Lagazuoi Photo Award 2026 - New Talents
12/09/2026
LAGAZUOI PHOTO AWARD NEW TALENTS 2026
RONNY POZZATO WINS WITH THE PROJECT “SWEET RELEASE”
Ronny Pozzato, from Vicenza, wins the award for the originality of his research and for his ability to transform the frame into a tool that directs the viewer’s gaze and invites them to rediscover the landscape through new perspectives.
Leonardo Bandini, from Faenza, explores the tunnels of the First World War with an investigative eye, creating a reflection on memory and on what continues to survive in the landscape.
Francesca Formisano, originally from Rome, views the Dolomites as a vast natural archive in which time continually deposits new layers of meaning, with the strata of the rock interacting with the scars left by the Great War.
Alessio Orlando, originally from Milan, brings the wide Dolomite horizons into dialogue with the enclosed spaces of the trenches and tunnels of the First World War, deconstructing and reassembling mountains, valleys and tunnels through collage
The exhibition of the sixth edition of the Lagazuoi Photo Award New Talents opened on Saturday and "Sweet Release" by Ronny Pozzato was proclaimed the winning project. The jury awarded the work for the originality of its research and for its ability to transform the frame into a device that directs the viewer’s gaze, inviting them to rediscover the landscape through unexpected perspectives.
The announcement took place during the opening of the exhibition, which presents the projects created during the artistic residency held last July between Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Lagazuoi and which will remain open until 18 October.
The award comes at the end of a journey that, once again this year, involved young artists from some of Italy's leading photography schools. From 42 entries, the jury selected four finalists: Leonardo Bandini (IED – Istituto Europeo di Design, Rome), Francesca Formisano (Officine Fotografiche, Rome), Alessio Orlando (CFP Bauer, Milan) and Ronny Pozzato (Istituto Italiano di Photography in Milan), inviting them to engage with the Dolomite landscape through a five-day artistic residency. This experience gave rise to four profoundly different projects, now brought together in the exhibition at Lagazuoi Expo Dolomiti.
The jury chose Ronny Pozzato, 28, originally from Thiene, for his work that invites us to reconsider the way we observe our surroundings. “Sweet Release” stems from a question that is as simple as it is relevant: how free is our gaze really? Through a series of images built around the theme of the frame, the project suggests a different relationship with the landscape, slowing down the time of observation and encouraging the viewer to linger on details that would normally risk remaining on the fringes of perception.
In its comments on the award, the jury highlighted how the stylistic choice adopted by Ronny Pozzato, based on the recurrent use of the frame, succeeds in guiding the viewer's gaze, immediately conferring strength and value on the object of observation. While the gaze normally tends to embrace the breadth of the Alpine landscape in a dispersive way, "Sweet Release" instead leads towards details that would otherwise risk going unnoticed, arousing amazement and deep emotions. Over the course of the project, the various frames take on different meanings: in the first series of images, they blend in with the colours of the landscape, almost merging with the natural environment; in the second, the deep black evokes an inner dimension from which the gaze opens up towards the light, while in the final series, the frame becomes the focal point of the composition together with the landscape, placing the closest elements, such as stone or wood, on the same level as the imposing mountains in the background. For the jury, the project thus proposes a new way of observing the world around us, stimulating curiosity and training the eye to grasp unusual perspectives and vantage points.
After five years spent in Australia and numerous trips to Europe, Asia and America, Pozzato chose to further his knowledge of the language of photography at the Istituto Italiano di Fotografia in Milan, where he developed a research project that combines his professional activity in the field of sports photography with a strong interest in documentary storytelling and the observation of the contemporary landscape. It is precisely this sensitivity that finds full expression in "Sweet Release", a project that does not seek the spectacular nature of the Dolomites, but invites us to change the point of view from which we observe them.
The exhibition also features photographic projects by other young artists: Leonardo Bandini with “Ecotono”, Francesca Formisano with “Memorie Stratificate” and Alessio Orlando with “Fui uomo: creai: dio fui"
A selection of works from the Lagazuoi Photo Award will be exhibited from 25 September to 4 October at BAW – Bolzano Art Weeks at Castel Hörtenberg.
The Lagazuoi Photo Award New Talents benefited from the collaboration of IED – Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, Officine Fotografiche Roma, Istituto Italiano di Fotografia in Milan and CFP Bauer Milano. The 2026 edition also saw the continuation of the partnership with BAW – Bolzano Art Weeks and the involvement of the Terzo Tropico APS Cultural Association of Bologna, as well as the support of BPER Banca Private Cesare Ponti
