16 - 22 May 2002
Issue No.586
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 16 - 22 May 2002 Issue No.586 |
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THE WORLD, OUR WORLD: In the Townhouse Gallery's most recently acquired space, a former paper mill located behind the Annex, the 2002 World Photo Exhibition opened on Sunday.
Promoted as "the best in visual reportage from all over the world" and "a testament to the skills and courage of photographers," this annual event, founded in 1955 and organised by the Netherlands-based World Press Photo Foundation, showcases some 180 out of 49,000 images submitted by photojournalists, publications and agencies -- winners of the 45th World Photo Contest -- and will go on until 29 May, after which it will relocate to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (2-16 June).
"The photographer is the scout," writes Roger Hutchings, the chairman of the jury, "one in the vanguard of intelligence gathering but often frustrated by the lack of interest shown in important issues as the news media is dumped down. In general such people are not sufficiently prized, unlike footballers or B-grade celebrities. We have confused our priorities. Photographers should be recognised for their worth." And the exhibition no doubt contributes to this imperative: images of the contemporary world are striking, moving, by turns humorous and distressing. As powerful visual documents of humanity's ups and downs, many are endearing triumphs.
The prize-winning picture (right) shows a young Ugyur couple being photographed at China's largest Muslim monument, the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, a former Silk Road oasis. The custom, followed by the region's predominantly Muslim inhabitants, provides a reassuringly off-the-wall take on current life in the People's Republic.
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