NIKON-WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION – Fest Centre From 21 Dec

Heartbreak and triumph, jubilation and devastation: it’s all on show at the Nikon-Walkley Press Photography Exhibition, featuring works by Australia’s most outstanding photojournalists.Adelaide Festival Centre brings this striking exhibition to the Artspace Gallery from 21 December 2013 to 9 February 2014.

The Nikon-Walkley Awards recognise excellence in Australian photojournalism and each year, more than 1000 photographs are considered for selection in the annual competition – the pinnacle of achievement for Australian press photographers judged by industry experts.

Awarded annually in November, The Nikon-Walkley Awards were judged in five categories including ‘News Photography’, ‘Daily Life’, ‘Sport’, ‘Photographic Essay’, ‘and the ‘Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year’. There are also Nikon-Walkley prizes for ‘Portrait’ and ‘Community/Regional Photography’.

Winners and finalists for the 2013 Nikon-Walkley Awards for Excellence were recently announced along with the inaugural ‘Photo of the Year’ award winner. Barat Ali Batoor won the first Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year award for his poignant image of asylum seekers emerging from below decks to catch a breath of fresh air on a boat bound for Australia. Drawn from his photographic essay about the journey of Hazara asylum seekers to Australia, which also won a Nikon-Walkley award, the image was published in The Global Mail and was a great example of capturing a powerful moment.

“It is a journey of sudden midnight departures, long road trips, surreptitious transactions, treks through jungles and terror at the sea,” Batoor said of his winning photo essay.

Nikon Australia Brand Marketing Manager Kylie Dredge said this year’s finalists reflected an amazing series of images from talented photographers around the country.

“Once again entrants have produced newsworthy images that are both inspiring and of incredible quality,” she said.

The exhibition is open to the public and gives audiences a glimpse into the outstanding moments in sport, daily life and news reportage captured during 2013.

On Thursday 23 January 2014 the winner of the 2013 Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year Award, Kate Geraghty of Fairfax Media, will give a special talk in the Artspace Gallery.