Pulaski, NY—The jury of the 2019 Felix Schoeller Photo Award for professional photographers decided on the five nominees in each of the five categories. They also selected the winner of the Young Talent Award. In addition, this year’s competition included the fashion category for the first time.
“The shortlist for all categories to date has included 192 solely high-class works from 43 countries. In many cases it was the smallest nuances that ultimately decided the nomination,” reported Michael Dannenmann, chairman of the six-member jury.
The winners of the international competition for professional photographers as well as the Young Talent Award will be announced at an awards ceremony on October 19, 2019 in the Museumsquartier (MQ4) Osnabrück. A day later, the city of Osnabrück will open the exhibition Winners & Nominees at the same location. 
2019 Felix Schoeller Photo Award Selection Process
Previously, the award’s jury had selected the shortlist of 190 works in an online evaluation of approximately 2,000 approved entries. In addition to jury chairman Michael Dannenmann (portrait photographer, DGPh), the six-member jury included Julia Sörgel (photo editor in chief, ICON magazine); Clare Freestone (curator for photo exhibitions, the National Portrait Gallery, London); Clara Maria Sels (gallery owner and head of Düsseldorf Photo Weekend); Gérard A. Goodrow (freelance curator and author, lecturer at Centre for International Art Management in Cologne and Düsseldorf); as well as the photo editor of Vogue Germany, Andrea Vollmer-Hess.
In contrast to the online evaluation, the jurors had high-quality A3 prints available for review. The jury assesses a total of almost 900 motifs; each entrant had to submit three to five motifs per work. After intensive discussions, they reached unanimous results.
“We can state that many former participants also submitted works in 2019. This is a confirmation and recognition of the competition, which I am personally delighted about,” said Dannenmann. “At the same time, the number of submission countries was once again significantly higher; photographers from 113 countries submitted their work, while in 2017 there were only 92 countries.”
Furthermore, from October 20, 2019 until March 8, 2020, works by the winners and nominees are at display in the exhibition Winners & Nominees – Felix Schoeller Photo Award 2019 in the Museumsquartier (MQ4) Osnabrück. They will print in high quality on Felix Schoeller photo paper in formats up to 100×120 cm.
