Report on the Grand Prize Selection Open-Committee Meeting of New Cosmos of Photography 2011 (34th competition)
Grand Prize Selection Meeting
After the presentations by the five candidates and the questions were over, the judges moved to another room to discuss and decide the Grand Prize winner. After each judge made appeal for the strong points of the candidate they recommended, the entries and impressions of the exhibition, as well as content of the presentations were studied comprehensively, and discussions from the perspective of the expression of the works and the future prospects of the artists continued. After 20 minutes of heated discussion, techniques and expressions of photos, as well as the photographers’ future prospects were evaluated, and the unanimous decision was made to select Maya Akashika’s “Eating Wind” as the Grand Prize winner.
Overview of the award presentation ceremony
At the award presentation ceremony, Sumiko Sawada, general manager of Canon’s Social and Cultural Program Division first presented a certificate and a financial grant to Mariko Sakaguchi on behalf of the 20 artists as Honorable Mention representative. Next, a certificate and a list of prizes were presented to each of the five Excellence Award winners. Then, as the tension rose throughout the hall, Maya Akashika’s name was announced as the Grand Prize winner. Ms. Akashika was awarded a certificate and a subsidy, and an EOS 5D Mark II as a supplementary prize. Next, there was a message of congratulations from Karen Sato, the 2010 Grand Prize winner: “Some inspiration and effort is necessary to express oneself as an artist. And, I think that persevering is everything. Please continue to express what you want to see, and what only you can find.”
Comments of the Grand Prize winner
Maya Akashika showed an expression of surprise when she was awarded the Grand Prize. Engulfed in explosive applause throughout the hall, when asked how she felt, she said: “Right now I am so excited. I am really happy, and I will be able to continue shooting even more photos. Thank you very much for today.”
