The jury’s overall assessment of the projects was highly positive. Of the 39 projects submitted, many would have been worthy of selection due to their high quality and interesting subject matter. As a result, the jury’s decision, though unanimous, was not easy to reach.

The project selected for exhibition at Casa Árabe within the framework of the PHotoESPAÑA 2021 Festival is ”Barzakh: Amid two worlds,” presented by curators Xavier de Luca and Houari Bouchenak. The project presents the work of eight artists from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Spain: Zied Ben Romdhame, Sonia Merabet, M'́hammed Kilito, Souad Mani, Hakim Rezaoui, Yasmine Hatimi, Toni Serra*) Abu Ali and Abdo Shanan.

The jury highly valued the curatorial proposal and the discourse of the exhibition constructed upon the concept of Barzakh, which allows for suggestive, timely reflection on the world of image and imagination. The project, with a great artistic sense, is articulated as a metaphor for two realities currently coexisting in the Arab world, which are: a vibrant, energetic and rebellious generation of youths which has come to light, and an inner, intangible world related with memory and movement to territories and arenas yet to be explored.

Similarly, from the conceptual vantage point of photography, the project reflects upon the different uses and formats of the image, including works on paper, slides, moving images and other more experimental media. Through this diversity, the project encourages reflection on the different forms of storytelling which photography can imply.

Thirdly, the jury considered it to be of great interest that the project combines the work not only of the artists included in the project itself, but also that of five independent collectives and associations currently operating in Algeria (Collective 220 and Rhizome), Morocco (KOZ Collective), Tunisia (Maison de L’Image) and Jiser (Spain, Tunisia, Algeria). By selecting a proposal like this, the jury would like to express its acknowledgment for the cross-cutting work and regional cultural cooperation between these entities, highlighting the fact that there are also cultural management initiatives in the Arab world that perform work with great professionalism, enthusiasm and quality, forming a potential driving force for development and creating opportunities.

Last of all, in terms of the project’s technical and economic feasibility, the proposal submitted contains a very well-designed museum project that is appropriate for the space, and a reasonable, realistic budget in terms of the weight of the items to be shipped, curators’ and artists’ fees and estimated production expenses.

The Jury would also like to mention that it viewed with especially great interest the project titled ”Reconstructing the Ellipsis,” containing work by artist Lawrence Abu-Hamdan and curated by Marta Ramos-Izquierdo and Nicolás Combarro. It is a project radically different from the selected entry, because it focuses on the work of one single artist and is inspired by very specific events that took place in Lebanon. However, from a conceptual perspective, it masterfully addresses the issue of memory and the construction of historical narrative in line with post-colonial approaches and the new discourses of contemporary art.

With this special mention, the jury wishes to underline that, despite being projects of a very different nature, both fit in with the objectives sought by NUR, which was created in 2021 with the hope of continuing in subsequent years.

In Madrid, on March 23, 2021