American documentary photographer Susan Meiselas won the prestigious 2019 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize at a ceremony in London on Thursday.
Meiselas was awarded the prize for her retrospective show “Mediations” at the Jeu de Paume gallery in Paris last year, according to a press release.
Known for her work in the conflict zones of Central America between 1978 and 1983 – particularly her coverage of the Nicaraguan Revolution – Meiselas has made a outstanding contribution to her art throughout her career, the judges said.
“Susan’s consistent approach to the medium and her personal investment in the stories, histories and communities she documents, has carved out a new and important form of socially engaged photography,” said Brett Rogers, director of the Photographers’ Gallery in London.
“It is one that proposes a sustainable and on-going relationship with the people and their contexts and feels especially relevant and resonant today.”
The winner of the prestigious award for European photography was announced at an event at the Photographers’ Gallery, where an exhibition featuring work by shortlisted artists has been on display since March 8.
Meiselas chose to show her long-term project “Kurdistan/akaKurdistan,” which focuses on the Kurdish diaspora, at the gallery.
She will take home £30,000 ($38,600) in prize money, while Laia Abril, Arwed Messmer and Mark Ruwedel were also shortlisted.
On June 14, the exhibition will move to the Deutsche Börse headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, where it will be displayed until August 23.