The South Eastern European Workplace Awards were first presented in 2002, at a time when occupational photography in South Eastern Europe was navigating something of an identity crisis. The impossible promise prophesied by the new millennium had evaporated and left behind a jaded generation. However, even a jaded generation must take photographs of its workplaces.
Towards the latter half of the barely-stifled yawn that was 2001, Aleksej Vrhovec launched a national photography contest for what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The contest's theme was a simple concatenation of two words, which would markedly alter the course of South Eastern European workplace photography: "not working". Overnight, workplace photography had been re-imagined. Dully-recorded mundanity was co-opted as a vehicle for astute social and political critique—the newborn magnetism of the workplace drew in swathes of hitherto unmoved photographers—the air hummed with a gentle electricity signalling the genesis of a movement.
In the years that followed, workplace photography enjoyed unprecedented popularity. Fresh artistic voices gravitated towards the movement—its countless cultural commentaries coalescing into a singular aesthetic, united by an irresistable elevation of the everyday. In contemporary parlance, South Eastern European Workplace Photography (S.E.E.W.P.) is a genre unto itself, no longer bound to a specific region but instead with ardent ambassadors from Sunderland to Sudan.
As ever, S.E.E.W.P.A. was inundated with high-quality photography from 2020's entrants. Over 2,000 portfolio submissions were received, from which a short-list of 50 outstanding artists were selected and voted on by the S.E.E.W.P.A. committee. This year, rather than naming one ouright winner, three "most highly commended" entrants were chosen. Find out more about each on the home page