This is a concrete recognition attributed to the best of the 15 artists who presented their works through the art galleries. For Ghadirian it is the Podbielski Contemporary Gallery in Milan.
“The artist has managed to create an emotional image, which speaks to all of us and about all of us with poetic force. There is a web between us and the light, the freedom beyond the bars. There is the will to fly and the hope of overcoming the spider's web", reads the motivation of the Jury, composed among others by a representative of BNL BNP Paribas, Fabio Castelli, Francesca Malgara and Nicola Zanella. “The photograph is of a woman who lives in Iran, but the greatness of this photograph lies precisely in the fact that an image that manages to be universal arises from a very personal biography".
Photography in the BNL collection
Stefano Schrievers – Head of Wealth Management BNL BNP Paribas: “We support major art events confirming our commitment to this and other forms of expression and aiming to enhance talent, also through the acquisition of works in the historic art collection. For BNL and for the BNP Paribas Group, this is meant to be not only the concrete testimony of attention towards those, perhaps young, who find it more difficult to emerge, but also the confirmation that art is an asset, both for its social and cultural value , both in economic terms as an investment vehicle. Congratulations to Shadi Ghadirian, and to the photographs of her with the wish that she manages to get to the light she deserves".
BNL BNP Paribas to support investments in culture with a view to social development
The winning work, selected from a shortlist of 15 finalist artists from Italy and the world, will be acquired by the Bank and will become part of the BNL BNP Paribas art collection, which has over 5.000 masterpieces.
The more than ten-year partnership with Mia bears witness to the Bank's constant commitment to supporting and promoting photography and more generally contemporary art in Italy.
