shashasha

After Victor Hasselblad died in 1978, Erna and Victor Hasselblad’s Foundation was founded in 1979 in accordance with the couple’s last will and testament. The Foundation promotes research and academic teaching in the natural sciences and photography. This is achieved by awarding grants and stipends to the natural sciences and photography, a prestigious international photography award and stipends and grants to research projects in photography.
The Foundation also conducts its own research into photography. The Hasselblad Center opened in 1989. The Hasselblad Foundation’s research library opened in 1999.

The compilation of books shows two things: partly the Foundation’s exhibition history in book form and partly the varying design of photo books over the years. Ever since the Hasselblad Foundation began its own exhibition practice, it has been involved in the release of numerous books, both its own exhibition catalogues and in the form of support for artists and other collaborators. The books produced in connection with the Hasselblad Award are particularly important in this publication. They are the physical memory of each laureate’s exhibition and practice and are a significant element in celebrating the winner.
The photo book is an important part of the history of photography and the photo book as a phenomenon has also been the subject of two exhibitions at the Hasselblad Center, The Open Book (2004) and Published – The Photobook in Sweden (2018). These exhibitions of course also resulted in – yes you guessed right – photo books.