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The shortlist of nominees for this year's Prix Pictet has been announced at the opening of the Arles Photography Festival.

The shortlist of photographers for the 2012 Prix Pictet is announced today, at the opening of the international festival of photography in the south of France, Les Rencontres d’Arles.

The twelve artists, who submitted work have been nominated for work on the theme of ‘Power’, will exhibit the work at London’s Saatchi Gallery later this year, during the month of October. They were selected from a total of 643 nominations by photographers in 76 countries, including the most substantial ever showing of work from the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

The shortlisted artists are: Robert Adams (United States, b. 1937) for his series Turning Back, 1999; Daniel Beltra (Spanish, b. 1964) for his series Spill, 2010; Mohamed Bourouissa (Algeria/France, b. 1978) for his series Périphérique, 2006; Philippe Chancel (France, b. 1959) for his series Fukishima: The Irresistible Power of Nature, 2011; Edmund Clark (UK, b. 1963) for his series Guantanamo: If the Light Goes Out, 2009; Carl de Keyzer (Belgiujm, b. 1958) for his series Moments Before the Flood, 2009-2011; Luc Delahaye (France, b. 1962) for various works made between 2008-2011; Rena Effendi (Azerbaijan, b. 1977) for her series Still Life in the Zone, 2010; Jacqueline Hassink (Netherlands, b. 1966), nominated for her series Arab Domains, 2005-2006; An-My Lê (United States, 1961), nominated for her series 29 Palms, 2003-2004; Joel Sternfeld (United States, 1944), for his series When it Changed, 2007 and Guy Tillim (South Africa, 1962) for his series Congo Democratic, 1997-2006.

The directive of the Prix Pictet is to raise awareness of social and environmental challenges facing the international population in the new millennium, through the power of photography. It was launched in 2008 by the Geneva-based private bank Pictet & Cie, and has already gained a reputation as one of the leading photography awards. Its honorary president is Kofi Annan, a keen photographer himself.

The prize of CHF 100,000 (around £70,000) is up for grabs by professional and amateur photographers alike, and also includes a commission for the winner, where the photographer visits a region where the Bank is supporting a sustainability project. Last year’s commission took 2010 winner Chris Jordan to the Nakuprat-Gotu Conservancy in Northern Kenya, where he photographed the drought-stricken communities of the Rangelands.

Each year the award is centered on a distinct theme, the inaugural theme was Water, followed by Earth and Growth. This year’s theme of ‘Power’ produced, says prize chairman Professor Sir David King, “a great many images and compelling sustainability stories”. The decision of the judging committee, comprised of curators, picture editors, photographers, artists and collectors, and including last year’s winner Mitch Epstein, and the writer Michael Fried, will be announced by Annan on 9th October.