AMSTERDAM.-The jury of the KLM Paul Huf Award 2009, organised by Foam_Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, chose the portfolio of Leonie Purchas (United Kingdom 1978) as the winning one.

The jury was impressed by the quality and diversity of the submissions made by photographers from all over the world. Among the 81 nominees there were 41 from Europe, 13 from Asia, 13 from the United States and Canada, 11 from South and Central America, 3 from Africa.

‘This year the submissions for the KLM Paul Huf Award were again of high quality and diverse. There were many submissions from Russia and South America. The jury was looking foremost for the power of innovation in terms of subject matter and visual style. The photographer had to present originality and at the same time we sought after work that was consistent in its level of quality.’

’The photographs of Leonie Purchas are visually and emotionally compelling. Working within the confined and complicated space of her family’s home she shows us moments that are familiar and everyday, yet reveal something we don’t know - the poetic of the ordinary.’

Purchas will receive a cash award of € 20.000,-, a three-week residency in Amsterdam, and an exhibition at Foam in September 2009.

The members of the jury were: Willis Hartshorn (USA, chairman) is since 1994 director of the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, USA. Clive Kellner (South Africa) is the former director of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), South Africa and current curator-at-large of the Gordon Schachat Collection. Mariko Takeuchi (Japan) is currently based in New York, USA, where she’s guest researcher of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. She was the guest curator for the country focus on Japan at Paris Photo 2008. Julien Frydman (France) is director of Magnum Photos, Paris. Juliette Jongma (The Netherlands) is owner of gallery Julliete Jongma in Amsterdam.

Both KLM and Foam have a special bond with the Dutch photographer Paul Huf (1924-2002). The KLM Paul Huf Award was established in 1999, commemorating the photographer’s close ties with the airline, spanning many decades. Paul Huf was renowned for his innovative approach to photography. He worked on assignment for KLM for 50 years. One of the last major projects that Paul Huf was personally involved in was the establishment of Foam in 2001.