Head On Photo Festival 2022

Festival directors message

Through the challenges of COVID-19, we have all realised how central art and culture are to our Country’s wellbeing. Sharing images and stories are not only reserved for the good times; they are what helps us persevere through the bad times.

With this knowledge, the thirteenth annual Head On Photo Festival emerges in 2022, celebrating the importance and weight of making art accessible, supporting photographers and connecting people through visual narratives.

This newly enriched understanding of what we do and how we do it, has been bolstered by the support of so many. With Head On’s new DGR status, many of our local and international community supported us with donations – we couldn’t be more grateful.

Additionally, local, state and Federal government support allowed us to expand upon Head On Foundation’s mission. This year, we continued to grow beyond an annual festival, creating even more opportunities for our audience and photographers. We ran Spotlight – a series of monthly events with leading artists and creative practitioners, and we continued to publish Head On Interactional Magazine – an online interactive magazine sharing diverse stories and perspectives of photographers worldwide.

At Head On, we know how important it is for photography to have its own space – a space in Australia, the art world, and the cultural psyche. But through the challenges of the past several years, we understand, better than ever, that walls or regulations cannot define this space, it must be defined through a shared love and passion for photography and what it can do.

This year’s Festival embodies this message. The diverse visual stories presented are connected by a shared passion for the medium and care for the stories it tells, whether it be a woman exploring her internal struggles with motherhood or a Syrian refugee showing his home’s conflict through his own eyes.

Over the years, we have given a platform to over 6000 artists to share their work with the world. We distributed over $800,000 in cash and products to artists through the Head On Photo Awards. We activated over 300 galleries and public venues, including churches, parks and the streets of Sydney. We toured photographers’ work to Europe, USA and Asia. We generated media coverage worth millions of dollars and engaged with millions worldwide who now see photography as an engaging art form.

All these activities and achievements are thanks to our small, dedicated team, volunteers, partners and our wonderful audience, who have supported and encouraged us to keep going against all odds.

I welcome you all to Head On Photo Festival 2022, a space for photography, a space for everyone.

Moshe Rosenzveig OAM
Head On Photo Festival Founder and Director
October 2022