For any art exhibition to celebrate its 10th iteration is an occasion for celebration. The Vantage Point Sharjah is marking such an occasion this year.
The annual photography exhibition begins on Friday at the Sharjah Art Foundation’s Al Hamriyah Studio and it will run until the 11th of December. Vantage Sharjah Point 10’s open call invited artists worldwide to submit their works of visual storytelling and the art form’s ability to capture social realities from multiple perspectives.
More than 450 applicants had expressed their willingness to be a part of the exhibition, among them 66 artists from 34 countries have been selected.
The Vantage Point Photography Award, running in conjunction with the exhibition is set to honor five of the participating photographers, and the winner will receive a cash prize of $5000 while the four runner-ups will each receive $1500. This year’s jury consists of acclaimed photographers Solmaz Daryani, Lamya Gargash, and Sohrab Hura.
In 2013, these exhibitions were launched with the aim of commemorating photography as an artistic medium. Since then the exhibition has evolved into a dynamic medium that embraces all sorts of approaches, from photojournalism to photo essays and experimental works in both digital and analog formats.
Contrasting to general norms, the exhibition is not organized based on categories. However, the long hallways of Al Hamriya Studios that border a central open-air courtyard are lined with photographs that blend with different narratives and themes.
In the previous editions of the exhibition, themes such as architecture and urban landscape, portraiture, and performance were focused on. It’s free to attend the exhibition, however, an advance registration on the official website is mandatory.