Felix Schoeller Photo Award 2019 announces record participation

Over 4,000 professional photographers from 115 countries

The fourth edition of the international Felix Schoeller Photo Award closed on May 31, 2019. The number of participants in the previous award (3442) was again increased to 4091. The new special category “German Peace Prize for Photography,” initiated for the first time jointly by the City of Osnabrück and the Felix Schoeller Group, got off to an excellent start with 252 participants. The international response to the prize, with entries from 36 countries, was also a success. The new category, “Fashion Photography”, also closed very well. The award ceremony will take place on October 19, 2019, in Osnabrück.

Dr. Friederike Texter is the initiator and team leader of the Felix Schoeller Photo Award as well as the originator of the “German Peace Prize for Photography”

Development as an internationally recognized, high-quality award

“The development of the award is basically very pleasing,” says Dr. Friederike Texter, Senior Vice President Corporate Communication at the Felix Schoeller Group. “But it is not only the purely nominal increase that is important to us. Rather, we pay attention to the international composition of the participants, which has now risen to 83% and includes photographers from 115 countries. That’s only ten more than in 2017, but it proves that the competition has given us global recognition among professional photographers.” In qualitative terms, too, the trend already recognized in previous years is continuing: “Without wishing to anticipate the jury’s work, we are noticing an increase in the number of renowned photographers who have already received international awards. The Felix Schoeller Photo Award thus reaches the best in the industry worldwide. This confirms that we are on the right path and will continue to pay attention to the high quality of the competition”. Dr. Texter summarizes the development. According to Michael Dannenmann, jury chairman of the award, the new category “Fashion Photography” is an enrichment, which got off to a great start: “I am very much looking forward to the intercultural diversity of the submitted works.

German Peace Prize for Photography with a remarkable debut

For the first time, the international community of photographers was called upon to submit works on the theme of peace for the “German Peace Prize for Photography”. The prize will be jointly awarded by the City of Osnabrück and the Felix Schoeller Group in 2019. “It is not so easy to establish a new prize internationally. On the one hand, the number of competitions has not decreased. Moreover, of course, the subject itself is very challenging in its entire breadth and depth of interpretation. Above all, because for the “German Peace Prize for Photography” as well as for the Felix Schoeller Photo Award, we demand a photo series as a condition of submission that stands in a conceptual context. In this case, too, our focus is on the artistic examination of the subject. We had set ourselves the goal of submitting around 200 entries. We have clearly achieved this.

Michael Dannenmann, Fotograf

For this reason, we are delighted and assume that we will exceed this result in the next issue,” explains Dr. Texter. The 252 participants come from 36 countries, which Dr. Texter also regards as a success of the international orientation. “The “German Peace Prize for Photography” has established itself internationally right from the start and underlines the importance for the cultural strategy of Osnabrück, the city of peace”, summarizes Dr. Texter.

Profile of the Felix Schoeller Group, Osnabrück

Founded in 1895, the Felix Schoeller Group is a family business with worldwide operations producing specialty papers. With around 2,315 employees, the renowned Osnabrück-based company produced and marketed almost 323,000 tonnes of specialty papers in 2017 and posted a total turnover of 747 million euros. The Felix Schoeller Group develops, produces and markets specialty papers for photographic applications, digital printing systems, the packaging market, self-adhesive applications and for the furniture, wood-based products and wallpaper industry.

In addition to its Osnabrück main site and headquarters, the Felix Schoeller Group has four other production facilities in Germany – in Weissenborn and Penig in Saxony, in Titisee-Neustadt (Baden-Württemberg) and in Günzach (Bavaria). It also has production facilities in the USA and Canada and is involved in joint ventures in the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. It has representative offices in Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Melbourne, Moscow, and Prague.

The Felix Schoeller Group exemplifies uncompromising quality, unique flexibility and true partnership. The result: Best Performing Papers. Worldwide.

About The Felix Schoeller Photo Award

The Felix Schoeller Photo Award is one of the richest photography competitions in the German-speaking world. It honours work that demonstrates a love of photography and the highest standards of image quality. As a manufacturer of specialty papers for the largest possible prints, we are seeking to honour and support photographers who share our passion for uncompromisingly good photos. The Felix Schoeller Photo Award will be awarded every two years.Anyone who loves, and is professionally involved with, photography or contemporary photographic design is warmly invited to take part in this competition: national and international professional photographers, photographic designers and photographic artists, and emerging photographic talent, i.e. photographers enrolled on a degree course, a professional training or internship. The only thing that counts is the photograph. Our aims are to offer all entrants the opportunity to present their work to an international audience and give awards to promote outstanding work. We would also like to discover promising new talent, and have set up a separate Emerging Photographer Award to support young people’s progress towards a career in photography.