(Sony A55)Remember an old post about a photography talk in Hong Kong by a UK photographer on his Don't Call Me Urban project? As I wrote the talk was sort of a kickoff event for the big thing to come: the first annual WYNG Masters Award for Photography. Now the 2012 contest is on (actually submission can be made starting from yesterday)!
If you have taken part in enough number of photo contests and wish to do something meaningful, read on.
Supported by WYNG FOUNDATION (locally incorporated in law), the WYNG MASTERS AWARD for Photography is a non-profit project initiated to spark public awareness and support interest in socially relevant subjects. The intention is to stimulate discussion and encourage social responsibility on important issues in Hong Kong through the medium of PHOTOGRAPHY. The WYNG Masters Award theme for the 2012 inaugural contest is POVERTY.
The reasons I am recommending this to you are (1) this is a meaningful endeavour; (2) the cash prize is hefty; and (3) one of the directors of WYNG is the outspoken Christine Loh, a respected personality in the local political and social scenes, meaning: this project is going to make some substantial impact on the society.
And you don't have to pay a fee to take part in it. In fact, don't ever join any contest which asks for an entrance fee. Dare I say that those people only wish to make money out of the participants. Be wise.
On the submission webpage, it says, "poverty is a global issue. Over a decade ago, world leaders at the UN Millennium Summit pledged to 'End poverty by 2015'. With just three years left, they will not meet their commitment. Perhaps surprisingly, Hong Kong too has a serious poverty problem. Amidst great affluence, 18.1% of the population struggles to make ends meet. Images of the personal and social impact of poverty are everywhere."
So this is the statement and idea behind the 2011 contest. If you have tasted poverty yourself or met people living in poverty, this theme certainly has a magetic effect on you?
For details and to make your submissions, head over there. Or have a quick go with the following gist I made of the process:
WYNG Masters Award commences with an international open call for submissions of photographic works that satisfy two criteria – that the work must be photographed in Hong Kong or is about Hong Kong and that the work is related in some way to the concept of POVERTY. The submission period will run from May 31 to August 31, 2012.
Finalists for the WYNG Masters Award will be chosen by a jury of five professionals and announced in December 2012 in Hong Kong. Finalists' works will be included in a published catalogue and in an exhibition in Hong Kong in April 2013. The jury will gather in Hong Kong to choose the recipient of the WYNG Masters Award. The recipient of the award will be announced at the official opening of the WYNG Masters Award finalists’ exhibition.
The WYNG Masters Award recipient will receive a cash award of HK$250,000. The award-winner will be announced at the exhibition. The WYNG Masters Award program includes an additional component – the WYNG Poverty Project. The WYNG Poverty Project recipient will receive a sum of HK$250,000 to develop, with the WYNG Photography Project Trustees, a photographic project highlighting a subject or theme related to poverty in the context of Hong Kong, one of the world’s most dynamic urban centres. The Board of Advisors will recommend to the Trustees one person from amongst the WYNG Masters Award finalists. The recipient will be announced at the finalists’ exhibition.
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There was a "fringe" popular photo contest (winner is to scoop a cash prize equivalent to a X-Pro 1 with lens, i.e. HK$20,000) which was closed but the voting is still on until this Sunday. Voters enjoy a chance for some prizes IF I was not mistaken. (I didn't take part in the contest/ voting coz I had a bad personal experience with doing the final selection thro' public voting - just a personal pet peeve. So go ahead and do justice to the the winner)
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