AWARDS: Momento Pro sponsors Photobook prizes
The Australia & New Zealand Photobook Award 2019 winners were announced last Friday at the opening night celebrations of the Photobook/NZ festival. The awards are sponsored by Sydney printer Momento Pro.
Momento Pro itself is no stranger to winning awards, it took out what is considered the top spot in global print for a collector’s edition art book, Middlehurst | Middle Earth, printed on an Epson inkjet printer, at the US Bennys late last year.
The winners and finalists receive Momento Pro printing credit, valued at a total of $10,000, enabling them to produce portfolios, dummy books or self published editions. Since 2011 Momento Pro has awarded $137,000 in prizes, to 155 finalists, and helped bring 17 new publications to life, most of which are available to buy at anzphotobookaward.com/editions.
Award coordinator, Libby Jeffery of Momento Pro, confirmed that, “The majority of the 104 entries were self-published books, in an edition smaller than 250, in a size that would fit easily into an A4 envelope, and selling at $75 to $100 RRP.
“Compared to past years, there were more ISBNs, and more input from editors and designers, suggesting that antipodean photobooks are becoming more sophisticated, easier to find and reaching larger and farther audiences. Our hope is that the awards will expand the profile of the creators and their books, and help further their photographic career.”
Top honours went to an academic and students from the University of Technology, Sydney – Cherine Fahd, Matteo Dal Vera, and Michael Weatherill – while Paul Knight, Perimeter Editions and Oliver Hodgkins of Photography Studies College, Melbourne received commendations.
The prizes were announced by Magnum photographer, and photo book legend, Cristina De Middel.
As a partner of the inaugural Photo 2020 International Festival of Photography due to be held in Melbourne, Momento Pro will be hosting the first retrospective exhibition of all 17 winning books, alongside the 2019 finalists and the 17 Award Editions books created with prize credit. Other Momento Pro activities on the photobook weekend from 2 to 3 May include Photobook Reviews for 10 participants; and interviews with Raphaela Rosella, Anna Maria D’Addario and Cherine Fahd.