At the World Photography Organisation we’ve moved this year’s Sony World Photography Awards results to be completely online with our main focus on our first, and very special, winners announcement video. In our current Covid-dominated world, the idea of traveling to the UK capital to attend a ceremony with 600+ people and then view an exhibition with thousands of visitors in it’s three-week run just wasn’t, at this time, possible.
Unable to stage our traditional ‘in real life’ celebrations, we decided to take stock, reevaluate and do things differently for 2021. Seeing this time as an opportunity to craft something new, we wanted to find a new way to galvanise the attention of our global audience through the biggest event in our calendar. Speaking about this decision to move to video for our 2021 announcement, CEO and Founder of the World Photography Organisation Scott Gray says:
‘Due to the current restrictions around the pandemic we could not run our usual annual London-based Awards ceremony, exhibition and related events and so we looked for new ways to celebrate this years' successful photographers. With our terrific online community, video felt like the best medium for us to showcase the winners and deliver global exposure for their work. It’s incredible to think how many people are now able to enjoy and see these stories and images through our digital initiatives like the announcement videos and virtual exhibitions. We really do feel this is an important step in connecting and strengthening the Awards’ worldwide community.’
In the winners announcement video (take a look above!), TV and radio presenter Konnie Huq reveals the big winners in the Youth, Open, Student and Professional competitions – plus the Professional competition category winners. There’s also a special mention to the 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Photography recipient Graciela Iturbide. Expect to watch interviews, behind-the-scenes clips and reactions from winning photographers which together present a very special 30-minute video celebrating the stories and photos that have captured our world this past year.
The video is accompanied by a varied digital programme of online initiatives to bring you all the exciting stories and photography that the Awards has to offer. The programme includes a virtual exhibition, a print sale of standout images from the Open competition and National & Regional Awards, the free downloadable Sony World Photography Awards 2021 book plus our 60-minute documentary film A Year in Photos from the Sony World Photography Awards 2021.
Aware the public are becoming digitally fatigued with numerous OVRs and digital offerings, we felt it was best to focus on six specific online initiatives celebrating today’s best contemporary photography. Our aim was to create a carefully curated programme providing a rich resource for our audience. You can view the full programme here.
DON’T MISS IT! Enjoy a virtual globetrot with our documentary film A Year in Photos from the Sony World Photography Awards 2021, available to watch from 6pm CET tonight! The film will be posted here!
