Anadolu Agency opens 'Photo Awards' exhibit in Istanbul

By Aise Humeyra Bulovali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Anadolu Agency has opened its second exhibition in Istanbul, where award-winning news photographs of the international Istanbul Photo Awards 2019, are exhibited.

A selection from the most successful images of the international photography contest, held annually since 2015, has gone on display on Thursday at an exhibition hall of municipality building in the city’s lively Beyoglu district.

Istanbul's Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Coskun Yilmaz also visited the exhibition, while Anadolu Agency’s senior executives including Metin Mutanoglu -- deputy director-general and editor-in-chief -- and Ali Turker Pirtini, a member of board of directors, were also present at the event.

In an opening speech, Haydar Ali Yildiz, mayor of Beyoglu municipality, expressed his pleasure to host such an exhibition, which came on the same with the death anniversary of legendary Turkish-Armenian photographer Ara Guler.

"The news is hidden in detail. I think you can find all the details in a photo that you cannot find in an article. One single photo may tell what we try to tell in pages," Yildiz said.

"Anadolu Agency is an agency that we are proud of in terms of being a reliable news source. I celebrate and thank everyone, who exert efforts [for the exhibition].

"I want to reaffirm that we want to maintain the cooperation between the Beyoglu Municipality and Anadolu Agency," he added.

The winner of this year's Photo of the Year award was a photograph taken by Ahmad Gharabli of Agence France-Presse (AFP). The winner photo depicts a Palestinian woman retaliating an Israeli soldier's act to take her photo during protests against the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

- 'One of the richest photo archives'

A photo was one of the "indispensable" elements of news, Saban Kizildag, another board member of the agency, said, and added: "We as Anadolu Agency, have created one of the richest archives in the world in our 100-year journalism journey."

Kizildag reminded that Anadolu Agency was established [in 1920] in order to announce the victories on the field during the War of Independence.

"Anadolu Agency has never given up its mission since that day, and continued to be the voice of the oppressed and will continue to do so," he stressed.

"Our experiences remind us to encourage young photo reporters by awarding their efforts. So, we launched our project of Istanbul Photo Awards," Kizildag added.

Around 15,000 photo reporters applied from many countries and conflict zones including Syria, Myanmar, Mexico and Indonesia, he said, adding: "Our contest awarded 12 photographers from 10 countries in both news and sports categories. It was not easy to make this selection for the jury consisting of experienced editors and photojournalists."

Anadolu Agency plans to open this exhibition also in other cities around the world including Tokyo and New York until the end of this year, Kizildag said.

The agency's board member also thanked Turkey’s national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) and Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) for assuming the official sponsorship of the contest.

The exhibition can be visited until Nov. 25.

Meanwhile, all the winning photos are available on www.istanbulphotoawards.com, and professional photographers can apply for next year's contest on the same website between Nov. 1, 2019-Jan. 31, 2020.

* Writing by Nilay Kar Onum