World Press Photo Contest 2023 announces regional winners

By CityLIfe Arts Writer

The World Press Photo whose African exhibition edition is currently on at the Market Theatre precinct in Newtown yesterday, April 11, 2023, announced regional winners of this popular and influential global photography competition.

“World Press Photo is proud to announce compelling 2023 Photo Contest regional winners that showcase both prominent and overlooked stories from photojournalists and documentary photographers across every inhabited continent, calling attention to some of the most pressing issues facing the world today – from the devastating documentation of the war in Ukraine and historic protests in Iran, to the realities in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and the many faces of the climate crisis in countries ranging from Morocco to Australia to Peru to Kazakhstan,” the organisation said in a media statement.

The 24 winners and six honorable mentions – covering stories from the front lines of conflict, culture, identity, migration, memories of lost past and glimpses of near and distant futures – were drawn from more than 60,000 entries by 3,752 entrants from 127 countries. The entries were judged first by six regional juries, and all winners chosen by a global jury consisting of the regional jury chairs plus the global jury chair, New York Times photo editor and co-founder of Diversify Photo, Brent Lewis.

Executive Director of the World Press Photo Foundation, Joumana El Zein Khoury, said:  “Selecting these arresting winning images from tens of thousands of entries was a huge task for our independent jurors, all of whom demonstrated profound care, expertise and passion in reaching their decisions, delivering a stunning and globally balanced view of the past year.In a world where dozens of journalists are still killed in the line of duty every year, I could not stop thinking about the journeys and risks these photographers – and often, their subjects – take to bring us these images of our world.I am humbled to present this selection and honored that we will be able to bring the vital stories they tell to millions more people.”

Jury chair, New York Times photo editor and co-founder of Diversify Photo, Brent Lewis said: “For me, I was looking for pictures that grab you, and that won’t let go. There are images here that let you understand ‘this could be you’. That I can’t get away from.  But they also had to represent the world. We saw powerful stories ranging from the conflict in Ukraine, and Afghanistan’s first year under Taliban rule, to oil spillage in Peru and the loss of women’s rights, from the USA to Iran.  The photographs that we have chosen to represent 2022 are indicative of this moment in time, and will serve as historical documents of what the year was like for future generations to look back on and hopefully learn from. World Press Photo has, throughout my career, served as a guiding force for what is possible with photography, and it has been my greatest honor and privilege to serve as global jury chair, and hopefully to pass that guidance on to a new generation.”

Global winners to be announced 20 April
Four global winners (one per category) are chosen from the regional winners, and these will be announced on 20 April, 11:00 am CEST (Netherlands time) online and, for the first time, at the press opening of our flagship exhibition at the historic De Nieuwe Kerk on Amsterdam’s central square.

This Amsterdam exhibition will open to the public on 22 April before being shown to millions in our annual exhibition in over 60 cities around the world (including Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, Zurich, Tel Aviv, Taipei, Singapore, Mexico City, Jakarta, Sydney, and Toronto), and will be seen by millions more online.

Winners’ program

The 24 winners are also invited to a program of events in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 9 to 13 May. In addition to the awards celebration, the program will consist of networking events (with photo editors, curators, and festival directors), workshops, presentations, a tour of their winning images on display, and a public “mini-festival” at De Nieuwe Kerk on the final day.

links to www.worldpressphoto.org, and tagging @worldpressphoto on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.