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Presented by Benrido, the Hariban Award combines a 160 year old analog technique with contemporary photography. Glass plates have been used as the base for collotype printing plates which still continues today. The award is called “Hariban ” as “Hari” means glass plate and “ban” means printing plate in Japanese. This Award invites professionals and amateurs alike to submit black and white photographs for a chance to win. Submissions are judged by an international group of Jurors and the Grand Prize Winner receives a two-week residency in Kyoto, Japan to collaborate with the master printers of Benrido.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the residency for the Hariban Award 2022 Grand Prize Winner will be held from April 2023. For more information, please refer to the Prize description and the Frequently Asked Questions below.

What winners receive

Grand Prize Winner

Two-week residency

Please note: This year’s Hariban Award residency program for the Grand Prize Winner has been adjusted to ensure safe and successful programming for both the Grand Prize Winner and Benrido Staff.

The 2022 Grand Prize Winner’s two-week residency in Kyoto will take place from April 2023. From April 2023, the Grand Prize Winner of the Hariban Award will travel to this major cultural heritage site. Flights and accommodation expenses will be paid.

Benrido Experience & Collotype Prints

While in Kyoto, the Grand Prize Winner will:


- Collaborate with master printers of the atelier in the production of 8 collotype prints of their winning works


- Take part in a Collotype Academy Workshop to learn how to make collotype prints by hand


*Flights & Accommodation for 2-week residency paid for.

Solo Exhibition 2023

The Grand Prize Winner’s collotype prints will be exhibited in a solo exhibition of their works once their residency is complete.

Previous venues have included:

Kousei-in Temple (Awoiska van der Molen solo exhibition, 2014)

Sfera Exhibition (Antony Cairns solo exhibition, 2015)

Hakusasonso Hashimoto Kansetsu Garden & Museum – Zonkoro (Claudio Silvano solo exhibition, 2016)

Kiyomizu-dera Temple – Jojuin (Stephen Gill solo exhibition, 2017)

Murin-an (Esther Teichmann solo exhibition, 2018)

Noguchi Residence – Karaku-an (Margaret Lansink solo exhibition, 2019).

Media Shop (Maude Arsenault solo exhibition, 2020)

Competition Catalogue 2022

All finalists will have a selection of their work published in the official Hariban Award catalogue printed in collotype and hand-bound by traditional binders in Kyoto, Japan. The catalogue will be published in 2023.

Juror's Choice Award

An applicant will be selected from the pool of submissions by each Juror as their nomination for the Juror’s Choice Award. The Juror’s Choice Award winners will receive a dedicated text by their respective nominator that will be printed and published along with a selection of their work in the official Hariban Award Catalogue. All Juror’s Choice Award winners will receive copies of the limited-edition catalogue for their personal use.

Benrido Award

Selected by Benrido CEO Takumi Suzuki, the Benrido Award winner will receive a dedicated text written by Mr. Suzuki and will have an image printed and published in collotype within the official Hariban Award catalogue. The Benrido Award winner will also receive a copy of the catalogue for their personal use.

Honourable Mentions

Runners up from the final round of judging will be given honourable mentions. An image of their submitted work will be printed and published within the official Hariban Award catalogue. The runners up will also receive copies of the catalogue for their personal use.

About Collotype

Established in 1887, Benrido has specialised in the unique printing technique known as Collotype and today remains as one of only a few studios left in the world capable of making fine collotype prints.

Collotype is an alternative printing process that was invented in 1855 by the French engineer Alphonse Poitevin as a method for photographic fine art printing. Photographic prints of the 19th century had poor image preservability, and over time gradually faded and discoloured. To compensate for this, various printing methods using pigments were devised, one of the established techniques among them was collotype.

How to enter

• Generate your submission form
• Complete payment via picter.com

Entry fees

Standard Entry Fee

• 50 USD Per Individual Entry

Lekgetho Makola

CEO of The Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, South Africa

Lekgetho Makola is the CEO of Javett UP (The Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, South Africa). Formerly the head of Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg, he also sits on the International Advisory Committee to the Board of CatchLight -- San Francisco, and Curatorial Advisory Committee of the 2017 Bamako Encounters - Mali. Lekgetho Makola has a Fine Art degree from Durban University of Technology in Durban, South Africa. His artistic achievements include a Bronze Sculpture commission for President Nelson Mandela. He is an International Ford Foundation Fellow on Social Justice 2009, and a Graduate of Howard University in Washington DC USA with a MFA in Film Studies 2013 which he used to start initiatives like Kali TV, Parallel Film Collective and Local Equals Global. He worked for the Durban Art Museum, Robben Island Museum including an internship at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. He also founded an independent production company KGETHI IMAGES (Pty)Ltd in August 2014 South Africa, which focuses on film, photography and art productions. Lekgetho is an active member of the virtual continental network Centres of Learning for Photography in Africa.

