World Press Photo Exhibition at Holyrood 6 – 27 August 2011

The world’s premier photojournalism exhibition will open at the Scottish Parliament for its sixth year running from Saturday 6 August until 27 August.

Holyrood is one of only two venues in the UK, and the only Parliament worldwide, to exhibit the World Press Photo Exhibition.

The collection features breathtaking images from world events in 2010 and features the work of 6 photographers representing 23 nationalities.

Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick MSP said: “The exhibition is always extraordinary and we are honoured to be hosting this collection once again. It is estimated over 160,000 visitors have visited this captivating exhibition since it first opened at Holyrood.

“We hold the World Press Photo exhibition in conjunction with our Festival of Politics programme each year. This is a great opportunity for visitors to the Parliament to view the exhibition as well as take part in topical debates and political discussions.”

This year’s overall contest winner is South African photo-journalist Jodi Bieber for her image of a young Afghani woman Bibi Aishi. Bibi fled her husband to escape a life of violence, only to suffer horrific disfigurement at the hands of her husband on the order of a local Taliban commander. Bibi now lives in the United States and is undergoing reconstructive surgery.

Here is Bieber speaking about winning the prize:-

Commenting on this year’s winning image, Jury Chair David Burnett said: “This could become one of those pictures – and we have maybe just ten in our lifetime – where if somebody says “you know, that picture of a girl…”, you know exactly which one they’re talking about.”

Other winning images include those taken in the aftermath of the Haiti and China earthquakes, anti government riots in Thailand, a Spanish Matador being wounded by a bull, a cycle tour of Eritrea, fairground people in Ireland and female wrestlers in Bolivia.

A programme of photography-themed events and discussions will take place as part of the Festival of Politics to coincide with the WPP exhibition. This includes a photographic essay on female dominated communities, the impact of social media on politics and a session entitled Covering Conflict: the role of the photographer and artist.