Crespo Foundation Launches After Nature Photography Prize in Frankfurt

The Crespo Foundation in Frankfurt has awarded the inaugural After Nature. Ulrike Crespo Photography Prize to Laura Huertas Millán (Colombia, 1983) and Sarker Protick (Bangladesh, 1986). Established in 2024 with C/O Berlin, the annual prize supports mid-career artists working in photography and visual media. Their works are on view at the Crespo Haus Open Space until May 25, 2025, before a September exhibition in Berlin. The artists examine how colonial structures shape contemporary relationships with nature. The Crespo Haus, opened in October 2024, serves as the foundation's new hub, featuring a rooftop garden that will host a hip-hop festival and dance workshop for local youth in summer 2025. The foundation was created in 2001 by Ulrike Crespo (1950–2019), heir to the Wella hair care fortune, initially supporting chamber musicians and later immigrant women through the Saba program. Crespo, a psychologist and art photographer, also established the Glenkeen Garden Artists Residency in Ireland. Her grandfather Karl Ströher, an anthropologist and collector, was the first to collect Joseph Beuys and brought Minimal and Pop art to Europe. The prize aims to foster artistic perspectives on nature beyond conventional beauty. Winners for 2025 have been announced: Isadora Romero (Ecuador, 1987) and Lisa Barnard (UK, 1967). In October 2025, the foundation will exhibit its collection of approximately 850 works, primarily by women artists including Miriam Kahn and Kiki Smith.