World Press Photo 2024 Kyoto to be held in Japan for the first time since 2021
The World Press Photo 2024 Kyoto Exhibition (organised by the World Press Photo 2024 Kyoto Executive Committee) will be held from Saturday November 30 to Sunday December 29, 2024 at the former printing factory on the basement floor of the Kyoto Shimbun Building.
World Press Photo is an exhibition that displays the winning works of the World Press Photo Contest, which is held by the World Press Photo Foundation, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This year approximately 60,000 photos and projects were submitted by approximately 4,000 people from 130 countries and regions, and works by 30 prize winners will be exhibited.
World Press Photo, also known as the “World Press Photo Exhibition” in Japan, has been held for many years but its last event was in 2021.
This photo exhibition will be a place to connect with what is happening around the world. Set in the former printing factory where domestic and international news was printed every day, we hope that it will be an opportunity to think about the power of photography and the role of journalism.
■ Event overview:
- Exhibition Title: World Press Photo 2024 Kyoto
- Exhibition Period: November 30 (Sat) – December 29 (Sun) 2024 *Closed on December 15th (Sun)
- Time: 10:00 AM – 18:00PM
- Venue: Kyoto Shimbun Building, B1F, Former Printing Plant
- Admission: Free
- Organiser: World Press Photo 2024 Kyoto Executive Committee (The Kyoto Shimbun, World Press Photo Foundation)
- Special Sponsorship: FUJIFILM Corporation
- Special Cooperation: KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival
- Grant: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Support: Kyoto City, KBS Kyoto, FM Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
- For inquiries please contact the Kyoto Shimbun COM Business Promotion Bureau
- Phone: 075 – 225 – 9757 (weekdays 10:00am – 17:00pm)
- Email: wpp2024kyoto@mb.kyoto-np.co.jp
- X, Facebook, Instagram accounts: @wcc2024kyoto
■ About the World Press Photo Contest
The World Press Photo Contest is one of the most prestigious photography competitions in the world. It is organised by the World Press Photo Foundation, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and annually selects award-winning press photographs taken and produced worldwide during the previous year. The contest began in 1955, and this year marks its 67th edition. In its inaugural year, there were submissions from 42 photographers from 11 countries, but this year, approximately 60,000 photos and projects were submitted by around 4,000 participants from 130 countries and regions.
Winners are selected in four categories—Singles, Stories, Long-Term Projects, and Open Format—for each of the six regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Central America, South America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania). Following this, the global winners for the four categories are chosen. In addition to these 24 works, several Honourable Mentions and Jury Special Awards were selected this year.
■ About This Year’s Exhibition Works
The “World Press Photo of the Year” was awarded to Palestinian photojournalist Mohamed Salem for his photograph titled “A Palestinian Woman Holding the Body of Her Niece.” The image captures Inas Abu Maamr holding her niece Sally, who was killed when an Israeli missile struck their home on October 17 last year. Due to the Israeli blockade, Salem could not attend the awards ceremony in the Netherlands and instead appeared via a video message. Standing in front of a destroyed building, Salem spoke about the many journalists who have been killed and the current difficulties in obtaining food, water, and medicine, stating, “I hope the photos you see will serve as pressure to stop this war.”
Other global winners include “Story of the Year,” which was awarded to South African photographer Lee-Ann Olwage for her work “The Value of Freedom.” The Long-Term Project Award went to Venezuelan photographer Alejandro Cegarra for “The Two Walls,” while the Open Format Award was won by Ukrainian photographer Julia Kochetova for her piece “War is Personal.”
Additionally, Kazuhiko Matsumura from the Kyoto Shimbun won the Asia region prize in the Open Format category with his series of 30 photographs titled “Heartstrings,” part of the ongoing series “Living with Dementia in the Era of 7 Million.” Matsumura’s work expressed the emotions and symptoms of individuals living with dementia through both photography and text, aiming to portray a vision of Japanese society as it faces a super-aging population.
The exhibition also highlights the devastating human losses caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the military repression of civilians in Myanmar. Environmental crises such as droughts in the Amazon, wildfires in Canada, and rising sea levels in the U.S. and Fiji—stemming from climate change—are also made vividly apparent.
■ Crowdfunding campaign
The impetus for the ‘revival’ of the ‘World Press Photo’ exhibition in Japan was the winning of this year’s contest for the Kyoto Shimbun’s serial photo series “The Era of Seven Million People – Living with Dementia.” Prize-winning Kyoto Shimbun journalist Matsumura Kazuhiko discussed holding the exhibition in Japan with World Press photo Foundation exhibition director Babette Wallendorf, and it was decided to hold the exhibition in the former printing factory in the basement of the Kyoto Shimbun building, where the newspaper was once printed.
To cover the costs of holding the exhibition, the organising committee will be raising funds through crowdfunding. For this exhibition, the committee has received special permission from the World Press Photo Foundation to import prints from the world premiere exhibition held this spring and summer in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where the Foundation is headquartered. Donations received will be used for transportation costs, venue setup costs, etc.
Crowdfunding website: https://the-kyoto.en-jine.com/