Africa Focus awards work on the efficient use of resources and the importance of the community in social and economic development

Two images taken in Tanzania, although with very different messages, and one taken in the city of Djenné (Mali) have been the winners of the 3rd Africa Focus Photography Contest, organised by Casa África. In this third edition, the theme was entitled Africa in Green and sought photographs that showed positive aspects of the African continent in relation to the environment, renewable energy and sustainable development.

This time, Casa África had a jury made up by three photography and art professionals: Cristina R. Court, in charge of the Research Laboratory of the Atlantic Centre for Modern Art; Raquel Zenker, photographer, and Pilar Rodiles, plastic artist.

Lighting up the future is the title of the first prize’s winning image. Taken in the historical city of Djenné in Mali, it shows one of the many places "where the production of energy is so difficult, electricity is like a miracle that is just starting to arrive and is looked after like any other scarce resource, making efficient and wise use of it and avoiding the waste that is undertaken in other societies," as described by its author, Alfonso Elvira. According to Cristina R. Court, the photograph has a very democratic reading in immediately communicating the subject's respect over the resources.  Raquel Zenker praised the technical sophistication of the photograph at the same time as its optimism.

Second proze was awarded to The Mill, by Tomás Correa, with the subject of a young person inside a windmill used by a community in the mountains of  Usambara, in the north east of Tanzania. The jury unanimously valued the great amount of meanings this photograph offered, it was full of symbols, and allowed the viewer to think about matters of gender, sustainability, community work and social development. "It deals with an anonymous person that speaks for his whole community," pointed out Raquel Zenker.

The Tanzanian capital, Arusha, is the place where the third prize winning image was taken. An army ready to roll, by Guillermo Marrero de la Nuez, shows us  “a counter of sandals that come from recycling used tyres ”, just as the author stated in his competition entry. Cristina R. Court highlighted its graphic and conceptual quality: "it offers us an image of positive order and a special originality." The tones and perspective were likewise assessed by Pilar Rodiles and Raquel Zenker.

Casa África and the jury have decided to award the special mention prize to Water is life, taken in Cameroon and whose subject is a Baka pigmy. The author, Quim Fábregas, crossed a river with them to reach the place where he took the photograph. According to him, his travelling companions use small trunks from the jungle to clean their eyes, "substituting the famous eye lotion bought in chemists." Pilar Rodiles highlighted the good work enclosed in this photograph and the respect and value of the customs of ancestral cultures.

The third edition of the Photography Contest Africa Focus includes a first prize of 600 euros. The second and third prizes will be awarded with 200 euros each. Quim Fábregas, author of Water is life, will  also receive a pack of catalogues on African contemporary art as a prize.