Photo of a kids play mirror on a plastic stand

A New Gaze 5 – 2026

Process and Jury

The fifth edition of our biennial art prize, A New Gaze, focuses on Switzerland, the country of Vontobel's roots, inviting Swiss artists and international positions based in Switzerland to explore the theme of "Switzerland 2084".

As with every edition, we collaborated with experts from the local art scene to ensure that the nomination process reflects a broad understanding of photographic practice today. 46 young artists were invited, suggested by 31 nominators, whose invaluable support played a significant role in achieving such a diversity of perspectives for A New Gaze 5.

We would like to thank the following nominators for their time and expertise:

Mohamed Almusibli, Mitchell Anderson, James Bantone, Francesca Benini, Ann Christine Bertrand, Dr. Jonas Beyer, Charles Blunier, Marco De Mutis, Dr. Tobia Bezzola, Fanny Fetzer, Conradin Frei, Andrea Gohl, Nathalie Herschdorfer, Stefanie Hessler, Sabine Himmelsbach, Claire Hoffman, Milo Keller, Samuel Leuenberger, Selma Meuli, Yann Mingard, Taiyo Onorato, Giangivino Pazzola, Diana Poole, Stefan Puttard, Sabine Schaschl, Amelie Rose Schüle, Stefano Stoll, Mirjam Varadinis, Nadia Veronese, Nadine Wietlisbach, and Lars Willumeit.

Similarly, we would like to thank all the artists who submitted a proposal for their ideas and efforts. We would particularly like to mention the other finalists, Roman Selim Khereddine, as well as Laurence Rasti and Zoé Aubry, who entered with a joint proposal.

In May 2025, our jury examined a total of 33 project submissions during a meeting spanning two days. The core jury consisted of two invited external members and experts in photography in Switzerland—Danaé Panchaud, director of the Centre de la photographie Genève, and the internationally known Swiss artist Shirana Shahbazi—together with Georgina Casparis, Head & Curator Art Vontobel. For the final decision, they were joined by members of the Vontobel Arts Commission, including its president, Andreas Utermann.

The Jury

from left to right: Georgina Casparis, Danaé Panchaud, and Shirana Shahbazi. All portrayed by Collection artist Anne Morgenstern.

For A New Gaze 5, we invited artists not simply to respond to the present, but to imagine and give form to possible futures for our country. "Switzerland 2084" holds both exciting potential and deep uncertainty. While many submissions focused on the latter, Jiajia Zhang’s proposal distinguished itself through a quietly powerful shift in perspective. Working across multiple media, the artist proposes a map of today as an attentive gesture toward the future.
By honouring Zhang, the jury recognises both the strength of her artistic practice and the emotional clarity of her vision: a reminder of our collective participation, and that tomorrow’s memories are shaped by the actions of today.

– The ANG5 Jury

About Danaé Panchaud and Shirana Shahbazi

Danaé Panchaud

Director of the Centre de la photographie Genève

Danaé Panchaud is a Swiss exhibition curator, museologist, and lecturer specializing in photography. Since 2022, she has served as director of the Centre de la photographie Genève, following her role as director of Photoforum Pasquart in Biel, Switzerland, from 2018 to 2021. Since 2007, she has held positions at various Swiss institutions across the fields of contemporary art, design, and science, including Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, Gallery SAKS, Fondation Verdan, and mudac. As a freelance curator since 2012, she has organized exhibitions for numerous Swiss and international museums, independent spaces, and galleries. She regularly contributes to contemporary artists’ monographs, exhibition catalogues, and thematic publications. Since 2014, she has also lectured at art and photography schools in Switzerland, and in 2023 she joined the teaching faculty of the CAS in Theory and History of Photography at the University of Zurich.

Shirana Shahbazi

Swiss artist

Iranian-born artist Shirana Shahbazi has lived and worked in Zurich since 1997. She is internationally renowned for her conceptually rigorous approach to photography, exploring the relationship between abstraction and representation. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections worldwide, including the Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Kunstmuseum Zürich; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Tate Modern, London; and the Sprengel Museum, Hannover, among others. Her work has been exhibited at major international institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Barbican Art Gallery, London; and the Venice Biennale. In addition to her artistic practice, she works as a guest lecturer in the Master of Fine Arts program at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Together with Manuel Krebs, she has published numerous artist books and monographs. In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious Prix Meret Oppenheim.