For the first time in it’s history the world famous World Press Photo Exhibition can be seen in Malta from 14 September- 7 October in St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta. This traveling exhibition, unique in its kind, is the result of a worldwide annual contest on press photography and is brought to Valletta with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Strickland Foundation and TNT local branch in Malta, C&C Express. The official opening of the exhibition is on 13 September.
The World Press Photo Exhibition is an initiative from the World Press Photo, an independent, non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands. Its offices are in Amsterdam, where World Press Photo was founded in 1955. Its main aim is to support and promote internationally the work of professional press photographers. Over the years, World Press Photo has evolved into an independent platform for photojournalism and the free exchange of information. In order to realize its objectives, World Press Photo organises the world’s largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest.
Each year, an independent international jury, consisting of 13 members, judges the entries in 10 different categories, submitted by photojournalists, agencies, newspapers and magazines from all corners of the world. This year’s competition attracted 4,460 photographers from 124 countries. In total 78,083 images were entered in the contest.
This year’s exhibition contains about 200 photographs. It is an annual public showcase for photojournalism comprising the year’s winning photo, together with award-winning images from each of the ten contest categories. The high quality of photojournalism involved is considered to set a standard in the field.
Educational projects also play an important role in World Press Photo’s activities. Seminars and workshops open to individual photographers, photo agencies and picture editors are organized in developing countries. The annual Joop Swart Masterclass, held in the Netherlands, is aimed at talented photographers at the start of their careers. They receive practical instruction and professional advice from leaders in the profession. At the end of October a debate will be organised at the University of Malta on ethics in the media. Among the participants are Jerry Lampen, a Dutch professional press photographer and jury member of the World Press Photo contest and Professor Father Chircop from the University of Malta.
The idea to get the World Press Photo Exhibition to Malta came from a group of enthusiastic young amateur photographers and art promoters in Malta called Phos. They organised the exhibition in close co-operation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and St James Cavalier. Besides the exhibition they came up with the idea of the debate at the University of Malta.
The exhibition is admittance free. St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity is open every day of the week from 10am an 9pm.