Somfy 2021/2022 Photography Award
Contest brief

Somfy
The proven and sustainable technology Somfy implements to and in residences and non-residential buildings contributes to the well-being and comfort of the occupants. It has been shown that people feel happier and more comfortable in buildings that are equipped with Somfy technology. Users of these buildings have higher job satisfaction, are more productive, feel healthier, are better able to concentrate, and have decreased absenteeism due to illness. This also has a major positive impact on residents, patients, travelers, and other people who use these buildings for shorter or longer periods of time. In this way, Somfy brings about significant improvements to the living environment in buildings.

Theme for 2022
“Back Home” is obviously a highly topical theme. By necessity, the home has very much been our focus over the past period. It’s the place where most of us have spent much more time than ever before sleeping, eating, working, doing leisure activities and even spending holidays. This period, where we have been completely dependent on the ‘home’, is slowly ending as society is gradually returning to what we used to call ‘normal life’.

Each person has experienced and gone through the past period in their own individual way. What is it like to be at home? Or to not have a home that offers shelter and protection where you can safely retreat? What does it mean to us to be ‘at home’, how will we remember it? How do people experience the feeling of ‘home’ and how can we convey it in relation to our well-being, protection, and comfort? How does ‘home’ feel, what’s happening there and how does it look?

More than ever, people have come to realise just what work means to them, and consequently, many have become more aware of how comfort and well-being during working hours can impact productivity.
“Back Home” as a theme for the Somfy 2022 Photography Award will be visualized for this photography exhibition by eight selected photographers, whose work should also recognise the core competences Somfy realises in residences and non-residential buildings, i.e. Comfort, Well-being and Sustainability. Each contestant will picture this in their own unique way. The 2021/2022 Somfy Photography Award selection committee would like the candidate participants to give voice to the theme in an individual project proposal.

The photos on display at the final exhibition will be judged by an independent jury.

The “Back Home” photo exhibition will be on display from September until January 29, 2023 at the Fotomuseum in Maastricht (the Netherlands).
The Somfy Photography Award is an initiative of Somfy Nederland.