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Nasrah Omar
CREDIT: Nasrah Omar

International Photography Exhibition 166

The International Photography Exhibition the world’s longest-running contemporary photography exhibition. Photographers and image-makers, of all ages, can submit their work to the RPS International Photography Exhibition. Submissions are encouraged from new, emerging and established photographers worldwide.

Discover the shortlisted photographers from the 166th edition of the RPS International Photography Exhibition.

The RPS is an independent educational charity. By supporting the IPE, you help us to continue our mission of bringing 'Photography for Everyone'. 

The International Photography Exhibition is supported by theprintspace

Benedetta Ristori
CREDIT: Benedetta Ristori

About IPE 166

Photographers and image-makers, of all ages, can submit their work to the RPS International Photography Exhibition. Submissions are encouraged from new, emerging and established photographers worldwide.

The IPE presents a unique opportunity to exhibit in a group exhibition at The Royal Photographic Society in Bristol, UK, and other nationwide venues, alongside a prize fund to support future photographic projects.

Exhibition selection is anonymous throughout, including the award winners, with a changing guest selection panel for each edition. The process is both rigorous and fair, where digital image and print work form part of the selection process. Each IPE edition is a unique celebration of photography today.

If you have an enquiry, or would like to hire and exhibit the IPE at your venue, email the Exhibitions Team. We thank you for your support of the RPS.

The International Photography Exhibition is supported by theprintspace

theprintspace

Selectors
IPE 166 Selection Panel

The RPS is delighted to announce this years selection panel for the International Photography Exhibition 166.

Each edition of the International Photography Exhibition the RPS invite a panel of leading voices in photography to be on the selection panel as they bring an exciting mix of expertise in photography, as artists, curators, editors, and commentators. ⁠ 

For the 166 edition of the IPE the selection panel include, Yuxing Chen, Kalpesh Lathigra, Anne Nwakalor, Dr Michael Pritchard and Nicola Shipley 

You will find bios and information on all of the selectors on the page below.

 

Meet the selectors
Nasrah Omar
CREDIT: Nasrah Omar
Shortlist announcement

With over 8000 images submitted to the International Photography Exhibition 166 open call in early 2024, we are delighted to announce the 237 shortlisted international photographers.

The guest selection panel shortlisted 643 images from photographers in 35 countries.

Congratulations to all of the photographers shortlisted and we would like to wish them all luck in the next stage of the selection process.

Discover the shortlisted photographers and view a selection of the shortlisted images.

IPE 166 Shortlist

Awards & Recognition


The International Photography Exhibition presents an opportunity to exhibit in the world's longest running photography exhibition. You will also be eligible for several significant awards:

1. IPE Award  /  £1000 and 1-year free membership to the RPS

2. Under 30s Award  /  £1000 and 1-year free membership to the RPS

3. Exhibition Tour  /  100 photographs will be selected for the touring exhibition, opening at the RPS Gallery, Bristol

4. Solo Exhibition at the RPS  /  2-week solo exhibition at RPS Bristol or partnering venues, awarded by the RPS. The RPS will support the selected photographer to develop and deliver the exhibition.

5. RPS Journal Features  /  Four opportunities for a photographer to feature in the award-winning RPS Journal, selected by the Editor

6. Visitor Prize  /  £250 prize voted for by visitors to the Bristol exhibition

7. Selectors Spotlight  /  Five photographers will receive a statement by one of the guest selectors about why they selected the work. This will be included in the exhibition

8. IPE Journal Edition  /  All selected photographers will receive a digital copy of the IPE edition of the award-winning RPS Journal

9. International Recognition  /  Shortlisted photographers will be celebrated across our online and digital channels, including opportunities for Instagram take-overs 

10. Membership Offer  /  All IPE entrants receive 15% discount on a new RPS membership 

11. Digital Spotlight  /  We will share stand-out entries during the entry period across RPS digital channels

Rps House Daytime Evan Dawson 800Px
CREDIT: Evan Dawson

RPS Gallery, Bristol, United Kingdom

RPS Gallery is situated in the photography hub of Bristol alongside the Martin Parr Foundation.

Previous exhibitions have included Aneesa Dawoojee: Only Human, Squaring the Circles of Confusion: Neo-Pictorialism in the 21st Century, Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors.

