The European Union (EU) Delegation to TT recently concluded the fifth edition of its photography and art competition entitled, In the Spotlight.
A media release said, much buzz surrounded this year’s competition as a new category of images created using artificial intelligence (AI) was added. AI images are considered as those created or augmented by using a series of word prompts and feeding it into an AI text-to-image generator.
In collaboration with partner, the Photographers' Guild of TT and associate partner, the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), this annual competition is in keeping with the EU's objective to put cultural cooperation at the heart of its relations with countries around the world.
[caption id="attachment_1094887" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Astral Ochoa won the AI category with this creation under the i-Innovate sub-theme. -[/caption]
The awards ceremony and exhibition opening was held at the Academy of the Performing Arts, UTT, Port of Spain on July 3 where the winners were announced and presented with prizes including gift certificates for photography and art supplies.
Guests then mingled with the artists and avidly learned about the inspiration behind the creation of the many splendid photos and art pieces on display, the release said.
The competition theme, In the Spotlight, selected for 2024, had a dual purpose – to pay homage and draw attention to the recently concluded Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls and promote gender equality. The theme was also chosen to shine a proverbial "spotlight" on other key global issues in order to allow for reflection and dialogue through the photographer’s lens and the artist’s paintbrush, the release said.
[caption id="attachment_1094888" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Professional photographer Nyla Singh, with her winning piece, greets EU Ambassador Peter Cavendish. -[/caption]
The competition was launched in April with a mid-June deadline. Participants submitted their photos, and art pieces under the competition’s sub-themes, including, Nurture Nature, Diversity and Inclusivity, I Am Woman and i-Innovate. Entries were judged by an all-female panel, in keeping with the Spotlight theme, and were based on quality of the work, relevance to selected theme and resonance of the message.
[caption id="attachment_1094889" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Tobagonian, Denecia Quashie, winner of the Professional Art category with her piece entitled, When Land Meets the Sea. -[/caption]
The competition exhibition will remain open for public viewing at UTT APA until July 10. The opening hours are from 8 am-4 pm daily.
Here is the list of the winners:
Photo Amateur
1st - Mariela Bruzual
2nd - Catherine Sforza
3rd - Shalini Ramnarine
[caption id="attachment_1094892" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Jayda Ramjattan finalist in the Photo Youth category. -[/caption]
Photo Professional
1st - Nyla Singh
2nd - Shaun Rambaran
3rd - Chris Anderson (Winner – Best Drone Photography)
Photo Youth
