One of Sydney’s most popular annual exhibitions, World Press Photo brings together the most astonishing, thought-provoking and often beautiful images published by photojournalists in the past twelve months. This year, due to restrictions relating to you-know-what, the State Library will be the only venue in the country to play host to the collection.
The exhibition trains its eye across a variety of subjects, from nature photography to snapshots from the frontlines of war to portraits and spectacular candid shots. It features more than 150 of the most spectacular images from 2019, submitted by 44 photographers hailing from 24 countries.
The prestigious Photo of the Year Award was won by Yasuyoshi Chiba for a photograph taken on June 19, 2019. It shows a young man by the light of mobile phones, reciting protest
poetry in a government-imposed blackout attempting to suppress protests in Khartoum, Sudan. An Australian photographer, Matthew Abbott, was awarded second prize in the Spot News category for his portfolio of images which include his remarkable and widely shared image of a kangaroo silhouetted against the ruins of a burning house near Lake Conjola in NSW, captured during the summer bushfire disaster of 2019-20.
The exhibition is free and can be viewed at the State Library of NSW on Macquarie Street,
from 15 August to 18 October 2020. Hygiene and strict physical distancing measures will be in place.