SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2023 JUDGES AND UPCOMING EXHIBITION DATES ANNOUNCED

Digital Imaging DI SWPA Sony World Photography Awards

September 27, 2022

11 min read

The World Photography Organisation is pleased to announce the judging panel for the Sony World Photography Awards 2023, alongside new prizes and exhibition elements. These include the launch of a $5,000 prize in support of the United Nations’ environmental Sustainable Development Goals and a new solo presentation for the Photographer of the Year.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2023 exhibition returns to Somerset House, London from 14 April - 1 May 2023. The 2022 exhibition continues to travel internationally, including the Awards’ first-ever presentations at the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, California (8 October 2022 - 19 March 2023) and at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, UK (10 November - 11 December 2022).

Marking its 16^th year, the Sony World Photography Awards are one of the world’s largest and most prestigious photography competitions, championing the best contemporary photography from across the world and providing participating photographers with important international exposure and career-building opportunities.

Sony supports the Awards to help with the continued development of photographic culture by offering a global platform to the talent of today. Entry to the Awards is completely free and photographers are judged anonymously by a panel of industry-leading judges.

2023 JUDGES

This year’s jury comprises a breadth of knowledge and expertise from varied photographic backgrounds and practices:

Professional Competition

Mariama Attah, Head of Exhibitions at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, UK
Tandazani Dhlakama, Assistant Curator at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa
Elisa Medde, Editor in Chief, FOAM Magazine, Netherlands
Ioana Mello, Independent Curator and Photo Editor; Directing Member, FotoRio, Brazil
Sujong Song, Independent Curator and Photo Editor; Co-Founder, Seoul Lunar Festival, Republic of Korea
Mike Trow, Independent Curator and Photo Editor and Chair of the Jury

Open and Youth Competition

Eric Schlosser, Art Director, Tbilisi Art Fair, Georgia

Student Competition

Eliza Williams, Editor, Creative Review, UK

NEW TO 2023

Sustainability Prize

This year the World Photography Organisation launches a brand new prize recognising the stories, people and organisations whose actions highlight one of the United Nations’ environmental Sustainable Development Goals. These can include depictions of climate change, a spotlight on ecological technologies and innovations or a celebration of individuals and groups working to make a difference.

The Sustainability Prize rewards the winning photographer with a $5,000 cash prize and a presentation of their project as part of the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London. All photographers entering the Professional competition are eligible to win the prize.

Photographer of the Year Solo Presentation

In 2023 the World Photography Organisation introduces a new prize element for Photographer of the Year. In addition to the $25,000 cash prize, a range of Sony digital imaging equipment and inclusion in the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition and book, the winner will also be rewarded with a solo presentation of their work as part of the Sony World Photography Awards London exhibition the following year. This opportunity allows photographers to further develop their winning project or exhibit a brand new work, gaining them additional exposure and advancing their careers. The first of these presentations will be dedicated to the work of Photographer of the Year 2022 Adam Ferguson (Australia) and will take place at the exhibition in Somerset House in April 2023.

Youth Competition Format

The Sony World Photography Awards 2023 introduces a new format to the Youth competition, opening it to anyone under the age of 19 and inviting entrants to submit up to three images related to the theme Your Everyday. Judges will select a shortlist of 10 photographers who will go on to compete for the title of Youth Photographer of the Year.

2023 EXHIBITION DATES AND 2022 INTERNATIONAL TOUR DATES

In 2023 the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition opens at Somerset House, London from 14 April – 1 May 2023.

