The 2021 edition of the Niépce 2021 Gens d’images Prize, supported by Picto Foundation, was awarded to the French photographer Grégoire Eloy, member of the Tendance Floue collective. His application was sponsored by Philippe Guionie, director of the 1+2 Residency “Photography & Science” for which Grégoire Eloy is this year’s guest photographer.
Created in 1955 by Albert Plécy, the Niépce Gens d’images Prize was the first professional photography prize launched in France. The double aim of its founder was to bring photographers into the limelight and to help them to exert their influence over the public including through the press and publishing.
© Grégoire Eloy / Tendance Floue
The Niépce Prize is awarded each year to an established photographer, under 50 years of age, who is French or has been living in France for more than three years. It is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Since 2016, it has benefited from the sponsorship of Picto Foundation, which rewards the winner with a grant of €10,000 in cash and skills. Since 2019, the prize has been supplemented by the support of The Eyes Publishing, which publishes an artists’ book (300 copies), and the ADAGP, which offers €6,000 to the winner and €4,000 for organising and communicating about the prize. The winner will also benefit from a presentation of their work at a Gens d’images workshop, an exhibition at the Dityvon Gallery at the University of Angers in January 2022 and the acquisition of his or her works by the Bibliothèque nationale de France. (French National Library).
From autumn 2021, the BnF will be even more committed to supporting the actions of the Gens d’images association, of which it has been a partner since 1955, by presenting the prints of the winner of the Niépce Prize as part of a group exhibition devoted to the photographic prizes it has been supporting for several years (Nadar Prize, Florence & Damien Bachelot Collection Print Award, Bourse du Talent)
Born in 1971, Grégoire Eloy has been a documentary photographer since 2003. For 10 years he travelled in Eastern Europe and Central Asia for long-term projects on the Soviet legacy and the wars in the South Caucasus, including his series Les Oubliés du Pipeline (2006) and Ressac (2008-2013). In 2010, he collaborated with the scientific community for a trilogy on the science of matter, which was the subject of a series of monographic books including A Black Matter (Journal 2012) and The Fault (RVB Books, 2017). The latest instalment, on glaciology, is in progress. Since 2015, he has been engaged in our relationship with the environment and the wild during immersive residencies in natural environments: Residencies for the Guernsey Photography Festival (2016-2017), the Tbilisi Photo Festival (2018-2020), Le Champ des Impossibles (2020-2022) and Le Festival Photo L’Homme et la Mer du Guilvinec (2021).
Photo : Série l’Aube, Le Petit Lyvet, Saint-Samson-sur-Rance, 2020 © Grégoire Eloy / Tendance Floue
