Brazilian photographer, Leonardo Wen, won a prestigious international photo prize for his picture taken in the Qatari desert as part of Qatar Museums Qatar Brazil 2014 Year of Culture photographic exchange project.
The photograph, capturing a crowd gathered around the Richard Serra desert sculpture, East-West/West-East, won first prize at the Repsol Photography Awards at the Lima Photo International Fair.
Held under the patronage of Qatar Museums chairperson, HE Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Qatar Brazil 2014 was QM’s third consecutive Year of Culture. In collaboration with the Qatar Photographic Society (QPS) and the Ministry of Culture, Qatar Museums invited two Brazilian photographers, Wen and Andre Joaquim, to Qatar to explore the people and landscapes of the country and record their experiences photographically.  In turn two Qatari photographers were welcomed by their Brazilian colleagues for a two week expedition across Brazil. The work of all photographers was presented in an exhibition in Qatar last June.  
During his visit Wen went to Zekreet where he viewed the new Richard Serra art installation East-West/West-East and spent the evening barbequing in the desert under the stars. Commenting on his experience of Qatar, Leonardo Wen said: “Spending the night in the desert in Zekreet had a real impact on me. Qatar is a special place on earth; its people, urban and natural landscape, religion, light and energy make it a unique place for any photographer.”
Safiya al-Hajari, director of the Office of Strategic Cultural Relations said: “We are proud that Leonardo’s work has been recognised at this international competition. His success is really what we try to achieve through this programme. It offers a great opportunity for photographers to discover a country, improve their photographic skills and gain recognition for their work.”
Wen, an independent photographer specialising in documentary photography, photojournalism and portraits, collaborates with Folha de S.Paulo, the most influential Brazilian newspaper. Born in Bras?lia, 1981, he currently lives in Lima (Peru) where he’s doing a master course in contemporary photography.
Wen was so moved by Qatar that he very much would like to come back and explore more of the country during a residency programme. Lima Photo is an international fair that supports and disseminates international contemporary photography.
This year, as part of the Qatar Turkey 2015 Year of Culture, there is a new exhibition where over a period of three weeks, Turkish Photographers Ali Muhammet Bayraktariglu (Izmir, Turkey) and Hasan Yelken (Gazyantip, Turkey) and Qatari Photographers Sara al-Obaidly and Saleh al-Marri have created powerful images of each other’s homelands through a visual photographic journey as part of the Qatar Turkey 2015 Year of Culture.
New Angles; New Perspectives is a unique visual journey in which four photographers have captured the essence of two different cultures and environments, through their lenses. The exhibition is open until September 30 at Qatar Photographic Society building (18) at Katara, from 10am to 8pm.