Hungary 365 Photo Competition Winners Announced

The awards of this year’s Hungary 365 photo competition were presented on Monday evening at the Millenáris exhibition space in Budapest. This year’s competition was open to entries in six categories – nature, landscape, architecture, culture, sport, life – with individual images or series.

The professional jury awarded three prizes in each category, along with a special jury prize. The first prize winners and the special prize winner received a net prize of HUF 2 million (EUR 4,800), the second prize winners HUF 1 million (EUR 2,400), and the third prize winners HUF 500,000 (EUR 1,200).

Péter Baki, Director of the Hungarian Museum of Photography, said at the award ceremony that

the aim of the photo competition, launched in 2019, is to present Hungary’s pride through the lens of the artists with a unique vision, and to further develop Hungarian visual culture through high-quality works.

This year’s competition attracted 43,000 entries from amateur and professional photographers alike.

According to the director, the works of the competition participants (among them high school students, doctors, and architects) collectively provide the basis for the development of contemporary photography in Hungary. This year, the competition has already published a selection of the entries in the form of a photo album that will become an important document in a few decades’ time, he noted.

Ottó Kaiser, Rudolf Balogh Award-winning photographer and jury chairman of the competition, said that this year’s contest is the “richest, most colorful, and varied” in the history of the competition, presenting Hungary in its entirety. Kaiser described this year as a busy and successful one: Hungary’s Photo Album and Hungary – the Travel Guide were published, two exhibitions were held in Budapest City Park (Városliget), an exhibition of 50 photos was toured throughout the year, and the Hungary 365 online gallery was launched, where hundreds of photos can be viewed and purchased.

According to Kaiser, Hungary 365 has proved that it has a place and a role in Hungarian photography. He added that the motto of the competition since its launch has been ‘love of country.’ “All year round, the applicants photograph Hungary’s natural treasures, historical buildings, and scenes, and this is how the image is created that we want to present every year,” he concluded.

The winners and their photos are presented on the competition’s website.

Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Kocsis Zoltán