Photographs, Stories
The Estée Lauder Pink Ribbon Photo Award was created in 2012 by The Estée Lauder Companies France, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Pink Ribbon, in homage to Mrs. Evelyn H. Lauder and in order to support the actions of the Ruban Rose organization.
A pioneer in its genre and on a national scale, this competition is open to all photographers, amateurs and professionals alike. Since its first edition, several hundred contributions have been received from every region in France, around a theme defined annually: Pink Positive (2012), #SoPink (solidarity and breast cancer – 2013), Pink Energy (2014), My Battle, My Force (2015), Loving Oneself (2016), What Unites Us (2017), All Involved (2018), Heroes (2019), Resilience (2020), Gratitude (2021).
The Estée Lauder Pink Ribbon Photo Award brings together a wide public in an artistic way within the context of the national campaign against breast cancer, a campaign in which The Estée Lauder Companies France is actively involved as a founding member—with Marie Claire magazine—of the Ruban Rose Association.
Now a key event within its field, over the years the competition has allowed life stories to be revealed. Although they are often anonymous, they are always unique and never ordinary. It has contributed to removing certain taboos with regard to what many women, and sometimes men, experience when confronted with the disease.
Stories of families, friendship, love, reflections on the disease, unvarnished portraits, moving visual chronicles, humor… the photographic gesture here represents in and of itself a profound human engagement.
The Estée Lauder Pink Ribbon Photo Award is the bond between one person and another, heart to heart, an indestructible bond of solidarity between models and photographers, carried along by a cause that affects each and everyone of us. Its photographs, its stories, have resulted in several exhibitions, in Paris and in the provinces, during the context of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, dedicated each year, in October, to the struggle against breast cancer and to disseminating information about early breast cancer screening.
Each year, 40 photographer finalists are selected by a Jury composed of personalities united by the passion for photography and their commitment to the fight against breast cancer. The recipients of the Jury Prize and the Téva Audience Award of this ninth edition will be announced during an exceptional awards ceremony that will take place during Paris Photo (November 11-14, 2021), a partner of the competition for the fifth consecutive year.
2021 Theme: “GRATITUDE”
Since 2012, through this photo contest we have modestly sought to follow the energy and spirit with which Mrs Evelyn H. Lauder has devoted the last decades of her life to raise worldwide breast cancer awareness, informing people about the importance of early detection, as well as fighting against the disease, through her support for research, which is reflected in the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) that she created in 1993.
In November 2021, it will be ten years since our mentor passed away.
In November 2021, we will present the prizes for the 10th edition of this competition, jointly created to pay tribute to Mrs Evelyn H. Lauder and to support the actions of the Ruban Rose (Pink Ribbon) Association.
For this "anniversary edition", the theme "GRATITUDE" was therefore a natural choice. It is surely an expression of our gratitude to Mrs Lauder and her work. It is also an expression of our gratefulness to all the photographers and their magnificent models who have contributed in a decade to making visible the struggles, the joys and the hopes of several hundred women and men confronted with the disease.
The veil has gradually been lifted, lives have been revealed - proudly, movements have been created to remove the taboos surrounding the disease and build formidable waves of encouragement and solidarity.
This theme is dedicated to you, photographers and models! It was inspired by your words and photographs, with which our hearts have grown throughout these ten editions of the Estée Lauder Pink ribbon Photo Award!
Admirably, many of you share with us this gratitude, which is stronger than a simple "thank you", and which springs from the heart, despite the difficulties experienced and beyond hope.
A deep feeling towards those who support, who help on a daily basis, towards oneself and the strength of resilience discovered in the face of illness, the simple joy of being fully present to the world, of receiving a smile, the beauty of a moment... There are undoubtedly as many ways of approaching this theme of "GRATITUDE" as there are lives that will express themselves through it!
- “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” ~ Cicero
- “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” – Albert Schweitzer
- “The true miracle is not to walk on water, nor to fly in the air; it is to walk on the earth.” ~ Huìnéng
- “No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night. We know that every moment is a moment of grace, every hour an offering; not to share them would mean to betray them. Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately.“ ~ Elie Wiesel (Acceptance speech, Peace Nobel Prize, Decembre 1986)
- “Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life“~ ~ Djalâl ad-Dîn Rûmî
THE ESTÉE LAUDER PINK RIBBON PHOTO AWARD WAS OPEN TO FRANCE RESIDENT PHOTOGRAPHERS, FROM MAY 20 TO AUGUST, 20 2021
