When Lenses Speak Louder Than Words in Frankfurt and Beyond

A photograph can freeze a moment, but the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2024 proves it can also ignite debate. This year’s shortlist spotlights four international artists whose work turns the camera into a tool for social inquiry. Austrian pioneer VALIE EXPORT challenges gender norms with images that confront the gaze and question power. Gauri Gill & Rajesh Vangad blend photography with Warli painting, layering indigenous perspectives over environmental and political critique. South Africa’s Lebohang Kganye weaves silhouettes and shadows into installations that blur memory and myth, exploring the echoes of post-apartheid identity. Hrair Sarkissian’s large-scale works meditate on trauma and silence, mapping the scars of displacement across Syrian and Armenian histories. Together, these artists transform the act of looking into a journey through feminism, decolonization, and the search for belonging. In the world of contemporary photography, every frame is a battleground—and every shortlist, a map of what matters now. #ContemporaryPhotography #CulturalHeritage #ArtPrize #Culture