Dubai Photo Exhibition
By Billy Kung
Today, the question of whether photography is an art form is no longer an issue among art critics, academics, museum institutions, galleries and art collectors. The proliferation of photography exhibitions, festivals, awards competition and workshops, and the ever-present number of galleries showcasing photographers in any one of the major global cities, at any given time, have certainly increased the level of appreciation and awareness for this medium. From March 16 to 19, the first inaugural Dubai Photo Exhibition will join other prestigious photographic events such as the Visa Pour L’Image in Perpignan, Photo Shanghai, Photo San Francisco,the World Press Photo Awards, among others, on the roster of not-to-be-missed photography exhibits within a calendar year.
Organized by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA), and supported by the World Photography Organisation (WPO), the Dubai Photo Exhibition’s ambitious program will showcase 700 works from 129 photographers from 23 different countries, with the UAE, Morocco and Egypt, representing regional and local presence. While each of the 23 countries’ entries are selected by a curator from their respective country, the final selection falls under the direction of the head curator Zelda Cheatle.
