Rubén Acosta, winner of the 1st ACCIONA Sustainability Photography Prize, at MADRIDFOTO

The Prize attracted over 500 entries, and the jury picked the picture that best reflects the idea of sustainability as a commitment to economic development, social well-being and respect for the environment.

The Canary Islands artist Rubén Acosta has won the first (2009) ACCIONA Sustainability Photography Prize with his picture POLIS 1, displayed at the "My Name's Lolita Art" gallery stand, at the MADRIDFOTO photography fair. Acosta will receive 12,000 euros in cash. ACCIONA's aim was to recognize among the entries at MADRIDFOTO the picture that bests reflected the idea of sustainability as a commitment to balanced economic development, the creation of wealth and social well-being and respect for the environment.

The six-member jury was made up of the art critic and Chairperson of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Elena Vozmediano; Lorena Martínez de Corral (independent commissioner); the Artistic Director of MADRIDFOTO, Giulietta Speranza; the Director of Art Fairs, Enrique Polanco; Carlos Urroz (Director of Urroz Proyectos) and ACCIONA's General Manager of Communication and Corporate Image, Pío Cabanillas.

Cabanillas, who presented the prize, explained: "Sustainability is part of ACCIONA Group's identity and it is an objective that should be shared by all the companies". Accordingly, he emphasized the company's support for events like MADRIDFOTO and for the creation of the Sustainability Photography Prize as a means of encouraging the world of culture and art to take on a commitment to the concept of sustainability, as a way of reconciling economic development with social progress and respect for the environment.

The prize-winning picture is one of a series of photographs that make up the ongoing POLIS project. Acosta's picture shows how a development model based on sheer, dizzying economic progress -in this case in China- turns the landscape into an unsustainable, overcrowded and inhuman space, in which people are swallowed up and alienated by chaotic urban development, the same development that is intended to provide a spark of hope for economic advancement.

Rubén Acosta (Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, 1976) holds a degree in Photography & Visual Arts from Madrid's Complutense University and obtained a Masters degree from the Madrid-based EFTI school of photography. He has held a number of individual exhibitions in Lanzarote, Madrid and Valencia and has taken part in collective exhibitions at the Canal de Isabel II and Fundación MAPFRE exhibition centres in Madrid, the Tenerife and Dakar biennials, the M.I.A.C in Tenerife, the CAAM in Grand Canary and at Madrid's Conde Duque cultural centre, among others. In 2002, he was among the finalists in the "Descubrimientos" (Discoveries) section of Spain's annual PhotoEspaña festival, and has taken a number of awards such as the Certamen de Artes Plásticas de Lanzarote in 2007. The gallery "My Name's Lolita Art Valencia-Madrid" held Acosta's first individual exhibition in the 2007-2008 season, coinciding with the PhotoEspaña festival.

MADRIDFOTO, Madrid's first international photography fair, was held at the city's IFEMA Trade Fair Centre (May 7-10), with a total 4,000 m2 of floor space. Fifty international galleries displayed works by over 350 photographers from all over the world, and more than 10,200 visitors had the chance to see the very latest trends in contemporary photography.

ACCIONA is one of Spain´s leading corporations, with operations in infrastructure, energy, water and services in more than thirty countries. Its slogan "Pioneers in Sustainable Development" reflects its commitment to achieve sustainable development in all of its business areas, contributing to economic growth, social progress and environmental balance. ACCIONA, leader of its sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and posted €12.665 billion in revenues in 2008. ACCIONA is quoted on the Spanish IBEX-35 (ANA.MC) selective index.