Davide Sartori is the winner of the Young Italian Photography | Luigi Ghirri Award 2025

Davide Sartori is the winner of the Young Italian Photography | Luigi Ghirri Award 2025, worth 4,000 euros, to which is added the opportunity to present a solo exhibition in the spaces of Triennale Milano, for the project The Shape of Our Eyes, Other Things I Wouldn’t Know. This is the motivation of the jury composed of Tim Clark, Adele Ghirri, Damiano Gulli, Rä Di Martino, and Mauro Zanchi: “For having recounted and explored the father-son bond, fostering a broader critical reflection on masculinity declined with irony and tenderness; for having created an intergenerational bridge by combining photography, archival materials and performative elements.”

“For a long time,” Sartori said, “I saw my father as a stranger: a person I didn’t know how to talk to or spend time with. A few years ago, I found out about my grandfather’s untimely death, when my father was coming of age, and how, because of that loss, he had been forced to follow the same career path. I realized that the absence of a traditional paternal role model was something that both he and I had in common. In an effort to make a connection with him, I visited his workplace and invited him into mine.”"The Shape of Our Eyes, Other Things I Wouldn’t Know takes shape in a series of attempts to get closer to my father, both physically and emotionally,“ the photographer explains. ”The airport and the photography studio become the backgrounds of our encounters, while photography serves as a key tool to explore our relationship in a continuous exchange of roles. The project combines photographically documented collaborative actions, portraits and archival material, brought together in eleven attempts to narrate an exploration that becomes mutual."

The awarding of the Prize took place at the Palazzo dei Musei in Reggio Emilia during the third inaugural day of the exhibition Unire / Bridging, curated by Ilaria Campioli and Daniele De Luigi, the twelfth edition of Giovane Fotografia Italiana | Premio Luigi Ghirri, promoted by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia in collaboration with several international festivals. This year, competing for the prize were artists under 35 Daniele Cimaglia (Rome, 1994) and Giuseppe Odore (Pompei, 1995), Rosa Lacavalla (Barletta, 1993), Sara Lepore (Carpi, Modena, 1999), Grace Martella (Tricase, Lecce, 2006), Erdiola Kanda Mustafaj (Elbasan, Albania, 1992), Serena Radicioli (Latina, 1997) and Davide Sartori (Gallarate, 1995).

Born in Gallarate in 1995, Davide Sartori lives in the Netherlands. In 2024 he received a degree in photography from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. In his work the viewer is challenged to question the veracity of a photograph. Archival material, documentary photography and constructed images intertwine. The photographic medium functions as a tool to confront multiple realities simultaneously. Inspired by his life experiences, his work reflects a deep interest in human behavior, the passage of time and the traces people leave behind. His photographic research is based on the interplay between presence and absence, examining how photography can capture and influence personal and collective memories. In November 2024 Sartori was awarded the audience prize for the Steenbergen Stipendium at the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam.

Other special recognitions

Erdiola Kanda Mustafaj with Pasqyra and Lëndës (Summary) received from Francesco Di Lella, director IIC Stockholm, the special mention “New Trajectories. GFI in Stockholm,” which offers the possibility of an artist residency in the Swedish capital and an exhibition curated by the Italian Cultural Institute in Stockholm.

Krzysztof Candrowicz, artistic director Fotofestiwal Łódź, awarded two scholarships to Sara Lepore and Grace Martella through which they will be able to participate in the portfolio reading program as part of Fotofestiwal Łódź in Poland.

Rosa Lacavalla, Serena Radicioli and the duo Daniele Cimaglia and Giuseppe Odore will exhibit at Photoworks Brighton.

In 2026, Fotodok Utrecht will host all seven finalists for an international event dedicated to emerging photography.

The exhibition Unire / Bridging, which can be visited at the Museum Palace until June 8, invites reflection on how images can serve a function of connection, rapprochement, dialogue and even care towards the outside world. Not only between the photographer and the subject, but also between the image and the viewer, to become a place and space of solidarity.

Exhibition hours:

May 1 to June 8: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., free admission.
Free guided tours: May 3 and 24, 11:30 a.m.

Young Italian Photography #12 | Luigi Ghirri Prize 2025 is made possible thanks to European Funds from the Emilia-Romagna Region. Promoted by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia in partnership with Triennale Milano and the Italian Cultural Institute of Stockholm. The initiative is realized in collaboration with GAI - Associazione per il Circuito dei Giovani Artisti Italiani, Fotografia Europea, Fotodok, Utrecht, Fotofestiwal, Łódz; Photoworks, Brighton. With the contribution of Reire srl. Sponsor Gruppo Giovani Imprenditori Unindustria Reggio Emilia.

Davide Sartori is the winner of the Young Italian Photography | Luigi Ghirri Award 2025

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