Quintana, this award, created in 2016, recognises individuals with more than 15 years of experience who have made a significant and sustained contribution to photography in Chile. Previous winners were Luis Poirot (2016) and Marcelo Montecino (2017).
In this edition this award is given to Julia Toro Donoso (Talca, 1933), Chilean visual artist and photographer with more than 50 years of experience. With studies in Fine Arts, she is considered one of the most outstanding exponents of this discipline that since the eighties has developed a poetic and avant-garde perspective, and by 2000 has explored diverse themes such as students, religion and spaces of daily life. At 90 years old, she remains active, dedicated to studio portraiture and other bibliographic and audiovisual projects.
For the jury, composed of Marcelo Montecino, Liú Marino, María Inés Adaros, Gonzalo Donoso and Samuel Salgado, this creator is “recognized among her peers for the exceptional nature of a work whose singularity manages to articulate the universal in the personal. Her gaze explores, investigates, delves into and subtly moves, in everyday life, verbalized from within. She succeeds in capturing both intimacy and eroticism in social or situational contexts that denote a sincere, brave and frank path… Julia Toro is a fundamental photographer for the country.”
Carmen Waugh, for her career in visual arts
As a way of highlighting and supporting the career of professionals with more than 15 years of experience in management, gallery management, curatorship, research, training and/or national and international dissemination of visual arts in Chile, this award is inspired by the gallery owner and cultural manager Carmen Waugh, a reference for the development of the artistic circuit in the country and in Latin America. Created in 2017, it has only had one edition when it was awarded to the art critic Nelly Richard.
This version distinguishes Luis Alarcon Lopez (Santiago, 1965), renowned gallery owner, manager and independent curator, co-founder of the Galería Metropolitana in Pedro Aguirre Cerda with Ana María Saavedra. Graduated in Theory and History of Art, he has an extensive career in the visual arts through gallery management, criticism and university teaching.
The jury, made up of Nelly Richard, Leslie Fernández and Alejandro González, recognized Luis Alarcón for “his consistent and sustained work in the field of independent national galleries, as co-founder and manager of the “Galería Metropolitana”: a space that is not only dedicated to the exhibition of works but also functions as an experimental laboratory for the articulation of contemporary debates on art, politics and society, editorially collected in an outstanding line of publications.”
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