Following the London exhibition and a subsequent presentation in Tokyo, the Sony World Photography Awards 2022 exhibition continues to travel to a variety of international venues:

Lenzburg, Switzerland, Fotofestival Lenzburg, 27 August - 2 October 2022
Milan, Italy, Fondazione Stelline, 14 September - 30 October 2022
Buenos Aires, Argentina, artexarte, 27 September - 23 October 2022
San Diego, US, Museum of Photographic Arts, 8 October 2022 - 19 March 2023
Berlin, Germany, Willy-Brandt-Haus, 21 October 2022 - 15 January 2023
Liverpool, UK, Open Eye, 10 November – 11 December 2022

Additional venue details are available on the World Photography Organisation website

2023 PRIZES AND DEADLINES

The Sony World Photography Awards opened on 1 June 2022. Full competition and category descriptions can be found at worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards

Deadlines across the Awards’ four competitions are:

Professional: 13 January 2023, 13:00 GMT

Open: 6 January 2023, 13:00 GMT

Student: 30 November 2022, 13:00 GMT

Youth: 6 January 2023, 13:00 GMT

All category winners of the Professional, Open, Youth and Student competitions will receive digital imaging equipment from Sony. In addition, cash prizes of $25,000 (USD) will be presented to the Photographer of the Year and $5,000 (USD) to the Open Photographer of the Year. All winning and shortlisted photographers’ works will be exhibited at the annual Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London and will then be toured internationally. The winning images will also be published in the annual Awards book. Overall winners will be announced on 13 April 2023.

PRESS CONTACTS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Inbal Mizrahi / Polly Brock on media@creoarts.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

ABOUT SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the internationally acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards is one of the most important fixtures in the global photographic calendar. Now in its 16th year, the free-to-enter Awards are a global voice for photography and provide a vital insight into contemporary photography today. For both established and emerging artists, the Awards offer world-class opportunities for exposure of their work. The Awards additionally recognise the world’s most influential artists working in the medium through the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Awards; previous recipients include Martin Parr, William Eggleston, Candida Hofer, Nadav Kander, Gerhard Steidl, Edward Burtynsky and Graciela Iturbide. The Awards showcase the works of winning and shortlisted photographers at a prestigious annual exhibition at Somerset House, London. worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards-exhibition

ABOUT WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY ORGANISATION

World Photography Organisation is a leading global platform dedicated to the development and advancement of photographic culture. Its programming and competition initiatives provide valuable opportunities for artists working in photography and help broaden the conversation around their work. The Sony World Photography Awards is World Photography Organisation’s principal programme. Established in 2007, it is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious photography competitions; celebrating the work of leading and emerging practitioners and attracting tens of thousands of visitors annually to its exhibitions worldwide. World Photography Organisation is the photography strand of Creo, responsible for delivering initiatives and programming across three sectors: photography, film and contemporary art. Follow the World Photography Organisation on Instagram (@worldphotoorg), Twitter (@WorldPhotoOrg) and LinkedIn/Facebook (World Photography Organisation). Our hashtags to follow are #sonyworldphotographyawards #swpa #swpanews.

CREO

Creo initiates and organises events and programming across three key strands: photography, film and contemporary art. Established in 2007 as World Photography Organisation, Creo has since grown in scope, furthering its mission of developing meaningful opportunities for creatives and expanding the reach of its cultural activities. Today, its flagship projects include the Sony World Photography Awards, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, Photo London and the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards. Working in partnership with Angus Montgomery Arts, Creo helps deliver the group’s ventures, comprising some of the world’s leading art fairs. Taking its name from the Latin for ‘I create’, it is in this spirit that Creo sets out to empower and give agency to creative voices. www.creoarts.com

2023 JUDGES

Mariama Attah is Head of Exhibitions at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool. Attah is a photography curator, writer and lecturer with a particular interest in overlooked visual histories, and understanding how photography and visual culture can be used to amplify underrepresented voices. Before joining Open Eye Gallery she was previously Assistant Editor of Foam Magazine. Prior to this, she was Curator of Photoworks, where she was responsible for developing and curating programmes and events including Brighton Photo Biennial and was also Commissioning and Managing Editor of the yearly magazine Photoworks Annual. openeye.org.uk

Tandazani Dhlakama is an assistant curator at Zeitz MOCAA. Prior to that, she worked at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe between 2011 and 2017. She is part of the curatorial team for the 13th Bamako Encounters - African Biennale of Photography (2022). In 2016 she was a curator at Tsoko Gallery, an independent art space in Harare, where she curated their inaugural exhibition and was involved in the establishment of the space. She holds an MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies from the University of Leeds, UK (2015) and a BA in Fine Art and Political Science, Magna Cum Laude from St. Lawrence University, USA (2011). zeitzmocaa.museum

