Head On Photo Festival opens for entry

Sydney’s annual Head On Photo Festival returns this year and will run from May 5, 2011 to June 11 2011.

This year the program will feature work from across Australia and abroad showcasing a wide range of photographic styles from the traditional through to digital multi-media and installation projects.

There will be exhibitions and events at over 70 venues including Sydney’s major museums, regional and commercial galleries along with libraries, universities, arts schools, restaurants, cafes, pubs, shop-fronts, office buildings and parks.

Festival director, Moshe Rosenzveig, explains: "We are very excited about the outstanding quality and diversity of both the works and venues involved in this year’s festival."

A number of Sydney’s major museums including the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Museum of Sydney, the Justice & Police Museum and the Powerhouse Museum will be presenting photographic exhibitions and events during the festival along with art centres like Penrith Regional Gallery.

"We place a great emphasis on broadening the audience for photography by also having displays and events in non dedicated art spaces like cafes, shopfronts and office buildings," says Rosenzveig.

This year the festival will also host outdoor events including an interactive Camera Obscura by Renato Colangelo, which will be installed in Centennial Park for the duration of the Festival.

An exhibition titled Accessible Arctic, featuring eighty years of Arctic photography, will also be on show at the Paddington Reservoir Gardens.

There is a program of multi-media/digital slide show screenings, photography workshops for both adults and children, seminars and talks by artists and curators.

Now in its eight year, the Head On Portrait Prize returns again with a prize pool of over $50,000. The call for entries runs until March 13, 2011.