IN PROGRESS: Laia Abril - Hoda Afshar - Widline Cadet - Adama Jalloh - Alba Zari; Jack Latham's Sugar Paper Theories and Mandy Barker's Altered Ocean.

Opening hours: Thursday to Sunday, 10am - 5pm, free admission

Find out more about RPS Exhibitions

Selection Panel  

Yuxing Chen

Yuxing Chen is a Chinese artist and researcher based in the UK. Photography has expanded her perspective as a new approach to narrative and representation. Her photographic practice is centered around the creation and discussion of the decolonization of difference, the exoticism of Orientalism, and the gaze that it brings. She received her MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography from the University of the Arts London.

Yuxing has shown her work extensively and won international awards such as the IPE 165 Award. She also has been selected as one of the TOP 20 Chinese Contemporary Photography.

Kalpesh Lathigra

Kalpesh Lathigra is a British Indian artist, His  work occupies the space between documentary and art practice. Both the found and staged image are democratic.

Born in Forest Gate, London, England in 1971.

Lathigra was awarded a 1st Arts prize in the World Press Photo in 2000 and In 2003, he embarked on a project documenting the lives of Widows in India, receiving The W.Eugene Smith Fellowship and Churchill Fellowship. 

Lathigra was awarded a Lightwork Residency in conjunction with Autograph in 2014 and in 2015 A Photoworks Commission for the Brighton Photo Biennial 2014 working in collaboration with South African artist Thabiso Sekgala to produce new works " A Return to Elsewhere " 

His first book “ Lost in the Wilderness” , a body of photographs on the Oglala Sioux and Pine Ridge Reservation was published in 2015. Noted by Sean O Hagan - The Guardian critic as one of the photo books of the year. Lost in the Wilderness explores the weight of colonialism on a community and the shared experiences of the artist's background. 

Memoire Temporelle was published in Spring 2022 reflects on real and perceived memories based in Bombay, using his South Asian lineage as a foundation for the work. It explores the ideas of nostalgia, the insider/outsider view and melancholic longing for the notion of home. The work contains three pieces of writing from Lathigra and three from Rabrindranath Tagore.It is the first part of a trilogy of works. Kalpesh is a Senior Lecturer on the MA Photography at  LCC/UAL  and  continues to work for the leading international magazines on documentary and portraiture assignments alongside personal projects.

Anne Nwakalor

Anne Nwakalor is a British-Nigerian Photo Editor and Communications Officer within the art space. She is currently based in Manchester, UK and is the Founding Editor of one of Africa's first contemporary photography magazines called No! Wahala Magazine, which is a print photography publication championing authentic visual stories told by African creatives. 

Her practice developed whilst studying a BA in Photojournalism and Documentary photography at the University of The Arts London and a Masters in Media, Ethics and Social Change at the University of Sussex. Her interests revolve around ethical storytelling within the photography space, Afrofuturism, representation, and elitism within the art world alongside a range of other topics. 

Due to a background in creative writing and film, Anne tends to incorporate text and moving image into her work, creating multimedia's alongside still images. Alongside her visual practice, Anne is also a critical writer, usually writing on topics such as 'Othering' 'Exoticism' and Colonialism within the Photography industry. 

Anne frequently facilitates workshops on photography, ethical storytelling and printed media. She has sat on panels for numerous photography competitions, reviewed work at several portfolio reviews and has delivered presentations, talks and lectures at universities, exhibitions, art events and photo festivals. 

Anne is currently a full time Communications Officer at Arts Council England which is the UK governments funding body for Creativity and Culture within England.

Dr Michael Pritchard

Dr Michael Pritchard’s career started at Christie’s where he directed photography auctions. He has taught history of photography at MA level.  He joined the RPS in 2011 as Chief Executive until 2018 and Programmes Director until 2023. He now consults, working with collectors, photographers and institutions.

Michael has been a selector for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, HIPA Awards, Food and Travel photographer competitions, International Photography Awards, Lucie Awards, Earth Photo and others.

In addition, he has curated exhibitions in the UK and been a selector and curator of exhibitions at festivals in China. He has written and broadcast on many aspects of photography in the UK and abroad. 

