The jury, consisting of Merel Bem (chairperson; an art critic and writer), Henk Wildschut (photographer) and Teun van der Heijden (photo book designer), voted unanimously to select Viktor Naumovski as winner of the Steenbergen Stipendium 2019.

The jury:

"It is difficult to believe that a student, someone who also grew up without any art in his immediate environment, has created a work that is so convincing and so unquestionably authentic."

Standing in the Sun

'Us boys of the suburbs are different.

Baptized to wear foil around our necks.

Walk with dog teeth under our armpits.'

Standing in the Sun is inspired by a time when the real and the imaginary folded neatly into one- another; We spent days playing in the dirt midst my country’s passage from war to westernization.

Inspired by the emotional experience of growing up in a country in transition, Standing in the Sun is an alternative narrative— a coming of age story, focusing on a group of boys living in suburban Skopje, Macedonia.

Through involving my childhood friends and family in all stages of production, we explore the dynamics between me as a director and them as the outsiders of the art world.

Steenbergen Stipendium

The Steenbergen Stipendium for Photography has been awarded annually since 1998 to the best photographic graduation project by a student from a Dutch art academy.

In previous editions of the prestigious Steenbergen Stipendium the award has been received by KABK alumni Daniël Siegersma (2018), Eline Benjaminsen (2017), Kimmo Virtanen (2016), Esther Hovers (2015), Olya Oleinic (2014), Willem Popelier (2008)

Exhibition

The exhibition with the work of the winner and all the nominees is on view until 9 February 2020 at the Nederlands Fotomuseum. Among the nominated works, the graduation project A Story to Tell by KABK Photography alumna Mafalda Rakoš.