Photo by Kim Tonelli, courtesy Head On Photo Festival

Australia’s largest photographic event, Head On Photo Festival is returning to Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach for its 15th year, with a stunning array of 34 free exhibitions along the beachfront, bringing thought-provoking images to an estimated 400,000 visitors over three weeks.

The works of more than 600 emerging and professional photographers blindly selected from a record 4,000 entries from 52 countries will be on show November 9 to December 1, with more than $80,000 in prizes and 90 exhibitions across the city. 

Head On Photo Festival Director and founder Moshe Rosenzveig OAM said the festival is all about bringing art to the people who might not normally enjoy it. 

“Cost of living pressures should not be a barrier to accessing art. These images are from some of the most well-known and newly discovered photographers in the world. We don’t want them hidden in empty galleries, we want it celebrated in public spaces where everyone can enjoy,” Mr Rosenzveig said. 

Some 40 landscape images will be among those showcased along Bondi’s beachfront promenade, while 40 portraits will be displayed meters away in the Bondi Pavilion Gallery. There will also be exhibitions at Paddington Reservoir Gardens and for the first time at the University of Technology Sydney.

What separates this exhibition from other prestigious art awards, like the renowned Archibald, is that Head On Photo Festival submissions are blindly selected, meaning the selection panel has no idea who the photographer is. 

“This ensures all photographers have an equal shot at being included, irrespective of whether they are a world-famous photographer or someone who is just starting out,” Mr Rosenzveig said.  

“We don’t care where artists went to school, where they have exhibited before or who they know. We’re trying to eliminate that bias and at the same time unearth new talent,” he added.

 “Sometimes an exhibition shines light on a group of people most of us hardly ever think about,” he said.

Head On Photo Major Exhibitions this year include.

Bondi Beach promenade: Stretching the 1km beachfront, view the top 40 selected Landscape images and 33 other exhibitions from around the world with the iconic sands of Bondi as the backdrop. 
Bondi Pavilion Gallery: The top 40 Portraits with thought-provoking images on display, accompanied by a digital display.
Paddington Reservoir Gardens:  11 exhibitions, including the top 20 Exposure images, those which fall outside the traditional landscape or portrait category, eg street art, tourism and architecture.
UTS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Building: New this year, ‘Rwanda 30+ Bearing Witness to Genocide’, marking the 30th anniversary of the slaughter of up to one million Tutsi’s, the multi-media exhibition is presented in collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney and SBS’s flagship Dateline program.

Head On Photo Festival runs from November 9 to December 1, 2024.

The annual competition celebrates photographic excellence across three categories: Portrait, Landscape and Exposure, with a total prize pool of $80,000, including cash and equipment.