Adriana Delpiano, Minister of Education of Chile, announced that photographer Paz Errázuriz has been declared the winner of the 2017 edition of Chile's National Visual Arts Award. The evaluation committee was presided over by Delpiano and included Ennio Vivaldi, President of the Universidad de Chile; Álvaro Rojas, President of the Universidad de Talca and a representative of the Council of Presidents of Chilean Universities (CRUCH); and Benito Rojo, representative of the Academia Chilena de Bellas Artes. According to Adriana Delpiano, Errázuriz's "[…] contribution sheds light on a reality that our society chooses to ignore: the life that we cannot see with the naked eye. Her work approaches marginalization through a gaze that humanizes situations which we cannot or are not willing to see." Paz Errázuriz studied at the Cambridge Institute of Education in the UK (1966) and, in 1972, graduated from the Universidad Católica de Chile as a basic education professor. Her photographic career began at an early age. A self-taught photographer, she initially specialized in images of children for educational publications. Errázuriz then worked as a photojournalist and covered themes associated with the poorest people in Chile. In 1993, she completed a specialization at the International Center of Photography in New York City. She also collaborated in publications by the Vicaría de la Solidaridad and by Apsi magazine. She cofounded the Asociación de Fotógrafos Independientes (AFI), an association created to document life in the streets during the dictatorship in Chile. Some of her most prominent works include La manzana de Adán (Adam's Apple, 1982) and Kawésqar: Los hijos de la mujer sol (Kawésqar: Children of the Sun Woman, 2005). This is the first time that the National Visual Arts Award recognizes the work of a photographer. Because of this, Errázuriz considers it an honor that encourages her to continue working. The award consists of a purse of 18,125,000.00 Chilean pesos (about US$29,000.00), a lifetime allowance of 20 UTM (about 900,000.00 Chilean pesos or US$1,440.00), and a diploma that officially recognizes Errázuriz as the winner of the National Visual Arts Award. Paz Errázuriz thanked the jury with the following words: "I am thrilled. I believe I represent a group of women and men photographers working in the art world. I am very proud of representing my friends and colleagues. I am aware of the importance of this award and feel that I share it with that community of artists which I am part of." This incentive is one of the most important awards granted by the Chilean government, through the Ministry of Education, in recognition of works by Chileans that stand out for their excellence, creativity, significant contributions to Chilean culture and the development of knowledge and the arts. The award has been granted since 1942 and at present is given twice a year in eleven disciplines: Literature, Journalism, Exact Sciences, Applied Sciences and Technologies; History, Educational Sciences, Visual Arts; Musical Arts, Representational and Audiovisual Arts; and Humanities and Social Sciences.