The State Library of NSW is set to reopen its eastern galleries this Saturday (15 August) in time to host the World Press Photo Exhibition 2020, making it the only Australian venue to showcase the world’s best photojournalism from 2019.
State Librarian John Vallance said the Library was determined to bring one of its most popular exhibitions to Sydney for the 20th year, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Conflict, the ongoing effects of climate change and Australia’s recent catastrophic bushfires can be seen among more than 150 powerful and evocative images and photo series captured by 44 professional photographers from 24 countries,” Dr Vallance said.
“The coveted Photo of the Year shows a young man, illuminated by mobile phones, reciting protest poetry while demonstrators chant slogans calling for civilian rule, during a blackout in Khartoum, Sudan,” he said.
“This year’s contest honours three Australian photographers, and unsurprisingly the summer bushfires were the subject for two of them.”
Dr Vallance said the Library had COVID-19 protective measures in place in all of its galleries, including sanitising stations and a one-way traffic system, to ensure the health and safety of everyone who visited.
He said the World Press Photo Exhibition 2020 was free and would exhibit from Saturday to 18 October.
