Nine artists have been nominated for this year's Icon de Martell Cordon Bleu award, which celebrates photography in Singapore, one of Asia's most rapidly emerging centres for culture.

Albert Lim, Edwin Koo, Ernest Goh, Jeremy San, Roy Zhang, Wesley Loh, Yian Huang, Sam Kang Li and Tristan Cai are in the running for a cash prize of SGD 30,000 (approximately £15,000), and each is exhibiting their work at a specially constructed multimedia space outside the ION Orchard building until 22 August, when the overall winner will be announced.

The judging panel includes last year's winner, Sean Lee, alongside British photographer Ian Berry, Agnes de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, photography curator and writer, who returns for the third year as President of the Jury, and Bridget Tracy Tan, director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Arts & Art Galleries at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore.

The award, which is in its third year, recognises "originality of vision, presented thought-provoking ideas, explored new concepts and demonstrated a commitment to his or her art through the use of the photographic medium". The winner will also be invited to Cognac, home of the sponsor, and be given the chance to produce a book of work. Two further Discernment Awards will be given, worth SGD 8000 each, along with a prize of SGD 1000 to the photographer who receives the most votes from the public.

Image (c) Albert Lim, one of nine artists nominated for the Icon de Martell Cordon Bleu 2012 award for Singapore photographers.

Visit here for further details and profiles of the nine nominees.