July 5, 2024: The European Union (EU) Delegation to Trinidad and Tobago recently concluded the fifth edition of its Photography and Art competition entitled, ‘In the Spotlight’. Much buzz surrounded this year’s competition as a new category of images created using artificial intelligence (AI) was added.  AI images are considered as those created or augmented by using a series of word prompts and feeding it into an AI text-to-image generator.

In collaboration with partner, the Photographers' Guild of Trinidad and Tobago and associate partner, the University of Trinidad and Tobago, this annual competition is in keeping with the EU's objective to put cultural cooperation at the heart of its relations with countries around the world. 

The awards ceremony and exhibition opening was held at the Academy of the Performing Arts, UTT, Port of Spain on Wednesday 3^rd July where the winners were announced and presented with prizes including gift certificates for photography and art supplies.  Guests then mingled with the artists and avidly learned about the inspiration behind the creation of the many splendid photos and art pieces on display. The competition exhibition will remain open for public viewing at UTT APA until July 10^th.  The opening hours for the exhibition are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.

The competition theme, In the Spotlight, selected for 2024, had a dual purpose – to pay homage and draw attention to the recently concluded Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls and promote gender equality.  The theme was also chosen to shine a proverbial ‘spotlight’ on other key global issues in order to allow for reflection and dialogue through the photographer’s lens and the artist’s paintbrush.

The competition was launched in April with a mid-June deadline.  Participants submitted their photos, and art pieces under the competition’s sub-themes, including, Nurture Nature, Diversity and Inclusivity, I Am Woman and i-Innovate. Entries were judged by an all-female panel, in keeping with the ‘Spotlight’ theme, and were based on quality of the work, relevance to selected theme and resonance of the message. 

Here is the list of the winners:

Photo Amateur

Mariela Bruzual - 1st

Catherine Sforza - 2nd

Shalini Ramnarine - 3rd

Photo Professional

Nyla Singh - 1st

Shaun Rambaran - 2nd

Chris Anderson - 3rd (Winner – Best Drone Photography)

Photo Youth

Jaylon Suphal - 1st

Jayda Jireh Ramjattan - 2nd

Na Jean Thomas - 3rd

Artificial Intelligence

Astral Krystal Ochoa - 1st

Navin Persad - 2^nd

Art Amateur

Nathanael Davis - 1st

Davi Ramkallawan - 2nd

Bibi Aligour - 3rd

Art Professional

Deniecia Quashie - 1st

Anika Plowden-Corentin - 2nd

Candice Sobers - 3rd

Art Youth

Shivali Rambachan - 1st

Liezel Parris - 2nd

Cylah Duff - 3rd

Art Under 12

Aydan Dookie - 1st

Bridgette Satyana Gopaul - 2nd (Winner – Best Thematic Image)

Ivy Natalia Apoo - 3rd