38th Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition Opens at Capa Center with Last Year’s Photography Highlights

Although the exhibition of the winning pictures of the 38th Hungarian Press Photo Award was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the rich selection of material from the competition along with the award-winning photos are finally on display at the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center from tomorrow on. The exhibition is free to visit on the first day on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Hungarian Press Photo Awards and its accompanying exhibition has been a celebration of Hungarian press photographers and photography for almost four decades. This year, a total of 2,488 entries were submitted to the competition organized by the National Association of Hungarian Journalists (MÚOSZ). The international jury, consisting of president Tamás Szlukovényi and members Daniela Mrazkova, Ron Haviv, Joao Silva, and Ákos Stiller, said they evaluated a total of 6,079 pictures from 267 photographers prior to deciding on the special prize winners and choosing the best three photos in each of the fourteen categories.

The list of winners revealed that (pro-government site) Origo and public media MTI/MTVA photographers took home the most awards this year, but freelancers also did well in the competition. The André Kertész Grand Prize was awarded to Coma from Beáta Kovács’s photo series. “Sándor Balkovics and his wife, Márti, have been caring for their daughter Sári, at home since June 2017, since she had been hit at a pedestrian crossing on July 4, 2016. Sári has since been in an unresponsive wakeful state, meaning a persistent vegetative state with stable circulation. Her eyes are open, but no contact can be established with her. She responds poorly to treatments to maintain vital functions. Her parents have to deal with hopelessness every day, but they have both managed to find creative activities that allow them to relax and recharge.” While the MÚOSZ Grand Prize went to ‘The wall we call a fence’ by András Hajdú D.

Tamás Szigeti, the curator of the exhibition said that “the press photo exhibition has been an excellent occasion for a joint recollection of memories for almost four decades. Through the works of the photojournalists, we can recall the most important political events, joyful and sad stories, and the global and local environmental changes of increasing importance from the previous year.”

The exhibition is open to visitors from September 9, 2020 to November 15th at the Capa Center, from Tuesday to Friday between 2 p.m to 7 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m to 7 p.m.

featured photo: András Hajdú D./MTI