Announcing The Motion Photography Prize, Jointly Awarded By Saatchi Art, The Saatchi Gallery And Google+, To Celebrate A New Art

“If a picture can tell a thousand words, motion photography can tell a whole story. We’re excited about enabling anybody with a smartphone to tell their story in a new creative way,” says Cristian Cussen, Head of Marketing at Google+ EMEA, which has partnered with Saatchi Art and the Saatchi Gallery in awarding the new Motion Photography Prize.

With the ubiquity of smartphones and rise in photo-sharing services, the world has recently exploded with photographers from all backgrounds who are embracing new technology to tell their stories in innovative ways.

Motion photography has emerged as a new trend, but until recently required special tools and know-how. Now, the unique technology of Google+ allows users to automatically animate a series of still photographs and turn them into motion photography. In recognition of the exciting potential of this new technology, Saatchi Art, the Saatchi Gallery and Google+ today announce a new prize, the Motion Photography Prize, inviting photographers all over the world to participate in a celebration of this new creative art form.

“We are very excited to be embracing motion photography as a new art form and are looking forward to seeing how it redefines the creativity of artists and photographers all over the world, ” says Rebecca Wilson, Chief Curator of Saatchi Art.

The Motion Photography Prize will recognize works in six categories and will be judged by a panel of forward-thinkers, including film director Baz Luhrmann and artists Shezad Dawood and Cindy Sherman. Winners will have their works showcased on Saatchi Art, the world’s leading online art gallery for emerging artists, and in a special exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London which will open April 16th, with one overall winner being given the opportunity to go on the trip of a lifetime with a photographer or filmmaker of their choice.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Google+ on an initiative that will provide a global platform for exciting new motion photography and highlight the potential of the very latest technology to encourage creativity,” adds Nigel Hurst, CEO of the Saatchi Gallery.

This initiative follows in the success of the Google Photography Prize, a collaboration with the Saatchi Gallery in 2012 to find the photography stars of the future, which received nearly 20,000 entries from 148 countries.

The competition opens for submissions today - February 5th - and the first category is Landscape. A new category will be introduced week by week.

For more details and to enter, please visit:  www.saatchigallery.com/mpp.