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Düsseldorf awarded the Bernd and Hilla Becher Award for the first time
The Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf Thomas Geisel, on Tuesday, October 27, attended the hand-over ceremony of the Bernd and Hilla Becher Award to artist Evelyn Richter and the photo artist Theo Simpson.
“Düsseldorf is Germany’s outstanding location for photographic art. Bernd and Hilla Becher have made a significant contribution to its reputation with their life’s work, including through the world-famous Düsseldorf Photo School they founded. Students there included the artists Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, and Andreas Gursky. I am therefore very pleased that the state capital is awarding the first Bernd and Hilla Becher Award in honor of this important artist couple in 2020. I congratulate Evelyn Richter and Theo Simpson, whom the jury has found extremely worthy winners“ said the mayor Geisel.
The photo artist Evelyn Richter and the photo artist Theo Simpson received the Bernd and Hilla Becher Award from the state capital Düsseldorf, and the prize was granted for the first time this year.
The award ceremony took place in the town hall, due to the pandemic, in a small group, with invited guests only. On behalf of Evelyn Richter, who could not attend for health reasons, her brother Prof. Dr. Peter Richter accepted the award and gave a speech. The laudator for Evelyn Richter was Florian Ebner, art historian and head of the photographic collection of the Paris Museum Center Pompidou, and for Theo Simpson, it was Lord Mayor Thomas Geisel.
The award ceremony was broadcasted live on the Facebook channel of the city of Düsseldorf, as well as via the website duesseldorf.de.
The art award consists of the main award and an advancement award
The main prize is endowed with 15,000 euros and goes to the photo artist Evelyn Richter from Lausitz. The award is aimed at artists, curators, and personalities who have made outstanding contributions to photography and related areas such as film, video, and other image-generating media
The sponsorship award is endowed with 5,000 euros and is awarded to the photo artist Theo Simpson from England. The sponsorship award is aimed at artists who deal primarily with photography, visual media, and media art in their work.
