Friday Round Up - 13th February, 2015

This week #dysturb comes to Melbourne, in Sydney Louise Whelan's African/Australians is on show at Customs House, Australian Raphaela Rosella wins at World Press Photo and Photobook Melbourne, Canadian Paul Zizka shows us the beauty of nature and Head On Photo Festival Awards, with a prize pool this year of more than $50,000, calls for entries. And if you're in Melbourne check out the photobook fair at the Centre of Contemporary Photography this weekend as part of Photobook Melbourne.

Taking Photojournalism to the Streets:
#dysturb in Melbourne



Photo by Philip Montgomery - Ferguson, Missouri - November 25, 2014. Riots break out on West Florissant Avenue between Ferguson Avenue and Chambers Road following the news that the St. Louis County grand jury has decided to not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown. © Benjamin Petit

This week #dysturb's Pierre Terdjman and Benjamin Girette flew in to Melbourne from Paris for the inaugural Photobook Melbourne Festival. The pair will spend the next nine days pasting large format black and white posters of photographs by some of the world's leading photojournalists. I caught up with them today and my interview will be published here next week. 

#dysturb will be popping up in the inner city suburbs of Fitzroy, Footscray and Brunswick. Keep your eyes peeled for these fantastic images that are literally taking photojournalism to the streets. To find out more visit the website. 

Exhibition:
Louise Whelan - African/Australians

Australia’s reputation as a multicultural society has been tarnished in recent times by the antics of our politicians, yet Australians in general are a welcoming bunch who recognise the amazing contribution that migrants have made to our country over the decades. Without the diversity of our multicultural communities, and our Indigenous peoples, this nation would be the equivalent of plain, white bread.

Celebrating this multiplicity is at the heart of the portraits that feature in a new exhibition by Sydney photographer Louise Whelan: African/Australians. This body of work is part of a larger project Louise has been working on for several years – to document more than 180 nationalities that live in New South Wales (NSW). Initially commissioned under the auspices of the State Library of NSW, the project has now expanded to include others states such as Queensland and Western Australia. There is also a book, New Settlers, which was released in 2013. 

‘African/Australians’ is the next instalment in a project that she says continues to evolve “just as we are as a nation”. These portraits feature people from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan and South Sudan, encapsulating the diversity of Australia’s African migrant population.

African/Australians – Louise Whelan
Until 22 March, 2015
Customs House
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Sydney

Awards:

World Press Photo 

& Photobook Melbourne Winner 

Yesterday the winners of this year's World Press Photo Awards were announced. Australian Raphaela Rosella, from Nimbin, won in the Portraits category for "Laurinda waits in her purple dress for the bus that will take her to Sunday School."

She was also the winner in the Australian Photobook of the Year Award for her unpublished work, We Met A Little Early But I get to Love You Longer, a book concerning teenage pregnancy. This Award is part of Photobook Melbourne and sponsored by Momento Pro. 

Photo Essay:

Paul Zizka - Frozen Bubbles

Canadian photographer Paul Zizka has captured this natural phenomenon of methane gas bubbles in frozen lakes in Canada. Nature is truly remarkable. 

(C) All images Paul Zizka. See more of his work here. 

Reminder:
Call for Entries

Head On Photo Festival
Closing Date: 1st March, 2015

One of the world’s most prestigious photo festivals, Head On is calling for photographers to compete for prizes across five categories: Portrait, Landscape, Mobile, Moving Image and Students. Professional and emerging photographers, photo journalists and artists are encouraged to submit to the Head On Photo Awards.

Across 5 categories, 16 judges, 160 finalists and $50 000 in prizes, the Head On Awards represent a global selection of the best emerging and established photography. Our anonymous judging ensures each work is selected solely on its merit rather than the celebrity of the photographer. Visit the website here for details.