Mpa Prize 2024 Plagiarism Or Tribute ?

The awarding of one of the two MPA prizes is certainly sparking debate. Souhayl A, founder of the Maghreb Photography Awards contest, who has long stayed in the background, has decided to take the lead and respond to the accusations.

1. Is it possible to know the names of the jurors who awarded the 2024 Prize to photographer Naima El Kadi? Was this Prize awarded unanimously ?

The names of this year’s jurors were displayed for more than 5 months on the website. Around April each year, we publish a new list of judges. Until recently, our website also listed the judges from previous editions, whose names could be found on our archive page in the section dedicated to judges. All this information is normally accessible online so that photographers can see the jury for the current year and also get an idea of the jury from previous years. That being said, ever since the controversy erupted following the publication of the results of the latest edition of the Maghreb Photography Awards, we have chosen not to display the names anymore because some people contacted the judges a few days ago to intimidate them with threats in an attempt to change their votes. Even some members of the jury from previous years were contacted and pressured to publicly distance themselves from our contest and denounce the so-called "plagiarism." Now that the contest is over and the results have been published, we have made what we believe is the wise decision to protect this year's jury. We have also decided to no longer display an archive page containing the names of all those who participated as jurors in the past, in response to requests from some individuals who no longer wish to have their names displayed on our contest's website.

Regarding the awarding of the prize, for the past three years, we have had a judging process that takes place in three rounds. The first is conducted by two Pictor Editors who eliminate all entries that are not technically sound. Then comes a second phase, where judges rate the entries online based on 10 criteria, starting with the coherence of the series, the innovative perspective of the author, and also the potential of the work in the contemporary art market. The scores assigned by the judges establish a general ranking, with the top 5 entries being presented to the judges once again in a third and final phase to determine a final ranking, from which two winners emerge each year. This year, there was never a moment when a judge commented on our platform with suspicions of plagiarism. However, it is true that some members of the jury saw Naima El Kadi's work as a tribute to the work of the artist Carolle Bénitah, who sadly passed away this year. As president of this year's jury, I apologize in advance to Carolle's family and close friends, but also to Naïma if the content of the justification for our jury approach was misinterpreted or could have hurt the feelings of some. This was not our intention at all. In hindsight, we all say to ourselves that perhaps the timing of making a connection with the work of an illustrious artist who recently passed away and that of another emerging artist to the point of talking about a tribute is poorly chosen, due to the proximity of the date of Carolle's death, may her soul rest in peace. This is surely a clumsiness that will serve as a lesson to us in the future.

2. How do you respond to the accusations of plagiarism regarding the work of this photographer ?

First of all, we see it as a positive sign that our contest has gained a certain level of recognition over the years to the point where the publication of the results no longer goes unnoticed. For us, this is an indicator that we are on the right track. Regarding the plagiarism accusation directed at one of this year’s two winners, we are surprised, to be honest, because the controversy arose following a post by a photo gallery that, let’s remember, sold Carolle Benitah’s work for 15 years. So, we cannot say here that this is the reaction of someone completely free of conflicts of interest, making a neutral judgment motivated solely by the desire to uphold a certain ethical code in photography.

Unlike literature or other disciplines, it is often very difficult to establish plagiarism in photography because various and diverse approaches can lead to similar results. For example, some photographers have adopted the African background or wallpaper patterns of photographers like Seidou Keita or Malick Sidibé to update them for our time by integrating color. What can we say about the aesthetic blur of Sarah Moon, imitated many times? Or the color tones of Franco Fontana, reproduced endlessly, or the close-up flash portraits of Bruce Gilden, frequently copied on social networks? In our contest, over the years, we’ve seen Hassan Hajjaj's universe inspire more and more photographers from the Maghreb... This, for us, is something that has always existed in the history of Art and will continue to persist. We must therefore update our mindset and learn to live with our time, where information, styles, and trends circulate very quickly. In Author Photography, there is no such thing as “patenting” a style or photographic identity. So, we need to stop crying plagiarism at the slightest opportunity and instead try to understand the artist's approach before rushing to subject them to public condemnation.

3. What is the status of the partnership mentioned on your site with the Bamako Encounters? Will the winners have the honor of participating in the next edition ?

With the Bamako Encounters, we signed a written partnership on 31/03/24 to exhibit the winners and special mentions of our edition, as we had done previously with other festivals like the Essaouira Photography Nights, the Marrakech Encounters, or festivals in France such as Présence(s) Montélimar. Beyond the grant we award to the winners, we also try to support them by exhibiting their work in photo festivals so that they can add this to their artistic CV. Establishing key partnerships has been part of the DNA of our contest since the very first editions. With the Bamako Encounters, we were awaiting a final coordination meeting to finalize the arrangements and last details of the exhibition we wish to have at their festival.

4. Generally speaking, what remains your ambition through this prize ?

To promote Author Photography in the Maghreb so that it can reach as many people as possible, discover new talents, and give them a boost at the start of their careers. This is why we made the contest free this year for all natives and residents of the Maghreb, to give the opportunity to participate to photographers with limited or modest incomes. We want to continue on this path because our ultimate goal is to establish this contest as a lasting event that celebrates photography in the Maghreb every year, and why not make it free for all candidate photographers if we find a sponsor willing to invest in a partnership with our association.

5. Finally, what is the status of your organization? How many people are involved in managing it ?

As I said, we are an association of 5 people, plus 2 or 3 interns or contractors who collaborate with us occasionally. Most of us have other jobs and have been giving our free time without counting the hours for years now so that this contest can organize a new edition every year.