About Head On Photo Festival

The inaugural Head On Photo Festival will take place in Sydney from  April 29 to June 5.

This photo festival is an exciting initiative involving galleries, restaurantsDean Golja and cafes around Sydney exhibiting local and international photography. Public galleries, including the Museum of Sydney and the Manly Art Gallery will be taking part, as well as a large number of commercial galleries.

Keeping the same philosophy as Head On Portrait Prize, the festival aims to attract a wide range of excellent photography from Australia and overseas that speaks for itself, regardless of whether the photographer is well known or not.

Centring on the flagship Head On Portrait Photography Prize, the  
festival will feature numerous events for anyone interested in photography. These will include 81 shows in 67 galleries across Sydney showcasing the work of over 300 local and international photographers.
 
Other festival events include outdoor exhibitions, a two-day seminar and a mini trade show, workshops and a series of multi-media slideshow screenings.

Head On Portrait Prize was founded by Moshe Rosenzveig in 2004 as an independent national photographic portrait competition and has since grown exponentially. The show’s main selection criteria are the quality and impact of the image rather than the celebrity of the photographer or subject. As a result, Head On is regarded by the arts community and reviewers as the most critically important photographic portrait prize in the country.

This year's judges were National Gallery of Victoria senior curator - photography Dr Isobel Crombie, prize-winning photographer Anthony Browell, Australian agent for photo agency Vu Isabelle Rouvillois and Head On Curator, Moshe Rosenzveig.

Past judges include art world luminaries such as Magnum photographer  Trent Parke, multi award winning photographer Narelle Autio, Good Weekend Picture Editor Judith Love, Suellen Symonsmulti award-winning photographer Stephen Dupont, former Co-director of Stills Gallery and current freelance curator Sandy Edwards, Sherman Galleries Director Dr Gene Sherman, The Sydney Morning Herald photography critic Robert McFarlane and Russell Storer Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art at the time (now Contemporary Asian Art Curator, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane), Sandra Byron and Michael Nagy.

Head On has been running on a very limited budget raised through entry fees and thanks to the goodwill of many people. It has been supported by Canon, Adobe, Momento, Epson, Sandisk, Focal Press, ACDSee, MailChimp, Gekko Images, Pixel Perfect Prolab, Arthere, Agileware, Frankel Lawyers, Lowepro, Dragon Image, Kayell, ColourProcess, Le Bukhara, Griffith University - The Centre for Documentary Practice, National Art School, Buy-n-Shoot.com, Shaw Vineyard Estate, Arts Hotel, Australian Centre for Photography and The Australian Institute of Professional Photography.
 
The Head On Foundation is a non-profit organisation aiming to promote photography through cultural activities. The Foundation has established a fund to benefit the community.

Head On Reviews

'...Head On is really the only opportunity to see the best portraiture work the country has to offer' Good Weekend

'Now in its fourth year, it [Head On] is already poised to outlast the show that provided its impetus.' Art Gallery Guide Australia

'Head On photographic portrait prize has grown beyond the expectations of its founder Moshe Rosenzveig to become one of the nation's major photomedia exhibitions' Wentworth Courier

'The fourth exhibition...shows a fascinating cross-section of practice from photographers new and established' Weekend Australian