Sydney, Australia, Get ready for a visual feast! The Head On Photo Festival, Australia's largest photographic event, is back for its 15th year, bringing a stunning collection of images to Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach and beyond. From November 9 to December 1, 2024, over 600 emerging and professional photographers will showcase their work in 90 exhibitions across the city, including 34 free exhibitions along the Bondi beachfront. The festival is expected to draw an estimated 400,000 visitors over its three-week run.
The works of more than 600 emerging and professional photographers were blindly selected from a record-breaking 4,000 entries from 52 countries, including photographers from Greece and Greek heritage worldwide, with over $80,000 in prizes.
According to Festival Director and founder Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, this blind judging process is a key differentiator for Head On Photo Festival, setting it apart from other prestigious art awards. “We don’t care about an artist’s background or connections,” Rosenzveig stated. “We’re looking for powerful images and emerging talent.”
With over $80,000 in prizes up for grabs, the competition celebrates photographic excellence across three categories: Portrait, Landscape, and Exposure. Forty of the top landscape images will be displayed along Bondi’s promenade, while 40 portraits will be showcased in the Bondi Pavilion Gallery. Exhibitions will also be held at Paddington Reservoir Gardens and, for the first time, at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
One of the new exhibitions at UTS, “Rwanda 30+ Bearing Witness to Genocide,” marks the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, presented in collaboration with UTS and SBS’s Dateline program. Rosenzveig, a former photojournalist in the Middle East, emphasized the power of photography to shed light on important issues. “These photographs offer a window into the human experience, from conflict zones to rural life, capturing both quirky stories and major global issues,” he explained. This exhibition is curated by Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos, journalist, academic and UTS Fellow and Moshe Rosenzvieg OAM, Creative Director of Head On Photo Festival. The exhibition includes photography by Stephen Dupont and Martina Reyes Guilmant and video footage from the 1994 SBS Dateline program’s reporting.
This year's photo festival also features a special exhibition by Greek-Australian photographer Nick Bourdaniotis, Director of Photography for the Greek City Times, at the Open Program Exhibition, part of the Head On Photo Festival program, which will be held from November 13 to November 27, 2024. Nick's "Greek Gaze" collection, directed by George Karantonis, is displayed across two exhibits at The Muse and presents twenty captivating images captured during assignments and holidays across Greece.
The Head On Photo Festival is committed to making art accessible to everyone, regardless of economic background. “Cost of living pressures shouldn’t prevent people from experiencing art,” Rosenzveig said. “We want these images celebrated in public spaces where everyone can enjoy them.”
Key Exhibition Locations:
- Bondi Beach Promenade: 40 top landscape images and 33 other international exhibitions.
- Bondi Pavilion Gallery: 40 top portrait images with a digital display.
- Paddington Reservoir Gardens: 11 exhibitions, including the top 20 Exposure images.
- UTS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Building: "Rwanda 30+ Bearing Witness to Genocide" exhibition.
- The Muse TAFE NSW, Ultimo, Sydney: Open Program, featuring 11 exhibitions.
About Head On Foundation
The Head On Photo Festival is Australia’s premier photography festival, held annually in Sydney since its inception in 2008. Moshe Rosenzveig established the festival with the mission of providing a platform for photographers at all career stages to showcase their work to an international audience. Known for its emphasis on accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity, the festival has grown into one of the largest photography events in the Southern Hemisphere, attracting local and global photographers. Head On is strongly committed to open submission processes, welcoming entries from professionals and amateurs alike, and its annual awards are recognized as highly prestigious in the photography community.
The Head On Foundation is a not-for-profit dedicated to promoting photographers' work at all career stages, encouraging excellence and innovation, making photography accessible to all, and raising awareness of important issues through photography. Over the years, Head On Foundation has put $850,000 in cash and products back into the arts industry through the Head On Photo Awards and supported thousands of photographic artists by producing and promoting their exhibitions.
The festival usually runs for several weeks and offers various activities, including exhibitions, workshops, talks, panel discussions, and masterclasses. It covers diverse photographic genres, from photojournalism and fine art to portrait and landscape photography, ensuring various perspectives and stories. The Head On Photo Awards are a focal point of the festival, providing substantial cash prizes across categories like Portrait, Landscape, and Student awards, which help to fund and promote photographers’ careers.
Head On emphasises breaking down traditional hierarchies within the art world by curating a lineup that equally values emerging talents and established artists. The festival reaches a broad audience by collaborating with local and international galleries and public spaces. It often displays work in unconventional venues, such as outdoor exhibitions in parks and urban spaces, allowing the public to engage with the art spontaneously. The Head On Photo Festival has amplified the visibility of Australian photography and made Sydney an essential destination on the global photography circuit, fostering creative exchange and inspiring public engagement with contemporary photography.
All images supplied by Head On Photo Festival