UPDATE, May 2024: Head On Photo Festival has now closed. Meanwhile, take a look at the incredible new images we discovered at the 2024 National Photography Prize.
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Australia’s leading annual photography event is back for its 14th edition, with a record 110 exhibition locations featuring more than 700 photographers. You can catch an eye full for yourself as it lights up various places in Sydney from November 10, through to December 3.
Just like in previous years, you can explore outdoor exhibitions in the beautiful, subterranean Paddington Reservoir Gardens, as well as along the beautiful Bondi Beach Promenade – where Head On is taking up an increased physical footprint, packed with more works than ever before. There is also a multitude of eclectic indoor photography showings at the Muse in TAFE Ultimo and other venues.
With emerging and professional photographers from across the globe taking part, you can expect Head On's selections to reflect the biggest global issues that have had our attention over the last 12 months. There are five exhibits that capture life in Ukraine, including American photographer and veteran Gary Ramage’s 'The Consequences of War', and Italian-born photojournalist Diego Fedele’s 'East of the Dnipro River', both picturing the heartbreaking aftermath of Russia’s invasion.
Among the global highlights there's the incredible 'Lonka project', showcasing 455 individual portraits of Holocaust survivors decades on from World War Two; along with American lifestyle photographer Barbara Peacock’s unfiltered 'American Bedroom', capturing what goes on behind the doors of American dwellings, paired with poetic statements from each subject.
For something closer to home, there’s celebrated Australian photographer Matthew Newton's 'The Forest Wars', which is a 20-year documentation of the logging industry in Tasmania; a creative group exhibition 'Australia + Fashion Photography', which showcases cultural artifacts from the 1970s to recent times; and former touring musician and producer Ali MC’s 'H: A Love Story', which is a photographic audiobook and AV project about heroin and homelessness in Melbourne.
You can also pick and choose from Head On's free program of talks with exhibiting artists, conversations, and workshops where you can hone your skills. This includes a special ticketed screening of Vischniac, a documentary about the life of pioneering microscopic photographer Roman Vishniac, accompanied by live music and a post-screening Q&A.
The Head On Photo Awards also return for 2023, offering a prize pool of $70,000 to professional and amateur photographers worldwide. The winners are to be announced at the Festival’s virtual launch party on Friday, November 10. Check out the full program here.