CREDIT: Sam Ivin
Nicola Shipley

Nicola Shipley is a Curator, Producer, Mentor and Consultant specialising in contemporary photography.  She is co-founder and Director of GRAIN Projects, UK.  She trained as an art historian, has an MA in History of Art, and a background in the visual arts, including in commissioning, curation, project management and artists professional development.     

In her capacity at GRAIN Projects she has developed an organisation that practices inclusive photography, collaborating with partners regionally, nationally and internationally, to support and grow photography opportunities for practitioners, participants and audiences. Recent work has included collaborations with British Council Pakistan, Historic England, Photoworks, FORMAT International Photography Festival, GLAZ Festival, Creative People & Places, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, GAIA Foundation, Birmingham 2022 and Coventry UK City of Culture.    As an integral part of commissioning new work for exhibition and publication Nicola is interested in community engagement, socially engaged practice and developing opportunities for photography in the public realm.  Over the last few years she has worked with numerous practitioners on a broad range of projects included Aaron Schuman, Anthony Luvera, Arpita Shah, Ayesha Jones, Edgar Martins, Jonny Briggs, Lydia Goldblatt, Mark Neville, Maryam Wahid, Ming de Nasty and Roo Dhissou.  

Nicola has developed opportunities for emerging photographers and has devised and delivered a range of professional development programmes.  She has reviewed work at Portfolio Review events, in festival and education contexts, and has been a selector for a number of awards including ‘Portrait of Britain’ (2021), Source magazine BA Photography Awards (2020), and the Taylor Wessing Photography Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery (2019).   She is a board member of Photofusion.   

About the IPE

Cobb Cody Liminal State
CREDIT: Cody Cobb

Exhibition's History

The International Photography Exhibition has been held almost every year since 1854 and is the longest running exhibition of its kind in the world.

In the early years, the exhibition included work from some of the world's most eminent photographers including Julia Margaret Cameron, Roger Fenton, Edward Steichen and Paul Strand.

Tomlinson Alys Sos Merdules Ottana Sardinia
CREDIT: Alys Tomlinson
Discover the IPE 164
Meet the IPE 164 photographers

46 photographers were selected to exhibit in the International Photography Exhibition 164 from the annual open-call, including new, emerging, and established photographers worldwide.

Find out more about the artist of the 164th edition of the IPE and their work.

Explore the IPE 164
Samuchenko Yevhen At The Pink Planet 1
CREDIT:  Yevhen Samuchenko
Inspiration from the archives

The IPE is selected from an open-call. This means that images across all genres, using different types, processes, and experimental techniques can be submitted.

Explore the collection from recent editions and be inspired to enter your work. 

IPE Inspiration Gallery

Recent Awardees 

IPE 165 Award: Yuxing Chen

"I feel highly honoured and deeply grateful to have been awarded the International Photography Exhibition Award. Also, I am grateful for the support and recognition from the RPS, which means so much to the project and myself. I am incredibly excited that a wider audience sees the pagoda and other oriental constructions."

Yuxing Chen, China

IPE 165 Under 30s Award: Juno Seunghui Joo

"It is a great honour for me to be one of the winners exhibiting at RPS. Being recognised by such a renowned organisation is such a privilege and a reassurance to me and my work." 

Juno Seunghui Joo, South Korea and works in London, United Kingdom

IPE 164 Award: Natcha Wongchanglaw

"In addition to knowing that my work has been chosen for the exhibition where the work of the world's most renowned photographers, including Roger Fenton and Paul Strand, was once exhibited, I am thrilled and deeply humbled to have received the IPE Award.  I can't even begin to express how grateful and honored I am. I am extremely thankful that my work has been recognized and appreciated by the panel and RPS, and that I can also share it with a wider audience."

Natcha Wongchanglaw, Thailand | USA

IPE 164 Under 30s Award: Siqi Li

"I feel extremely humbled to be given this award and very pleased to see people of different backgrounds connecting with my personal narratives." 

Siqi Li, London / Beijing

IPE 163 Award: Tim Franco

"I am really humbled that my work has been selected for the IPE awards, especially after seeing all the amazing work that was submitted this year!"
Tim Franco, France

The International Photography Exhibition is supported by