CPB Photo Awards Edition IV Celebrates Diverse Excellence in Photography at The Leela Palace Chennai

The fourth edition of the CPB Photo Awards has recently concluded, announcing its winners at a grand Awards Ceremony hosted by The Leela Palace Chennai. Established to recognize and celebrate excellence in photography in India, the Awards spotlight the under-recognized work of regional talent across the nation. At the CPB Foundation, the belief in the power and sensitivity of visual practices remains steadfast, with a commitment to the photographic form.

This edition witnessed a remarkable increase in entries, with over 9700 submissions from more than 300 cities across India, further supported by the CPB Connect Programs held in five cities during the open call period last year.

Winners for CPB Photo Awards Edition IV

The winners, representing various genres and themes, were awarded over Rs. 6 Lakh in cash prizes. Among the notable winners are:

• Thulasi Kakkat – Danish Siddiqui Award for Socially Concerned Photography – Photo of the Year Kochi Untitled Rs. 1,00,000
• Anindito Mukherjee – Photo Story of the Year, Noida, The perils of the smallholders who feed India Rs. 1,00,000
• Chinky Shukla – Emami Art Regional Photographer of the year, Ghaziabad- When Buddha stopped smiling Rs. 1,00,000
• Vishal Bhatnagar – News and Current Affairs – Single Image, Jaipur – Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Road Show In Jaipur Rs. 50,000
• Stephen Luwang, News and Current Affairs – Photo Story, Manipur – Kuki-Meitei ethnic conflict Rs. 50,000
• Surender Solanki Climate, Environment and Conservation – Single Image, New Delhi – The ravaging effects of climate change Rs. 50,000
• Harsha Vadlamani Climate, Environment and Conservation – Photo Story, Hyderabad – After the Green Revolution Rs. 50,000
• Joseph Rahul, Daily Life and Culture – Single Image, Kochi Untitled Rs. 50,000
• Akilan Thyagarajan, Portrait – Single Image, Chennai – Tide the knot Rs. 50,000
• Nitin Jain, Nature and Wildlife – Single image, Pune – Thief Rs. 50,000

The esteemed Awards Ceremony was attended by dignitaries such as noted filmmaker Pa Ranjith, Chairperson CII Arts and Culture Taskforce & Trustee CPB Foundation Ms. Tarana Sawhney, Venture Capitalist and animal rights activist and CPB Foundation Trustee Sethu Vaidyanathan, Navaneeth LV – CEO The Hindu, Mukund Padmanabhan – CPB Foundation Trustee, and Prof Krea University, celebrated photographers Amar Ramesh and Venket Ram among many others.

The CPB Photo Awards Edition IV was generously supported by Sidhant Khanna, Emami Art, Nazar Foundation, Shared Ecologies, The Leela Palace (Hospitality partner), The Hindu (Media partner), Ashvita’s, and Ashok Leyland.

The complete list of winners along with their captivating works can be found on the CPB Photo Awards Website here.
https://chennaiphotobiennale.foundation/cpbx/projects/cpbphotoawards/cpb-photo-awards—edition-iv—2023-24

The Jury for Edition IV

The jury panel comprised established photographers, photojournalists, and photo editors from India and around the world, including:

Senthil Kumaran (Photographer & Nat Geo Explorer)

Dinesh Krishnan (Photo Editor – The Hindu)

Daniella Zalcman (Photojournalist & Founder – Women Photograph)

Kay-Chin Tay (Co-Director & Founding Advisor of POY Asia)

Gabrielle Fonseca Johnson (South Asia Editor – Reuters Pictures)

The Chennai Photo Biennale also announced the dates for its next edition, which will be the fourth edition. The Biennale will be launched in two phases, focusing on local themes and a cinema project from Tamil Nadu in the first phase, and significant retrospectives in the second phase. The dates for the upcoming fourth edition are as follows:
Phase 1: 20.12.24
Phase 2: 17.1.25
All shows close on: 16.03.25