OPEN CALL:WMA Masters 2017/18 Transition
The WMA Masters is a non-profit photography award aiming to nurture the growth of photography as an art form in Hong Kong, as well as stimulate dialogue and foster community awareness on socially relevant issues of critical importance to Hong Kong. The WMA Masters welcomes photography submissions from all over the world on this year’s theme of TRANSITION. Images must relate to the theme and be made in or relate to Hong Kong. The deadline for submission is 15/9/2017 (12:59pm Hong Kong time; GMT + 8:00).
From now till 15/917, the WMA Masters invites both international and Hong Kong artists and image-makers to submit photographic works. The visual content must be related to Hong Kong and the chosen theme, “Transition”. Finalists will be selected by a panel of international judges and their works will be exhibited in Hong Kong in spring 2018. A full-colour catalogue will be published to coincide with the exhibition.
The WMA Masters will also host a series of talks, panels, and seminars during the exhibition period. The winner of WMA Masters will receive a cash prize of HKD 250,000. Each finalist will receive HKD 15,000.
The WMA Masters’ international panel of judges comprises industry leaders in photography, art, publishing, and the non-profit sector. They include Zoher Abdoolcarim, Jacqueline Francis, Yumi Goto, Kevin Lee, Leung Po-shan Anthony, Gladys Li, SC, JP and Sandra Philips.
About Transition: transform, adapt, adjust, alter, metamorphose. Transitions are the moments leading up to change. Sometimes they’re brief, other times they’re long processes. In language, transitions make our writing flow. In science, they’re the movement from one state of matter to another. In nature, they’re the graduation from one stage in a life cycle to a different phase. Transitions occur in politics, in gender, in seeking asylum. Hong Kong itself represents many forms of transition in areas such as housing, education, careers, immigration, healthcare and ageing. And while some would say these transitions have everything to do with returning Hong Kong’s sovereignty to China, others may see no connection at all.
About the WMA Programme series: The WMA Programme series was established to balance the celebration of artistic talent with the fulfillment of a social purpose. Its non-profit programmes, including the WMA Masters, WMA Commission, WMA Open, WMA Film and WMA Student, have been encouraging dialogue among creators and the public through photography, essays, and education with selected annual themes that explore social issues in Hong Kong. WMA Masters, an annual photography competition, has explored the topics on “Poverty,” “Air,” “Waste,” “Identity” and “Mobility.” The theme for this year’s cycle is “Transition”.
For more details, please read: masters.wma.hk
Application Deadline: 15/9/17