The field of photography has been described as one that exacerbates antagonisms, "a permanent hotbed of contradictions." This is also an apt description for the work of the artists who have participated in the Aimia | AGO Photography Prize in its first decade.
From the beginning, the Prize advocated a broad idea of photography, as broad as the range of possibilities that contemporary artists continue to see for the medium. The images have run the spectrum, with some directly observed, others highly staged, and yet others culled from the family record, YouTube, a library picture collection, press photographs, tourist brochures, and textbooks. Subjects have included family relations, sports, advertising conventions, imaging technologies, urban planning, colonialism, industry, and environmental degradation. This retrospective volume brings together the winners and shortlisted works from the Aimia-AGO Photography Prize, between 2008 to 2017, including essays by Alden Hadwen, Sean O’Neill, and Sophie Hackett and biographical notes on the nominees by Sam Cotter.