Sharjah: Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, the Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council (SMC), has honored the exceptional achievements made by photographers at the 8th edition of the Xposure International Photography Awards.
The award ceremony provided a forum for honoring and recognizing the outstanding talents present in the world of photography.
Winners and runners-up in ten different categories, together with an overall winner, were announced in front of Tariq Saeed Allay, Director-General of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB). Each of the winners received a portion of the remarkable prize pool of $60,000.
Alena Grom of Ukraine took home the grand award for her powerful photo, “Stolen Spring IV,” which captured the effects of conflict and the seasons that are lost. The judging panel was impressed and paid attention to this deeply touching picture, which also demonstrated the photographer’s ability to portray optimism and resiliency.
Organized by the SGMB, the 2023-2024 edition of the Xposure International Photography Awards received over 25,000 entries from 190 countries, including China, India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Egypt, the USA, and the United Kingdom.
With categories ranging from Architectural to Nature and Landscape Photography and the newly added “See Sharjah” category, the awards aim to celebrate and recognize visual storytellers through a diverse range of subject matter.
As many as 32 qualified industry professionals and critics served as impartial judges and the awards received a worldwide response, including dedicated awards for Junior Photography to encourage the next generation of photographers. As an extra level of recognition, winners and runner-ups also received feedback and review from five of the respected jury members, namely Eric Meola, Giles Clarke, Britta Jaschinski, Katrin Elsmann, and Wiktoria Michalska.