The best two hundred photos from the annual World Press Photo journalism award will be on display until September 15th in St Petersburg at Loft Project Etazhi (Ligovsky Prospekt 74). The exhibition makes its way around the world, captivating audiences with a variety of photos from awe inspiring to humorous and saddening images of our world.
The contest organizers mentioned that “The contest creates a bridge linking professionals with the general public.” “As the announcement of the winners makes headlines around the world, so the inspirational role of photojournalism is highlighted to an audience of hundreds of millions.”
There were 108,059 images submitted from 5,691 photographers of 125 different nationalities. Although a truly international competition, there were no winners from the 176 Russian participants.
“Many major news stories of the year 2010 are represented, like the earthquake in Haiti, the floods in Pakistan, Julian Assange and the World Cup Soccer, but there are also very moving or funny smaller stories like ‘the Flying Cholitas’ — women who perform wrestling in Bolivia,” he said.
The winning photo was taken by South African photographer Jodi Bieber for Time Magazine. Her portrait of Afghan woman Bibi Aisha was truly captivating and shows how brutal our world can be. Aisha was disfigured as punishment for escaping from her husband’s house after being abused physically by her in-laws. Unfortunately the brother-in-law recaptured poor Aisha and sliced off her ears and nose. Later the aid organization Women for Afghan Women rescued Aisha and took her to America for reconstructive surgery and a new start to life.
“‘This could become one of those pictures — and we have maybe just ten in our lifetime — where if somebody says ‘you know, that picture of a girl…’ you know exactly which one they’re talking about,” said David Burnett, chairman of the jury.
The 2011 jury was composed of 19 professional photographers and editors in the field of press photography worldwide. Categories included general news, people, nature, and sports, among others.
The goal of the contest is to promote free information exchange and support professional press photographer around the world. The World Press Photo Foundation also runs seminars, workshops, and various educational projects to support photographers.
“Our archive of winning images is not only a record of more than half a century of human history, but a showcase of successive styles in photojournalism,” mentions van der Valk.
“It is our long history and the large number of photojournalists participating from many different countries from all over the world that make the World Press Photo Contest quite unique,” he tells.
You can visit the World Press Photo or find more information here:
Loft Project Etazhi,
74 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 339 9836. www.loftprojectetagi.ru