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More than 500 students to visit world’s most prestigious photo exhibit, Prix Pictet, at Central Bank

Wed, Dec 6th 2023, 10:14 AM
Art Education

More than 500 students from schools across New Providence will have the rare opportunity to experience the human condition through the eyes of the greatest photographers in the world as school by upper school, they tour the Prix Pictet exhibit at the Central Bank Art Gallery.

The exhibit that opened today showcases the work of 12 shortlisted photographers from 12 countries, each contributing a series of photos depicting the human condition impacting or impacted by sustainability. Images that portray a native woman lying on a parched earth where mining has sucked the life out of the land or a young woman staring at herself in a piece of mirror she holds, seeing what she looks like without the burka required in the Arab world, tell the story of societies, cultures, strengths and survival throughout the world.

In the 15 years since the Pictet Group, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, introduced the Prix Pictet with the underlying thread of sustainability and a related theme that changes annually, the photography award has become the most recognised and prestigious reality fine arts photography competition in the world with a US$115,000 prize.

Bringing it to The Bahamas following its traditional opening in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England where some 40,000 persons viewed it, was considered a coup and a tribute to the determination of the Pictet Group, which has had a presence in Nassau (through its affiliate, Pictet Bank & Trust Limited) since 1978. Never before in its history has a tour of the Prix Pictet landed in such a small population centre. From here, the touring exhibit will travel to major metropolitan destinations including Singapore, Sydney, New York and Paris.

Pictet Bank & Trust Limited’s CEO-designate Carlos De la Torre addressed the first group of students of nearly 50 from Kingsway Academy and St. Anne’s today, inviting them to “allow these works of art to open your eyes and your mind as you read the words next to the photographs and understand the storytelling.”

That storytelling, said Central Bank art curator Ulrich Volges, symbolizes a universal language.

“Compare a group of schoolgirls in Eastern Turkey to your life as a schoolgirl in Nassau, Bahamas,” said Volges.

For one such schoolgirl, Itia Bain, 16, of St. Anne’s, the story she saw in a series of work portraying life in Iran impacted her deeply.

“When you see the distress that others face, knowing they face such psychological, physical and emotional distress, it makes you appreciate how strong they are. It makes you respect that strength and helps you understand so much more about what is happening around the world,” said Bain, who plans to study psychiatry.

St. Anne’s 10th grader Noah Pickering also saw strength and survival in images that could have broken the hardest heart.

“It’s really interesting to see this exhibit. You see the economic and humanitarian challenges and how people had to deal with tragedies to rebuild their own youth and their own lives when their source of life was wiped out. It makes you want to know more, learn more, photograph life,” said Pickering who was inspired to upgrade the real camera he owns and follow in his father and brother’s footsteps in photography.

Another student described it as “seeing troubled people in a troubled world.”

Other schools, including all government upper schools, are scheduled to tour the exhibit before it closes on December 15. Pictet is covering all costs related to the tours, including bus transportation, to ensure that as many students as possible in The Bahamas have an opportunity to look through the lens of another’s eye to see how sustainability defines life across the globe. Thirteen of the 14 upper schools throughout New Providence are on tap to visit the exhibit making it the largest high school student audience in Central Bank’s history.

More than 500 students from schools across New Providence will have the rare opportunity to experience the human condition through the eyes of the greatest photographers in the world as school by upper school, they tour the Prix Pictet exhibit at the Central Bank Art Gallery.
The exhibit that opened today showcases the work of 12 shortlisted photographers from 12 countries, each contributing a series of photos depicting the human condition impacting or impacted by sustainability. Images that portray a native woman lying on a parched earth where mining has sucked the life out of the land or a young woman staring at herself in a piece of mirror she holds, seeing what she looks like without the burka required in the Arab world, tell the story of societies, cultures, strengths and survival throughout the world.
In the 15 years since the Pictet Group, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, introduced the Prix Pictet with the underlying thread of sustainability and a related theme that changes annually, the photography award has become the most recognised and prestigious reality fine arts photography competition in the world with a US$115,000 prize.
Bringing it to The Bahamas following its traditional opening in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England where some 40,000 persons viewed it, was considered a coup and a tribute to the determination of the Pictet Group, which has had a presence in Nassau (through its affiliate, Pictet Bank & Trust Limited) since 1978. Never before in its history has a tour of the Prix Pictet landed in such a small population centre. From here, the touring exhibit will travel to major metropolitan destinations including Singapore, Sydney, New York and Paris.
Pictet Bank & Trust Limited’s CEO-designate Carlos De la Torre addressed the first group of students of nearly 50 from Kingsway Academy and St. Anne’s today, inviting them to “allow these works of art to open your eyes and your mind as you read the words next to the photographs and understand the storytelling.”
That storytelling, said Central Bank art curator Ulrich Volges, symbolizes a universal language.
“Compare a group of schoolgirls in Eastern Turkey to your life as a schoolgirl in Nassau, Bahamas,” said Volges.
For one such schoolgirl, Itia Bain, 16, of St. Anne’s, the story she saw in a series of work portraying life in Iran impacted her deeply.
“When you see the distress that others face, knowing they face such psychological, physical and emotional distress, it makes you appreciate how strong they are. It makes you respect that strength and helps you understand so much more about what is happening around the world,” said Bain, who plans to study psychiatry.
St. Anne’s 10th grader Noah Pickering also saw strength and survival in images that could have broken the hardest heart.
“It’s really interesting to see this exhibit. You see the economic and humanitarian challenges and how people had to deal with tragedies to rebuild their own youth and their own lives when their source of life was wiped out. It makes you want to know more, learn more, photograph life,” said Pickering who was inspired to upgrade the real camera he owns and follow in his father and brother’s footsteps in photography.
Another student described it as “seeing troubled people in a troubled world.”
Other schools, including all government upper schools, are scheduled to tour the exhibit before it closes on December 15. Pictet is covering all costs related to the tours, including bus transportation, to ensure that as many students as possible in The Bahamas have an opportunity to look through the lens of another’s eye to see how sustainability defines life across the globe. Thirteen of the 14 upper schools throughout New Providence are on tap to visit the exhibit making it the largest high school student audience in Central Bank’s history.
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