WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.- Last night, the Norton Museum of Art announced that Elizabeth Bick is the winner of the Museum’s biennial $20,000 Rudin Prize for Emerging Photographers. Bick (American, born 1980), who is based in New York City, was nominated for the Prize by Shirin Neshat and is the third artist to win. The winner was selected by a panel consisting of the Museum’s Photography Committee, Executive Director Hope Alswang, and Tim B. Wride, the Norton’s William and Sarah Ross Soter Curator of Photography.

“Elizabeth Bick is a pioneer in contemporary photography,” said Tim B. Wride, the Norton’s William and Sarah Ross Soter Curator of Photography. “Her careful examination of movement through performance art and choreography allows Bick to forge a niche in the photographic medium.”

“In an age when anyone feels they can be a photographer, the Rudin Prize is more important than ever to recognize artists pushing the medium’s envelope,” said Norton Photography Committee Member Beth Rudin DeWoody. “We are delighted to award the Rudin Prize to Elizabeth Bick and we hope everyone will support the work of all four nominees, as we look forward to their growth and next steps as artists.”

Wesley Stringer (American, born 1985), won the “People’s Choice” award, which was determined by Museum visitor votes. Stringer was nominated by Michael Kenna.

The other nominees for the third Rudin Prize were:

• Clare Benson (American, born 1985), nominated by Arno Minkkinen

• Alexandra Hunts (Ukrainian, born 1990), nominated by Rineke Dijkstra

The 2016 nominees’ work is on view at the Norton in a group exhibition through January 15, 2017. Selected works from each artist in the exhibition will become part of the Norton’s permanent collection of photographs.

Elizabeth Bick’s work is influenced by her experience as a classical ballerina and her study and practice of street photography. She has spent a decade examining the public and private display of individual and collective movement and gesture. The resulting photographs are a hybrid of postmodern performance art, choreography, and documentary photography. Bick received a MFA in Photography from Yale University School of Art and is currently based in New York City, where she is a faculty member at Pratt Institute and School of Visual Arts.