News focus at Lianzhou photo fest

By Wu Ziru

Preparations are well under way for the Fifth Lianzhou International Photo Festival, with the theme Presence and Representation focusing on news photography this year, the organizer revealed Monday.

Scheduled to be held from December 5-15 and organized by the Department of Culture and Travel Bureau of Guangdong Province and the Lianzhou Municipal Government, the festival will display more than 80 exhibitions of photographers both from home and abroad, with countless works from famous artists as well as young emerging photographers.

Among the many sections and activities, one of the most exciting parts of the festival will be the exhibition War and Its Aftermath, with an array of works by international masters such as Don McCullin, Adriana Groisman and Annie Leibovitz, explained Duan Yuting, art director of the festival.

One of the highlights of the section will be the retrospective of internationally-renowned war photographer Don McCullin, with many of his representative works such as one of an American soldier waiting for a ride back home, which was taken in 1968 during the Vietnam War, on display.

A series of other exhibitions depicting global issues such as AIDS, drugs and women’s living conditions in prisons, will also be included in this section, Duan said.

Aside from news photography, a group exhibition on concept photography directed by French curator Jerome Sans and Guo Xiaoyan will be part of the festival, with works by famous concept photographers such as Qiu Zhijie and Wang Qingsong on show.

Initiated in 2005, Lianzhou International Photo Festival has been held each year to critical acclaim. It is renowned by the international photography world as one of the most professional photo festivals in China.

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