Elisa Medde edits, curates and writes about photography and visual culture. With a background in Art History, Iconology and Photographic Studies, her research reflects on the relationship between image, communication and power structures. She has been nominator for a number of prizes and chaired various juries. She loves collaborating with educational programs as lecturer and jury member, such as KABK, ECAL, Brera Academy, Fotofilmic and many more. Next to curating paper and physical spaces, she regularly writes for Foam Magazine and various publications such as C4 Journal, Something We Africans Got, Vogue Italia / L'Uomo Vogue, YET Magazine and many artists’ books. Elisa is Editor-in-Chief of Foam Magazine, Amsterdam, where she has based a large part of her activities since 2012. foam.org

Ioana Mello works between Europe and Brazil as an independent photography curator. Her curatorial work includes an exhibition at the Mains d'Œuvres cultural centre in Paris; What's going on in Brazil?, during the Rencontres d'Arles 2019, at the Manuel Rivera Ortiz Foundation; and work by the artists Masina Pinheiro and Gal Marinelli at the Rencontres d’Arles 2022. She curated two exhibitions in Portugal in 2021, at the Diafragma festival and Tryzy gallery, and will participate in the Imago Photography festival 2022. In Brazil, she was a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) and member of the jury of the Web Photo Prize of the Alliance Française. She is one of the five directing members of the festival FotoRio and collaborates with Galeria da Gávea, and other Brazilian festivals and digital platforms. She is currently working on two photography books and writes for several magazines. Mello additionally regularly takes part in portfolio readings (Photodays, Filles de la Photo), roundtables and talks. In 2021 she began working for the Ithaque residency for Latin American photographers.

Sujong Song is a curator and photography critic based in Seoul. Her research interest lies in the unfolding of media and visual culture. Song was co-founder of the Seoul Lunar Photo, commissioner of Dak’Art Biennale and the steering committee for the Daegu Photo Biennale. She previously curated exhibitions including Hurroo Hurroo (GoEun Museum of Photography, 2013), Five Views from Korea (Noorderlicht Photogallery, 2014), Map of Daily Life (Lishui Art Museum, China, 2015), and Hybrid/Metamorphosis (Dakar Biennale, 2016). She has judged on panels for World Press Photo, POYi, and Flash Forward among many other awards and also nominated for several awards including Prix Pictet and Joop Swart Masterclass. Song is currently the senior curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) since 2017.

Mike Trow is a commissioning Picture Editor and photographer. He began his career as a researcher and reportage agent for Colorific before roles as Picture Editor on magazines including Bizarre and Jack magazine. He was at British Vogue for 13 years, where he led a team that commissioned, produced and art directed all portrait and feature shoots for the magazine. As a photographer he shot for Vogue and other titles. He now works as a curator, consultant, freelance editor and photographer.

Eric Schlosser was born in France. He started as an attorney at law, specialised in international law and intellectual property. His career in international projects and the arts spans over 20 years. He worked as Cultural Counsellor for the European Union and the French Embassy, overseeing and designing multiple projects in the visual and performing arts. Moving away from the diplomatic world, he then started cooperating with several art fairs in different countries, as art director, or strategic consultant, while supporting several artists' careers. He is currently the art director of Tbilisi Art Fair, and curates projects mainly in photography, the most recent one in cooperation with Fotografiska in support of emerging women photographers from Ukraine. He also advises on collections of contemporary art and photography and is a regular participant in art juries.

Eliza Williams has been editor of Creative Review since 2019. She has been writing, speaking and broadcasting about advertising, design and visual culture for over two decades, and is the author of two books published by Laurence King Publishing. She also hosts the Creative Review podcast. creativereview.co.uk

IMAGE CREDITS

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SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2023 JUDGES AND UPCOMING EXHIBITION DATES ANNOUNCED

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