Thomas Struth is the winner of the Helena Vaz da Silva European Award for Raising Public Awareness on Cultural Heritage 2024. This prestigious European honor recognizes Struth’s outstanding ability to convey European culture and values through photography.

The Helena Vaz da Silva European Award was established in 2013 by the Centro Nacional de Cultura (Portugal) in collaboration with Europa Nostra and the Portuguese Press Club, and has the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Tourism of Portugal. 

“I am absolutely delighted to receive the Helena Vaz da Silva European Award 2024. I would like to thank the Jury and the Centro Nacional de Cultura from the bottom of my heart. I feel honoured to join the group of important cultural figures who have already received this Award. Raising awareness of a united Europe and its cultural heritage is particularly important in today's world.”  —Thomas Struth

The Award Jury highlighted: “Thomas Struth's work embodies what is essential in heritage: it portrays people, cities, museums, environments and technologies; it comes as a revelation to many people. He is a European open to the world, with an admirable intuition. If a picture is worth a thousand words, Thomas Struth ‘wrote’ monumental pieces of works – ‘to keep things from dying,’ as he often says – which show and promote the passion for heritage, both European and universal.”