Sayaka Takahashi

Director of PGI (Photo Gallery International)

Sayaka Takahashi is the director of PGI gallery located in Tokyo, Japan. She studied under the photography critic HIRAKI Osamu at Waseda University. In 1998, she participated in the Higashikawa International Photo Festival as a volunteer, and from this experience developed an interest in curating, conservation and installation. In the same year she began working in the field of photography at PGI in its department of conservation, framing and installation. Between 2003 and 2010, she worked for the Higashikawa International Photo Festival as an assistant director. In 2010, she was appointed as the director of PGI, and has worked with many of the most celebrated postwar photographers -- in particular Yasuhiro Ishimoto and  Kikuji Kawada. In her work, she places emphasis on introducing Japanese photography to the world and on finding new talent.

Sandra S. Phillips

Curator Emerita of Photography, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA)

Sandra S. Phillips is Curator Emerita of Photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She has been with the museum since 1987, and assumed the position of Senior Curator in 1999. In 2017 she assumed the position of Curator Emerita. Phillips has organised numerous critically acclaimed exhibitions of modern and contemporary photography including Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera Since 1870, Diane Arbus Revelations, Helen Levitt, Dorothea Lange: American Photographs, Daido Moriyama: Stray Dog, Crossing the Frontier: Photographs of the Developing West, Police Pictures: The Photograph as Evidence and An Uncertain Grace: Sebastião Salgado. She holds degrees from the City University of New York (Ph.D.), Bryn Mawr College (M.A.), and Bard College (B.A.). Phillips was previously curator at the Vassar College Art Museum, and has taught at various institutions including the State University of New York, New Paltz; Parsons School of Design; San Francisco State University; and the San Francisco Art Institute. She was a Resident at the American Academy in Rome and received a grant from The Japan Foundation in 2000.

Michael Mack 

Publisher MACK, award-winning books on art, photography and critical studies 

Michael Mack is the director of London based publishing house MACK. Established in 2010, MACK is an independent publisher of award-winning books on visual arts, working with the world's leading artists, writers, curators and cultural institutions. In 2011, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by the University of Plymouth for his contribution to art publishing. In 2017 he was awarded the Royal Photographic Society Award for Photographic Publishing.

2022 Judging Process

First Round
All four Juror’s take part in the First round of Judging. Points are given to each submission using a 0 – 5 star rating. The submissions which pass the First Round of Judging from the accumulation of points will proceed onto the Final Round. All judging will be carried out individually and online by each Juror.

Final Round
All four Juror’s will take part in the Final Round of Judging to determine the Grand Prize Winner and Finalists. Points are given to each submission within the Final Round of Judging using a 0 – 5 star rating. The submission with the highest overall points from the accumulated scores from all four jurors will be awarded the Grand Prize. All judging will be carried out individually and online by each Juror.

*A preliminary selection will be made by Benrido, Inc., if a large amount of applications is received.

FAQs

＊Important Notice:
Applications will close following Japan Standard Time (30/06/2022, 23.59pm JST). The deadline times on Picter are converted to the timezone of your computer. Please take the time difference into consideration should you be applying from outside of Japan. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline has passed.

Q. How will the residency and award programming be carried out during the covid-19 pandemic?

A. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year's Grand Prize Winner residency program will take place from April 2023.

The open call will be carried out following the usual schedule. Applicants will be able to submit from 1 April 2022 - 30 June 2022. 

Once the results of this year's Award are announced, arrangements for the 2023 residency , travel and exhibition details will be coordinated together with the Grand Prize Winner following international and local safety guidelines.

*Should you have any questions on how the Covid-19 pandemic may impact your application, contact us directly at haribanaward@benrido.co.jp

Q. Can I submit more than 12 photos by completing more than one entry form?

A. No. Each artist is limited to one entry.

Q. Should I submit twelve photos from one series, or can I include work from a variety of projects?

A. The selection of photos is entirely yours, however in our opinion, a coherent series generally makes a stronger impression.

Q. May I submit photos depicting nudity or other controversial subjects?

A. We will gladly accept any images that are not blatantly exploitative or overtly offensive.

Q. Will you accept analogue submissions such as slides?

A. Unfortunately, we are only able to accept digital images submitted using our online form. (All submissions must be made digitally regardless of whether shot on analog or digital).

Q. What are the details of the winner's trip to Kyoto?

A. The recipient of the HARIBAN AWARD 2022 will receive an expenses-paid trip to Kyoto for two-weeks from April 2023 to work with the Benrido printers. The prints will be exhibited in the winners solo exhibition in 2023 *For the exhibition the artist will be responsible for their own travel expenses to attend the exhibition. The exact date for the exhibition is to be announced once the residency is completed.