HP and Magnum Photos support professional Photographers with the expression Photography Award

Through the award, HP and Magnum aim to support the work of emerging and professional photographers, emphasising the value of storytelling through the use of imagery.

The theme of this year’s competition is “communities”. Long-time collaborators HP and Magnum worked together to establish the Magnum Expression Photography Award to recognise photographers raising awareness and inspiring change through campaigns using photography as an expressive medium. The judging panel will consist of four Magnum photographers – Alec Soth, Jonas Bendiksen, Paolo Pellegrin and Susan Meiselas – and an HP representative, who will look for compelling documentary photography employed in innovative ways to affect social awareness and propel humanitarian compassion around the selected theme.

Judges will evaluate entries based on the excellence and inventiveness in building a photographic narrative, singularity of vision, compassion for the subjects and the ability to produce a thought-provoking visual essay. The winner of the Magnum Expression Photography Award will receive an HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer and supplies, which enables photographers to print gallery-quality photographs in black and white or colour. The HP Quad-black inkset gives smooth transitions and true neutral greys to black and white images, while the new chromatic red ink extends the colour gamut. The winner will also receive a $10,000 grant, the opportunity to produce a multimedia essay of the work in collaboration with Magnum in Motion, production sponsorship of a solo exhibition and mentorship from a Magnum photographer. Two honourable mentions and the remaining 17 finalists will also receive awards to support and encourage their photographic work.