PRESS RELEASE December International Women Photographers Award OPEN CALL Edition 2017 Submission

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1 PRESS RELEASE December International Women Photographers Award OPEN CALL Edition 2017 Submission Exhibition at : La Galerie Alliance Francaise, Dubai UAE March 8 April The International Women Photographers Award is a photography award organized by and the International Women Photographers Association and Antidote Art and Design in collaboration with Alliance Française Dubai. Ten finalists, including one laureate will be selected by an international jury. The exhibition will showcase photographs taken by women from across the world, with a focus on the Middle East. It is the first exhibition of its kind in the region; focusing only on women photographers both professional and amateur, and it will provide a platform for them to exhibit their work to a large audience. The IWPA Award has attracted women photographers from around the world in the past years. This year the Award is taking place in Dubai for the first time. The exhibition will open its doors on March 8, which is International Women s Day. Women are an influential part of the creative force in the UAE. To further promote creativity, encourage fresh talent and create awareness of women photographers in the region, Dubai has been chosen to host this photography award. Photographer Severine Blanchet, who is represented in the Middle East region by Antidote, founded the International Women Photographers Association in Over the past few years, the association has organized several editions of the International Women Photographers Award and worked with numerous prestigious individuals and companies. The association is now based in France and is being brought to the United Arab Emirates by Antidote Art & Design. The competition is open to women photographers from all over the world. A specially selected international jury comprising of eminent figures of the art community will shortlist 10 candidates whose work will be on display at La Galerie, Alliance Française. From these 10 contestants, 1 laureate will be announced on the opening day, March 8th. Calendar for IWPAward 2017: Early December 2016 Open Call 31st January 12 midnight French time - Closing date End February 2017 Shortlist announcement March 8, 2017 Opening Night and Laureate Announcement The laureate s photographs to be displayed for the duration of one month March 8th 2017 April 8th 2017

2 Exhibition to travel to some cities in the Middle East, and in Europe. Solo exhibition the following year at Alliance Francaise, Dubai Award Rules: Themes 2017 : Borders & Free Theme The jury expects from each candidate a consistent set of 10 to 15 photos, Accompanied by CV and a text presenting the work, Digital or silver digitized images in high definition, color or black and white No signatures, watermarks or other copyrights affixed to the photographs IWPA supports the prints, which will be printed in a professional lab Photographic subject is not restricted to women, but can be anything the photographer chooses. PRIZE : Travelling Show Dubai: March 8 - April at Alliance Française Paris: March 29 - April 19 at Fondation Hypocrène New Delhi: Mai 15 June 10 at Alliance Française Port Said: July 10 - August 5 at Alliance Française Alexandria: August 10 - September 4th at Institut Française Toulouse: September - location to be finalized Cairo: September 8th - September 30th - at Institut Française Riyadh: October 10th - November 10th at French Embassy & Alliance Française Jury 2017: Severine Blanchet, IWPA Founder & President, award winning photographer (Ilford 1989 & Defi Jeune 1997) photographer based in France Sueraya Shaheen, Photographer/Photo editor of TRIBE magazine based in Dubai, UAE, Myriam Abdelaziz, Egyptian photographer, founder of Rawiya collective, based in NY Alinka Echeverria Multi-award winning Mexican-British photographic artist and anthropologist based in London, UK. Karine Chambefort, Senior Lecturer in British visual culture and photography, UPEC, France, Naoko Ohta Gallerist & Curator in Tokyo, Japan Bernard Frontero, Director of Alliance Française, Dubai UAE

