Brussels wins new competition for female photographers with a “fresh look” on the capital

Marie Sordat from Brussels has won the first edition of the Germaine Van Parys Prize. This photo competition, named after the first Belgian press photographer, aims to draw attention to female photographers.

In 2023, Géopolis, a center for photojournalism, created the Prix Germaine Van parys together with the city of Brussels. The theme for the first edition was ‘Views of Brussels’ and Marie Sordat was declared the winner on Wednesday evening. Sordat’s series is strong in its conceptual simplicity, showing the streets and inhabitants of Brussels with an honest visual language.

The photographer herself says the following about her work: “In a world where deviations divide and everyone turns back on themselves, Brussels seems to me an exception in its own way: a city whose heart we can feel beating in its multiplicity, in its persistent joy , even in times of trial. In an attempt to see the city with fresh eyes, I have crossed it in all directions, from Auderghem to Anderlecht, from the center to the suburbs, in the bends of the metro or in broad daylight, looking for some hair in my eyes is fundamentally shaped.”