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First finalist 2014

Andres Kudacki

Spain: National Housing Crisis. Evictions


Presentation

With unemployment at over 26%, widespread wage cuts, and precarious work conditions, thousands in Spain have been unable to make mortgage payments or pay rent and are facing evictions. Others have fallen victim to the real estate speculation that linked private companies with the government, forcing the expropriation of their own houses. In Madrid, the most vulnerable members of society are suffering under the government’s austerity measures; the property assets of the state’s social housing companies, meant to provide housing alternatives for people in need, are being sold off to private investors. This work explores the relationship between people and their homes, and how they face the evictions.


Biography

Andrés Kudacki is a photographer, born in Argentina in 1974. He has been based in Madrid since 2006, after living in Sweden, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, and began working with the Associated Press in 2008. His work has appeared in many world-renowned publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Daily Mail, Time Magazine, Corriere della Sera, Global and Mail, The Wall Street Journal, Paris Match Financial Times, The Telegraph, Politiken and Le Monde, among others.

In 2014, Picture of the Year International (POYI) awarded him third place for an Issue Reporting Picture Story for his work on Spain’s housing crisis. He was also given an honorable mention in NPPA’s Best Of Photojournalism Awards.