Saudi Visual Arts Commission announces winners of emerging photographer competition

The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition seeks to inspire creative collaboration, while documenting the country's urban and natural landscapes

Saudi Arabian and international photographers were invited to capture the natural and urban landscapes of the Al Wajh Governorate and the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia through the The Kingdom Photography Awards. Pictured: the winning work from the Underwater Photography category by photographer Osama Ali Abusunun. All Photos: Saudi Visual Arts Commission

The photography competition included three categories, Underwater Photography, Nature Along the Coast Photography and Urban Environment Photography. Pictured: A photograph from Abusunun's portfolio of underwater images taken at the Red Sea

The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition, was aimed at emerging and mid-career photographers. Pictured: A photo from the portfolio which won the Urban Environment Photography category by Mohammed Abdulrahman Lahi

The three final winners were selected from a group of 18 photographers, shortlisted based on an online application process which got 450 entries from 14 countries. Pictured: Another photo from Lahi's portfolio of urban images taken at the Al Wajh Governorate

The photography competition was launched by the Saudi Visual Arts Commission to document the Saudi urban and natural landscape and to inspire creative collaboration and cross-cultural exchange through photography. Pictured: A photo from the portfolio of Riyadh Abdulelah Al Malahi winner of the Nature Along the Coast Photography category

All the photographs of the 18 shortlisted nominees of the Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition will be showcased in an exhibition organised by the Visual Arts Commission in Art Jameel’s new cultural centre Hayy Jameel in Jeddah from December 9 - 11. Pictured: A photo from Al Malahi's portfolio depicting the Red Sea Coast

The winners of The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition have been announced by the Saudi Visual Arts Commission.

The competition is the second of two inaugural Kingdom Photography Awards which invited Saudi and international photographers to capture the natural and urban landscapes of Al Wajh Governorate and the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia. It follows the announcement of the Professional Grant recipients in November, selected from a pool of internationally established photographers.

This time, The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition recognised three emerging and mid-career photographers, including Osama Ali Abusunun for the Underwater category, Riyadh Abdulelah Al Malahi for the Nature Along the Coast category and Mohammed Abdulrahman Lahi for the Urban Environment Photography.

“The Kingdom Photography Award is a milestone in Saudi Arabia’s rapidly evolving cultural landscape,” says Dina Amin, chief executive of the Visual Arts Commission.

“We would like to congratulate this year’s winners and thank all participants for their commitment and contribution. At the next edition of the award, we look forward to welcoming a new pool of talented photographers from Saudi Arabia and around the world.”

The trio were selected from a group of 17 photographers, shortlisted based on an online application process which received 450 entries from 14 countries. These photographers then took part in a number of collaborative workshops and masterclasses with the three recipients of The Kingdom Photography Professional Grant.

After this, three winning portfolios were selected by a judging panel consisting of award-winning American environmental photographer Daniel Beltra; Zein Khalifa, founder of Tintera photography gallery in Cairo; Saudi photographer Moath Alofi and Abdullah Al-Turki, founding member of the Saudi Art Council, along with the three Kingdom Photography Professional Grant winners.

All the photographs by the 17 shortlisted nominees of The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition will be printed and showcased in an exhibition organised by the Visual Arts Commission in Art Jameel’s new cultural centre, Hayy Jameel, in Jeddah from this Friday to Sunday.

Winners of The Kingdom Photography Professional Grant and The Kingdom Photography Discovery Competition will receive a combined total of $106,000 in cash prizes, alongside further physical prizes worth a combined total of $53,000.

Scroll through photos by the three Professional Grant recipients below