The artist Carrie Mae Weems is awarded this year's Hasselblad prize

Carrie Mae Weems was born in Oregon and lives and works in Syracuse, New York.

She initially used her first camera more as a political than a creative tool.

When Kulturnyheterna reaches her via link, she says that she was completely caught off guard but also "boundlessly honoured" by the news.

One of the world's largest photography awards

Carrie Mae Weem's artistic path began with a strong desire to tell about her family's origins and conditions in the United States.

Social discrimination and painful memories from several generations.

The Hasselblad Prize is one of the world's largest photography prizes, both in terms of prize money and prestige.

For more than thirty years, it has been awarded to photographers around the world for "outstanding photographic work".

This autumn a large exhibition with Carrie Mae Weems opens at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg.

The prize sum is SEK 2 million.

See the interview with Carrie Mae Weems in the clip.