The Visa d'Or Awards stand as some of the most coveted accolades in the world of photojournalism, honoring photographers who produce outstanding work that illuminates critical global issues. Presented as part of the renowned Visa pour l'Image festival in Perpignan, these prestigious awards celebrate the photojournalists whose images reflect a deep commitment to truth, artistry, and storytelling. Each year, these professionals demonstrate extraordinary courage, creativity, and tenacity as they venture into some of the most challenging and dangerous environments around the world, capturing images that both inform and inspire.
The 2024 edition of the Visa d'Or Awards has continued this legacy, drawing attention to an exceptional variety of talent. From documenting the devastation in conflict zones to exploring the ongoing effects of climate change and exposing human rights violations, the nominated photographers offer an intimate look at some of the world's most pressing concerns. Following a week filled with exhibitions, screenings, and insightful discussions, the much-anticipated announcement of the 2024 Visa d'Or Award winners has now arrived, revealing a collection of the year's most compelling and powerful visual stories.
Visa D'or News
Mahmud Hams/AFP
For the first time, the association Visa pour
l’Image - Perpignan will fund the prize of
€8,000 for the Visa d’or news Award winner.
The 2024 winner is Mahmud Hams / AFP for
his work on Gaza.
A wounded Palestinian woman from the Baraka family is surrounded by her children upon their arrival at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip following Israeli air strikes that hit their building on November 13, 2023. Israel is facing intense international pressure to minimise civilian suffering amid a massive air and ground operation that Hamas authorities say has already killed more than 11,000 people, including thousands of children. The military campaign came after Hamas fighters broke through the militarised border with Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 people hostage, according to the most recent Israeli figures.
For the seventeenth time, the region of
occitanie / Pyrénées-méditerranée will
fund the prize money of €8,000 for the Visa d’or
Feature award winner.
The 2024 winner is Katie Orlinsky for
National Geographic magazine for her work
“Vanishing Caribou”.
Caribou (tutu in Inupiaq) crossing Brooks Range, Alaska, during the spring migration to calving grounds © Katie Orlinsky for National Geographic
in late june, picture editors from international
magazines voted for the best young reporter for
the Ville de Perpignan Rémi ochlik Visa d’or
Award which is being presented this year for the
eighteenth time.
The Ville de Perpignan sponsors the prize of
€8,000.
The 2024 winner is the young palestinian
photographer, Loay Ayyoub for his coverage
in Gaza for The Washington Post.
People looking at what remains of the Al-Aklouk residential tower after an Israeli airstrike. Gaza City, October 8, 2023. © Loay Ayyoub for The Washington Post
For the first time, the département des
Pyrénées-orientales will fund the prize of
€8,000 for the winner of the new award, the Visa
d’or des Solidarités.
The winner is Pierre Faure for his work “on
the Fringe of Society in France”.
René is retired. He used to raise livestock, and lived in dire conditions. He saw farmers getting poorer and poorer and realized that his world would disappear. Central France, Puy-de-Dôme, 2016. © Pierre Faure /Hans Lucas
The iCRC Humanitarian Visa d’or award
is granted in recognition of the work of a
professional photojournalist who has covered
a humanitarian issue related to civilians, the
primary victims of armed conflicts.
The winner of this year’s award, with prize money
of €8,000 funded by the ICRC, is
Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for his work
on the fate of the civilian population in the
eastern democratic Republic of Congo.
Soldiers with the DRC Armed Forces moving past Zaina displacement camp which is emptying as the frontline moves closer. April 8, 2023, Sake, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. © Hugh Kinsella Cunningham
For the twenty-fourth year in a row, Canon
and Visa pour l’image will be presenting the
prestigious Canon Female Photojournalist Grant
to an outstanding photographer.
The 2024 winner, Cynthia Boll, will receive
the grant with prize money of €8,000
to continue her work on the social impact of the
relocation of indonesia’s capital city from jakarta
to the new capital, nusantara, on the island of
Borneo
The growing economy of the city of Jakarta requires more land for housing and industry, but land reclamation in the northern part of Jakarta Bay is threatening the livelihood of fishermen and coastal communities. “I have only a small boat and cannot go far out to sea,” says Pak Lukman, a member of a group of fishermen opposed to the reclamation project. © Cynthia Boll
The award, which is being sponsored for the
tenth time by laScam (the collecting society for
multimedia authors).
The award, with prize money of €8,000, will be
presented to the 2024 winner,
Gaëlle Girbes, and will provide her with
support to continue her project “Ukraine,
surviving amidst the ruins.” She will be able
to cover war-torn towns and villages and bear
witness to the extraordinary resilience of the
people surviving in the ruins, caught in the
middle of the largest conflict in Europe since the
end of the Second World War.
Ludmilla (89), outside her home damaged by shells. November 23, 2023, Siversk, Donbas, Ukraine. © Gaëlle Girbes
The Association named Camille Lepage – On est
ensemble was founded on September 20, 2014,
only months after the death of Camille Lepage
while reporting in the Central African Republic.
The Association commemorates Camille, her
work and commitment.
For the eighth time, the collecting society la
Saif* is supporting the award (€8,000) which
provides backing and encouragement for a
photojournalist committed to a long-term
project.
The winner of the 2024 award is
Virginie Nguyen Hoang / Collectif Huma,
who will now be able to continue her work in
Ukraine, reporting on the effect of the war on
diana, a young girl in Kharkiv living alone with
her grandfather, and soon to reach her teenage
years.
Growing up, too fast, in Kharkiv. First thing in the morning, Diana puts on make-up before meeting up with friends in the neighborhood. She is only 11, but is already behaving like a teenager. Kharkiv, May 13, 2023 © Virginie Nguyen Hoang
For the fifth time, Google, Visa pour l’image and
dysturb will be awarding a grant for a newcomer
to photography. All three partners see the
grant as a commitment to support innovative
approaches to urban stories.
The grant provides funding of €8,000 plus
guidance from google, Visa pour l’image and
dysturb.
The 2024 winner is Lilas Lehanneur.
