Australia's largest photographic event, The Head On Photo Festival is returning
against the famed backdrop of Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach for its 14th year,
featuring a bigger than ever collection of beautiful, eclectic and thought-provoking
images.
With a record 702 emerging and professional photographers from Australia and
across the globe, this year's festival will deliver the annual photographic competition
with $70,000 in prizes as well as more than 100 exhibitions across the city.
Head On Photo Festival creative director and founder Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, says
the event has had an influx of entries this year, and they have accepted one of the
highest numbers of works to date.
''What's unique about this festival - and unseen in any other gallery in Australia - is
that we aren't selecting the artists, rather the artwork based on its composition and
merit alone,'' says Rosenzveig, who worked as a photojournalist in the Middle East
and then moved into film and television work.
''The majority of portrait competitions are judged on the celebrity of the photographer
or subject, meaning so many incredible works are not seen,'' he adds.
''At Head On the pieces are submitted blindly, so the selection panel doesn't know
who the photographer is. We don't care where they went to school, or where they
have exhibited before. We're trying to eliminate that bias,'' he adds.
''Through this process we have discovered a lot of new talent and launched
photographers into hugely successful professional careers.''
It's that difference which sets Head On apart from other exhibitions, and it's now
grown to become the biggest photo festival in the country and a significant event on
the global arts calendar.
Rosenzveig reflects on his eagerness to create the event after The Citigroup Private
Bank Australian Photographic Portraiture Prize (no longer operating), once held in
conjunction with the Archibald Prize, rejected his submission, and he noticed the
exhibited subjects or photographers were all well-known.
''This approach makes it very difficult for up and coming talent to break in. Right from
the start, we decided we wouldn't look at the names.''
''With photographers from around the world, we find the festival's themes usually
reflect the issues that have dominated the globe in the last 12 months.
''We have five exhibits on Ukraine, one centred around a bikie gang in Iraq, a body of
work which documents the logging industry in Tasmania, the incredible Lonka project
showing the faces of Holocaust survivors decades on from World War Two as well
as pieces that focus on aging, motherhood and anorexia.
''Sometimes an exhibition shines light on a group of people most of us hardly ever
think about,'' he says.
The annual competition celebrates photographic excellence across four categories:
Portrait, Landscape, Environmental and a special category dedicated to school
students behind the lens, with a total prize pool of $70,000, as well as equipment.
Head On Photo Festival runs from November 10 to December 3.
It's estimated the festival will attract around 400,000 people along Bondi's
promenade alone
