Photo by Darren Leigh Roberts
This years Head On Photo Festival will showcase 150 works from around the globe as part of the Festival’s greater program presented from 4 – 19 May 2019.
The winners for the 2019 Head On Awards will be announced at the Festival’s launch party held at UNSW Art & Design, Paddington on Friday 3 May from 6pm. A highlight of the Sydney arts calendar, this free public event returns as the Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary and its largest program to date, featuring 109 exhibitions showcasing the work of 1064 international and local artists across Sydney (many of whom are from the Inner West).
Head On Festival Director Moshe Rosenzveig OAM said: “Head On Photo Festival prides itself on presenting not only international quality exhibitions but creating a space for cutting edge discussion and learning for both the public and professional photographers alike. We are delighted to welcome our many visiting artists from overseas, interstate and regional NSW to Sydney as we celebrate our 10th anniversary.”
The Festival will present a diverse program of free artist talks, and conversations lead by celebrated industry professionals and international artists. Head On Conversations, a program of six highlight panel discussions, will be presented at the Festival Hub from 4 – 5 May including:
- Recapturing The Audience: Why Is Nobody Paying Attention? | Sat 4 May | 1:30pm-2:45pm
Well known Australian journalist, academic and news presenter Helen Vatsikopoulos, Walkley Award-winning photojournalist David Dare Parker, Caitlin Welch of the International Committee of the Red Cross and acclaimed photographer Oded Wagenstein explore why the power of photography to address global challenges is declining? What is behind this crisis of compassion in an increasingly isolated world? How can we change the intolerance and fear surrounding refugees? Why is nobody paying attention?
- Indigenous (In)Justice: Confronting Deaths in Custody | Saturday 4 May | 3:00pm-4:15pm
Join journalist, television presenter, media commentator, author and public speaker Liz Deep-Jones and NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge, among others, discussing deaths in custody. What’s going on behind closed doors? How can you shed light on a topic kept in the dark?
- The Naked Truth: Exploring Sexual Identity from Behind the Lens | Sunday 5 May | 10:30am-11:45am
Celebrated international photographers Roni Ben Ari, known for her work documenting sex workers across the world, and Soraya Zaman, author and photographer behind the acclaimed American Boys project, among others, explore how photographers can gain trust and access the most private details of a subject’s life asking what does modern sexuality look like? How do people express their sexual identity? And why is it so important?
- Protecting Your Work; Digital Filing & Archiving, Copyright and Moral Rights | Sun 5 May | 12:00pm-12:45pm
Join Synology and industry professionals as they discuss: Has the way we store our photos changed with Artificial intelligence software? Does using a NAS give you the safety you need? How do you work with cloud-based services? What do the proposed changes to Australian copyright law really mean? In today’s social media world, do moral rights have a larger role to play?
- Truths, Lies and Censorship | Sun 5 May | 1:45pm-3:00pm
Join celebrated journalist, international commentator and lecturer in journalism, Alison Stieven-Taylor and acclaimed Australian photographer and the National Art School’s Head of Public Programs and senior lecturer Ella Dreyfus as they discuss how artists can approach a project from a new perspective and find more success. Where is the line between the truth and a lie? How can you turn the mundane into the extraordinary?
- The Power of Exclusion: Should There Be Segregation in The Arts? | Sun 5 May | 3:15pm-4:30pm
A panel of leading industry professionals asks: are we trying too hard to be inclusive? What can be gained when you shut out other points of view? Can you get more funding if you narrow your focus?
The Head On Photo Awards return in 2019 presenting 130 finalists across four categories including Portrait, Landscape, Mobile and Student. The annual Awards offer a prize pool of $60,000 to professional and amateur photographers around the world. Judged anonymously by internationally renowned photographers, picture editors and curators, the Awards are a rewarding platform for both professional and amateur photographers with finalist exhibitions set to tour internationally after the Festival.
The Head On Landscape Prize exhibition will be presented at the NSW Parliament House. In this exhibition Wojciech Kruczynski’s Kalsoy illuminations brings the breathtaking scenery of the Faroe Islands to Sydney, Abir Sultan’s SHIZAFON captures dust rising dramatically over a mock Lebanese village of the Hezbollah militant organization following an explosion during a combat simulation, and Cathy Carter’s Icebergs 2 re-interprets Bondi’s iconic Icebergs pool metaphysically and literally as an iceberg adrift at sea, a human construction now cut off from the land by the effects of global warming.
The Head On Portrait Prize presented at the Festival Hub, Paddington Town Hall features Darren Leigh Robert’s portrait Australian Prime Minister sleeping of former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Sylvia Konior’s self-portrait of a busy mother titled Washing Day and Jouk Oosterhof’s portrait Jasmin (16) of a sixteen-year-old child bride. The finalists of the Head On Mobile Prize, also at the Festival Hub includes Aung Ya’s Among the white umbrellas, which depicts a girl amongst many beautiful handmade umbrellas, and Mike Clement’s Elvis travels economy, an Elvis Presley fan in full costume boarding a train at Sydney’s Central Station.
Finalists for the Head On Student Prize, open to school years K-12, will be presented in the Paddington Reservoir Gardens including James Dryden’s portrait Spilt Milk, focusing on the forced advertising of commercial products and Aimee Sluga’s THE LAST GOODBYE, a touching depiction of the final moments before her grandmother’s death.
For more information about select events and the full 2019 exhibition program visit www.headon.com.au