By Anna Kucma

It is with great delight that we announced the winners of the 6th edition of the Uganda Press Photo Award(UPPA) and the 2nd Young Photographer Award: Timothy Latim and Stuart Tibaweswa respectively.

The winning photo

Mr. Timothy Latim‘s image was chosen as the winning image of the Uganda Press Photo award 2017. South African judge Neo Ntsoma had this to say about why the image won, “We salute it as an example of enterprising journalism. An eye candy image that not only captures the essence of the story but serves as a reminder that at its best, photography is not only a storytelling tool but also an art form. The photographer has managed to show something we have unlikely seen before depicting this sporting activity by giving it a personality that is different and unique in its approach, which brings it to life and light. This is where his creativity comes into play.”

International Jury

The 6th edition of the Uganda Press Photo Award welcomed a number of changes the most significant being the welcoming of 3 new judges; Edward Echwalu, Mulugeta Ayene and Yasuyoshi Chiba who joined Annette Sebba, Katrin Peters-Klaphake and Neo Ntsoma onto the panel as Jide Adeniyi-Jones, Carl de Souza and Frederic Noy were unable to join this year.

Timothy Latim takes home a Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera kit and a backpack, both sponsored by Canon, to support his future work and career; a chance to participate in next year’s mentorship programme, along with the winner of the 2nd edition of the Young Photographer Award should they so wish. The outcome of that mentorship will lead to a chance at a solo exhibition next year.

Young Photographer Award 2017

The Young Photographer Award is purely developmental and Stuart Tibaweswa as winner gets a Canon EOS 1300D camera kit which will be used during the mentorship programme. The judges for this competition included Katrin Peters-Klaphake, Jiro Ose, Anne Ackermann, Georgina Goodwin and Martin Kharumwa.

Partnership with Canon

Roman Troedhandl the Managing Director, Canon Central and North Africa had this to say about the continued support of this project, “The African region, especially Uganda, is a growing market for Canon, and we see tremendous potential here. Our partnership with the Uganda Press Photo Awards is an affirmation of our vision and commitment to developing and nurturing talent in Uganda and throughout Africa. As we celebrate the awards and the incredible winning talent, this is a great opportunity for young and promising photographers of the region to be recognised. It is successful collaborations with organisations like UPPA that add richness and value to the industry.”

UPPA since 2012

The Uganda Press Photo Award (UPPA) started in 2012 and is supported by the Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung Uganda, Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) and the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Uganda (FCAU). The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Feature Story News and Definition Africa.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony held at The Square on Thursday, October 26, and the winners’ exhibition was launched at the same occasion. The exhibition is now open to the public, free of charge, at the Square and runs until November 26.

Documentary project

The visitors can also enjoy “This Time We Are Young” a documentary project about Ugandan youth developed by Esther Mbabazi, the winner of the Young Photographer Award in 2016 as well as “InQuest For”, a travelling exhibition from Ethiopia featuring the work of six emerging photographers from Addis Ababa: Abel Assefa, Brook Getachew, Eyoeal Kefyalew, Meseret Argaw, Maheder Hailesellassie and Zelalem Gizachew; and curated by one of our sitting judges Katrin Peters-Klaphake.

The Complete List of the winners is:

Overall Winner: Timothy Latim*

News

1st Badru Katumba
2nd Abubaker Lubowa
3rd Nicholas Bamulanzeki

Daily Life

1st Zahara Abdul
2nd Douglas Musunga
3rd Muwanguzi Zziwa Collins
HM Peter Tera

Portrait

*1st Timothy Latim
2nd Andrew Kartende
3rd Pat Robert Larubi
HM Ampaire Edgar
HM Muhammad Hassan

Sport

1st Badru Katumba
2nd Mbaleka Jonas
3rd Wasswa Arthur

Nature

1st Musiime Muramura
2nd David Gonahasa

Creative

1st Yoti Gilbert
2nd Yoti Gilbert
3rd Abubaker Lubowa

Story

1st Timothy Latim
2nd Esther Mbabazi
3rd Edyegu Daniel Enwaku
HM Lutaaya Roy

(HM = honourable mention)

Anna Kucma is a Kampala-based independent Polish curator, writer, and art project manager. While working in one of Kampala’s more prominent contemporary art galleries, she developed a strong interest in photography, which led her to start the Uganda Press Photo Award (UPPA), a platform for Ugandan photographers to share their experiences, learn new skills, and exhibit their work to a wider public.