A visitor at the exhibition featuring winning entries from the Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) from the last 10 years. — Photo Thu Ngân
HCM CITY — More than 70 photos of Vietnamese and foreign photographers, which are the winning entries from the Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) from the last 10 years, are being presented at a two-day exhibition in HCM City Museum of Fine Arts in District 1 of HCM City.
Starting from Friday, the exhibition, which is presented by Sony Vietnam, aims to encourage recognition of Vietnamese photographers and bring the artworks closer to the public.
The gallery's installation is divided into three sections for those who share an interest in photography.
The first area displays works of Vietnamese photographers who won the "National Award" in the 10 years from 2014 to 2023.
Next is an area to screen some short films by the winners of two other Sony film competitions, the World of Film contest and the Sony Future competition.
Finally, there is an expanded area with winning photos of international photographers who won at SWPA 2023 and other works by excellent Vietnamese photographers who have been nominated and won SWPA awards in the last 10 years.
At the exhibition, there is displayed the winning picture of the "National Award Winner" category at SWPA 2023 by Vietnamese photographer Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện with his work named "Turtle Dream" captured in the Perhentian Sea, Malaysia.
Aside from "Turtle Dream", other famous works by Vietnamese photographers include "Bicycle and blossoms" - first prize in the "National Award" category SWPA 2022 by photographer Nguyễn Phúc Thành taken on a ceramic road in Hà Nội; "Under The Moonlight" - first prize in the Youth Competition (12-19 years old) SWPA 2022 by young photographer Trí Nguyễn and a photograph of dried scad fish - and the best travel photo at the Open SWPA 2021 by female photographer Khánh Phan were also featured at the exhibition.
In addition to the chance to admire the photos, visitors have chance to listen to the photographer’s story about their journey to capture the winning shot.
In addition, a talk with photographer Khánh Phan on the topic "Experience in participating in international photo contests," and a talk with photographers Trần Minh Dũng and Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện on the topic "Turn hobbies and passions into professional photography" are available for visitors to attend.
On the same day, organisers officially announced that the 17th ceremony of the awards show, SWPA 2024, will accept submissions beginning June 1, 2023 until early 2024 with the four categories of professional, open, student, and youth remaining unaltered.
SWPA, which was established by the World Photographic Organisation, is a prestigious photographic competition on a global scale.
With four official competition categories - professional, open competition, student, and youth - the award attracts photographers of all levels, from leading to emerging practitioners.
The awards not only contribute to the development and advancement of photographic culture but also provide valuable opportunities for artists to build their networks, careers, and broaden the conversation around their work.
SWPA is regarded as one of the most important competitions for the global photography community.
In 2023 alone, the competition received a record number of entries, with more than 415,000 submissions from more than 74,000 professional and semi-professional photographers from more than 206 nations worldwide. — VNS
OVietnam