Xposure 2020-2021 Awards Announces Shortlist Of 70 Photographers In 10 Categories

The Xposure International Photography Festival has announced the names of contenders who have been shortlisted for the fifth edition of its annual international photography and short film awards under 10 diverse categories, spanning several genres and formats.

Organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), the 2020-2021edition of the global Xposure Awards attracted 25,384 submissions from 125 countries, the highest in its five-year history. The break-up of entries continent wise is: Asia, 16,728; Europe, 6,335; North America, 881; Africa, 929;
South America, 301; and Oceanic, 210.

The highest number of submissions was in the Travel category, at 6,012. Portraiture was the second most popular with 4,451 entries, while Photojournalism received 2,469.

The following are the nominees in the Travel category: F. Dilek Uyar (Turkey); Chin Leong Teo (Singapore); Wei Fu (Thailand); Shenghua Yang (China): Mingqian Wang (China): Azim Khan Ronnie (Bangladesh); and Aditya Vardhan (India).

Portraiture category: Pranab Basak (India); Kevin Shi (USA); Ly Hoang Long (Vietnam); Asim Ijaz (Pakistan); Hossein Fardinfard (The Netherlands); Zay Yar Lin (Myanmar); Svetlin Yosifov (Bulgaria); and Pingyao Song (China).

Architecture category: Zameer Abdul Majeed (UAE); Gerdie Hutomo (Indonesia); Fatima Qader (Bahrain); Katherine Young (Great Britain); Anna Wacker (Germany); Mohammed Almusabi, (UAE); and Alexandr Bormotin (Russia).

Drone category: Mostafa Ajjawi (UAE); Albert Dros (The Netherlands); Sergey Farenyuk (Russia); Ahmad Abbasi(Iran); Mohammad Reza Masoumi (Iran); Phuoc Hoai Nguyen (Vietnam); and Admin Khánh (Vietnam).

Junior category: Abdullah Alraese; Ayush Krishnan; Faseeh Fawaz; Joel Josy; Ayush Krishnan; Abdulaziz Almansoori; and Maitha Qassim, (all from the UAE).

Landscape category: Sheng Liu (China); Pawel Zygmunt (Ireland); Zhengdong Kuai (China); Wong Choon Keat (Myanmar); Kevin Krautgartner (Germany); Callie Chee (Australia); and Janne Kahila (Finland).

Macro category: Andi Abdul Halil (Indonesia); Chin Leong Teo (Singapore); Pedro Luis Saiz (Spain); Riad Hamzi (Saudi Arabia); Alexander Tripolski (Germany); Petar Sabol (Hungary); and Ajar Setiadi (Indonesia).

Photojournalism category: Marina Serebryakova (Belarus); Alain Schroeder (Belgium); Mohammed Zaanoun (Palestine); Tariq Zaidi (Great Britain); Amit Moulick (India); Debarchan Chatterjee (India); and Simon Moricz-Sabjan (Hungary).

Sharjah GovernmentOpencategory: Mohamed Noufal; Abdullah Aref; Mohamed Hassan; Ahmed Al-Ali; Ahmed Almheiri; and Fahmi Alshalili.

Short Film category: Marc Ressang (China); Zahra Kababian (Iran); Guido Gazzilli (Italy); Tripty Tamang Pakhrin (Nepal); Florian Ledoux (Norway); Marek Skrzecz (Poland); and Issam Taachit (Algeria).

The winners will be announced during the 5th edition of Xposure to be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from February 10 – 13, 2021.

One winner and one runner-up will be chosen in each category. One overall winner will be chosen across categories based on the highest score achieved. All shortlisted nominees will feature in the Xposure festival exhibition.

HE Tariq Saeed Allay: This edition is an absolute standout for Xposure Awards
Announcing the list of shortlisted nominees, HE Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of SGMB, said: “The act of making pictures can be thrilling, addictive, and undeniably fulfilling. The Xposure International Photography Festival celebrates this art through a unique competition which has grown into a globally coveted platform for both aspiring artists and established professionals to gain widespread exposure, win prizes and have their work celebrated on a prestigious platform. For the industry, on the other hand, the award is now a key medium for discovering contemporary photography talents practicing in a variety of key categories.”

He added: “The number of countries from where submissions are being received for the Xposure competition has been increasing over the years, and this edition has been an absolute stand out on this regard – not only has it recorded the highest number of submissions, the award has also attracted entries from 125 countries, signalling the entry of 15 new countries into this contest. All these achievements speak volumes about Xposure’s strengthening stature among photography professionals worldwide. It is particularly a sign of the faith amateur photographers have in Xposure as a launchpad for their artistic excellence and talent without bias.”

The Xposure International Photography Festival has grown to establish itself as the most significant photography and imaging show in the MENA region, and is widely attended by the world’s most acclaimed photographers, leading media and film professionals, photography enthusiasts, students, and educators.