3 International Women Photographers Association IWPA promotes women photographers by highlighting and exposing their practices and talents to an international audience. The IWPA Award and the promotion of exhibitions are the main ways to achieve it. The Association serves an important mission: to encourage and support women photographers on the path of reaffirming their personal voice and practice. The objectives are to: Promote the diversity of women photographers coming from different traditions, cultures and religions. Reveal to the public a new selection of photographic expression. Expose the various testimonies of a global society. The Association promotes these objectives by organizing the IWPA award that, with the help of a jury, selects amongst all participants ten finalists of whom one laureate. PRODUCERS: Antidote art & design Founded in 2015, Antidote is an serving the careers of talented emerging and mid-career artists and designers from around the world, with a special focus on the Middle East. Antidote s unique features including its nomadic nature and dual portfolio of art and design allows it to inhabit alternative venues such as warehouses and other commercial, residential and occupational spaces, and to create innovative spaces and exhibitions, pushing the permeable boundary between art & design. Antidote also works in the capacity of art and design consultants and manages large scale creative projects from conception, production to installation. MyArtSpy - MyArtSpy Projects is an agency specialised in developing and managing projects in art and culture, advising corporate clients, individuals and institutions. Based in Paris, we have an international network of collaborators. INSTITUTIONAL PARTNER: Alliance Française - As a French Cultural Center, the Alliance Française of Dubai founded in 1983, has the mission of promoting French Language and Culture in the UAE. With its new art gallery inaugurated in December 2016, it has created a space of artistic expressions to young professional talents that would like to expose and express different points of views from different cultures that will create links between French & Emirati Cultures and all other communities in Dubai. The Alliance Française offers also French courses and certifications in French language for all levels. The Alliance Française has a media library with more than 20,000 books, DVDs and video games, 12 classrooms and an auditorium hosting regularly theater plays, concerts, conferences and movies. Among its cultural activities the Alliance Française is glad to work

4 with Antidote a creative platform in the Middle East and has already supported two past photography exhibitions: Paris Vintage and Flying Away in 2015 MEDIA PARTNERS: Tribe - Dubai based Tribe is a small operation with a big mission. As the world s first and so far, only magazine devoted exclusively to photography from the Arab world. It s uniquely concerned with a vast and diverse region where the talent is plentiful, but artistic institutions and international attention are just beginning to catch up. The magazine is a sign of the sea change that is making photography a signature attraction in the region s art world. Tribe isn t just about photography; it s about shifting the story on a part of the world whose darkest moments typically attract the brightest global media spotlight. TV5MONDE - TV5MONDE is one of the largest television networks in the world. It has 9 different channel feeds for different territories of the world (8 are broadcast from Paris and cover all continents and the 9th - TV5 Québec is broadcast from Montreal). TV5MONDE is the only general-entertainment channel in French available worldwide, available in 235 million homes and in over 200 countries and territories. It offers a link to global news which can be viewed online, via mobile devices and also in VOD. AMA - "Art Media Agency (AMA) is an international newswire, focused solely on the art market. It produces about 200 articles per week and has more than 40,000 articles in archive. It also produces the specialised weekly publication (available in English and French) with the world largest subscribers' base." SUPPORTING PARTNERS: Dubai Business Women Council - Established in 2002, under the umbrella of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Dubai Business Women Council is the official representative organization for businesswomen, both professionals and entrepreneurs in the Emirate of Dubai. Building awareness, educating, promoting opportunities and enhancing positive change in the community towards the acceptance of women in business is at the heart of the DBWC s belief in empowering women and motivating them to be productive members of the society and economy. ررااوویی Rawi(ya) (Arabic:, meaning "female and male teller") is a collective of documentary photographers from the Middle East (West Asia and North Africa). Today its members are ة Myriam Abdelaziz (New York City), Tamara Abdul Hadi (Beirut), Ghaith Abdul Hadad (Istanbul), Zeid Ben Romdhane (Tunis), Laura Boushnak (Sarajevo), Tanya Habjouqa (East Jerusalem), and Tasneem Alsultan (Jubail). It is the first cooperative of its kind with that started as an all female photographer group from the Arab world and opened up to male m embers in SPONSOR: Clyde & Co Clyde & Co is a global law firm focused on providing a complete legal service to clients in our core sectors. With over 2,000 legal professionals operating from 46 offices

5 and associated offices in six continents, we advise corporates, financial institutions, private individuals, and governments across a wide range of contentious and transactional matters. Clyde & Community is the firm's pro bono and community investment programme and supports communities and charities using the unique set of skills of our lawyers and business support staff to tackle social issues local to each of our offices and to help disadvantaged communities through the provision of legal advice and representation, practical help and financial support. Contact UAE: For international Relations: Laure Parise / laure@antidotedxb.com For Press and Media Inquiries: Najeh Ahmed Zimmermann / najeh@antidotedxb.com Contact France: Arantza Aramburu-Hamel / arantza@myartspy.com