Once again, this year all the recipients of the LeadAwards will be presented in the House of Photography at the Deichtorhallen: photo spreads, magazine features, newspaper reports, advertising campaigns, and websites will be shown—the best of what has been published over the past twelve months in Germany. The show will feature a total of some 280 works from the German creative and media scene.
The unique approach to the jury and curation makes it possible to meticulously review all the magazines, newspapers, websites, and campaigns from a single year. In an elaborate process, over 100 experts selected works that exemplify the events of the past twelve months through visual media.
This year a focus will be on impressive, often black-and-white photojournalism from the many conflict regions around the world, including Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Eastern Ukraine. Pictures of refugees on the Balkan or Mediterranean routes offer a highly emotional impression of the migration that has captured the attention of Europe and the entire world. Photos from the United States tell of the resurgence of racial tensions, and pictures from Africa and the Arab world taken under extremely difficult conditions present us with social divides and violent conflicts.
A counterpoint to this is pictures that engage subtly yet incisively with private, intimate moments: scenes from the death of a loved one, a grandmother’s 100th birthday, the excesses of a group of young people in the throes of puberty and adolescence, or a bizarre love triangle in a retirement home.
A particular highlight this year is the large number of artworks that are gaining ground in German magazines and newspapers—as if only art could save us from the growing madness in the world.
