Leica's Leitz Park, Oskar Barnack Award 2022, and the Return of the M6
In Wetzlar, Germany, Leica Camera operates from its headquarters at Leitz Park, established by Ernst Leitz in 1869. This site, which was developed on a former military zone acquired in 2014 and expanded in 2018, comprises a factory, museum, archive, hotel, and customer service center. The manufacturing facility employs a detailed 30-step process for lens production. The museum showcases the history of the Leitz family alongside interactive displays. The archive contains records of all cameras made, excluding those sold during the 1990s financial downturn. On October 20, 2022, Kiana Hayeri received the 42nd Oskar Barnack Award for her work on Afghan women. Additionally, Leica has restarted production of the analog M6 camera, which is priced at over €5,000 and is anticipated to represent one in five sales.
Key facts
- Leitz Park in Wetzlar includes factory, museum, archive, hotel, and customer care center.
- Factory produces lenses with up to 30 steps per lens, using natural sponges from Greece and hologram correction.
- Museum has interactive exhibits on film development, lens combinations, shutter sounds, and light exposure.
- Archive holds all Leica cameras except those in safes or sold during 1990s crisis.
- 42nd Oskar Barnack Award (Oct 20, 2022) won by Kiana Hayeri for project on Afghan women after 2021 withdrawal.
- Newcomer award to Valentin Goppel for pandemic documentation.
- Leica resumes production of analog M6 after 20 years, with brass top plate and MP viewfinder.
- M6 priced over €5,000; Leica expects one in five sales to be analog.
Entities
Artists
- Kiana Hayeri
- Valentin Goppel
- Oskar Barnack
- Ernst Leitz
- Alessandro Cinque
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
- Robert Capa
- Leni Riefenstahl
- Sebastião Salgado
Institutions
- Leica Camera
- Leitz Park
- Oskar Barnack Award
- Hermès
- Kaufmann family
- Artribune
Locations
- Wetzlar
- Germany
- Frankfurt
- Porto
- Portugal
- Afghanistan
- Iran
- Toronto
- Canada
- Herat
- Poland
- Zurich
- Switzerland
- Greece