Welcome to Festival Zone for November 2024.
Festival 2025 theme announced
![Sustain [tautinei]](/content/images/logos/AFP25%5FTheme%20social%20square%20off%20white%20A%2D1.jpg)
We are delighted to announce our theme for the 2025 Auckland Festival of Photography.
Start planning and join us for the 2025 edition of the Festival.
In the context of photographic arts, the theme of ‘Sustain’ [tautīnei] examines the intense, often conflicting interplay between human survival, environmental limits, and ethical awareness. It’s a theme that encourages us to question our role within a larger ecological framework and to consider what it means to care for our planet and all forms of life.
To sustain is no longer just about securing resources for ourselves, but encompasses a more holistic vision that balances human needs with the well-being of every entity in our ecosystem. This includes understanding the finite nature of resources in the face of rapid population growth, recognising our impact on fragile environments, and reassessing our relationship with animals in a way that goes beyond traditional human-centric views.
‘Sustain’ [tautīnei] themed submissions can capture the following challenges and tensions, among many others: Indigenous practices or community-based initiatives for environmental justice. Exploration of food security, endangered species, habitat destruction, or vast deforestation that tell the story of loss. Protesters, government officials, legal documents, courtrooms, and natural landscapes under legal protection.
Conversely, projects of renewable energy, permaculture, and conservation areas can reflect hope and ingenuity in addressing resource scarcity. Farmers, community volunteers, fresh produce, reforestation projects, recycling initiatives, and food distribution centres are interwoven. Photographic projects might juxtapose urban and rural life or highlight the isolation and resilience of indigenous communities. Supporting celebrations, rituals, traditional dress, ceremonies, indigenous art, and community gatherings.
Ultimately, ‘Sustain’ [tautinei] in photographic arts asks us to reflect on our collective responsibility. What is the story, a question, and an invitation to envision a world where humans, animals, and ecosystems can coexist and flourish? It is a vision of sustenance not only for our physical needs but for the moral and ethical structures that bond us to everything around us. “To hope is to want something to happen and to believe that it can. It can be a sustaining force” – Lines of Sight, Being and Making with Place doctoral thesis, Wendy Brandon, NZ.
We aim for this theme to provides a lens into the broader narrative of '‘Sustain’ [tautinei], encouraging viewers to experience how interconnected systems support life, culture, and the environment. Together, these perspectives tell a powerful story about the delicate balance needed to sustain both human and natural communities. Image; Crater Hill, Manukau aerial, Auckland Council GIS 2007.
We are open to programming any project created through the medium of photography and encourage active participation from a broad spectrum of artistic talent and practice including established career professionals, image-inspired amateurs and emerging/young photographers.
Auckland Festival of Photography [whakaahua hākari] is NZ's premium international photographic festival, providing a diverse and inclusive platform, for the exchange of ideas, artistic expression, and engagement with photography and visual culture. Open call for submissions for our Festival starts in mid-January, the closing deadline for the expressions of interest is still to be confirmed.
The Festival has been curating an annual suite of themed exhibitions, events and talks since 2014.
Vision - Photography Connecting Communities and People
Asia Pacific Photoforum - Head On Photo Festival
Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2024 announced
In its 44th iteration, Leica Camera AG, was not only a celebration of the winners of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (Davide Monteleone and Maria Guțu) but also a moment to honour the induction of Herlinde Koelbl into the Leica Hall of Fame. The Celebration of Photography was honouring outstanding winners with the internationally renowned photography award, following an elaborate selection process. In a first step, 80 international photography experts from around 50 countries submitted their proposals for LOBA 2024, including our very own founder/CEO, Julia Durkin, for New Zealand.
Davide's Award-winning series, “Critical Minerals – Geography of Energy”, scrutinises the complex geopolitical, social and environmental effects of today’s international energy industry with a focus on renewability.
The excitement about the identities of the winners of the main and the newcomer awards is now over. Once again, the award ceremony was combined with a big celebration at Leica headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany. Congratulations to the winner, Davide Monteleone and Newcomer Award, Maria Guțu, full details on the LOBA website: https://www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/en/winners.html
Maverick: Alex Mao Youth Photography Awards
Auckland Festival of Photography [whakaahua hākari] is delighted to present a curated exhibition, Maverick: Alex Mao Youth Photography Awards Portraits - featuring various ‘edgy and blurry’ portraits from the Alex Mao Youth Photography Award archive 2019-2024.
Often captured while the artists are still discovering, experimenting, refining, and propagating their creative interests in photography, this selection of images reflects these artists traversing their own episodes of creative and technical tumult. Their portraitures, mostly untethered by professional and technical doctrines, distinguish themselves into their own category. Edginess and blurriness evolve into proficient expressions of their subject matter.
Image above by Ava Mae; The Mask (2022 Youth Photo Award entry)
What emerges is over six years of radically expressive stories that often characterises youth portrait photography, and the vigorous technical decisions that express such stories. Whether of themselves, or of another person/character; real people or fictional characters; curated to candid; smudged silhouettes to tack sharp profiles absorbing the first person into their own world. Let this exhibition be a journey into the creative minds lesser seen and give spotlight to some emerging photographic practices within Aotearoa New Zealand. This exhibition was curated by Daniel Ho, Exhibitions Coordinator.
On now at our Pop up gallery, Devonport Wharf arcade, Queens Parade. Wharf interior arcade is open Monday to Sat 5:30am, closes 1130pm Mon to Thurs, closes 1.30am Sat & Sun. Free. Thanks to Auckland Transport.
Indian Photo Festival, Hyderabad, Telegana
The 10th edition of the Indian Photo Festival, India’s longest-running photo festival, will be held in Hyderabad from November 21 to January 5. Visit their website at www.indianphotofest.com to learn more about the programming.
'Never Look Away' ticket giveaway
Auckland Festival of Photography [whakaahua hākari] is giving away 5 x Double Passes to Never Look Away, a film directed by Lucy Lawless.
For your chance to win tickets, please email your name and address to info.photo.festival@xtra.co.nz with the email subject line “Never Look Away giveaway” before 5pm on Monday, 11th November. Good luck!
The unbelievable, yet entirely true, story of a incredible woman comes to vivid light in NEVER LOOK AWAY, the new film about Margaret Moth, a pioneering news camerawoman dedicated to documenting the civilian impact of war, who stared death in the face but refused to look away. Acclaimed actor and activist Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, My Life Is Murder) makes her directorial debut with NEVER LOOK AWAY, a feature documentary that tells the remarkable story of how Margaret Moth lived her life to the absolute fullest while covering war zones for CNN, and paid a significant price.
