Post Reform: Theatre Exposed Debuts New Photography Competition In 2024

Following a recent reformation, Theatre Exposed, a global, annual, Theatre Photography Competition has debuted a new photography competition in 2024.

With the reform, there are no more separate entries for amateurs and professionals, rather all entrants to the competition are viewed as professionals, and it’s open to all professional theatre photographers. However, the four categories of submission Art, Portrait, Movement In Art and Open Category, were maintained.

The change comes post the expansion of the competition’s Expert Council (consisting of global professional art photographers, theatre directors and art text publishers) to include experts from South Korea and, the Japan Scenic Photographers Association.

After six years of hosting the competition, organizers believe its participants have grown in number and attained a certain maturity in experience that the amateur title no longer applies. As is its practice, the competition annually selects into its jury, the winner from the previous edition, providing him/her an opportunity to be an expert.

“The thirst for creativity informed this new development. Our important mission -supporting talented creative people, opening opportunities for new interesting achievements, align with the goals of the latest addition to our Experts Council. We agree on everything. The mutual exchange of creative talents, and improvement of professionals’ skills and as a result, the promotion of the development of performing arts,” said competition director, Irina Averina.

On the choice to maintain the four submission categories, in particular, Movement In Art, the competition’s founding member Expert, Jelena Vilt said, “Movement in Art is the most creative because it is in this category that the essence of theatrical photography is fully revealed in terms of artistic movement.”

“I am glad that the opinions of all the Experts who founded the competition coincided on this,” said Averina who is optimistic that the changes to the competition will foster increased collaborations amongst creatives.

“Each new competition is a new river, and a new door which we enter with great interest. We discover new interesting names of creative people. We are ready to share these talented pearls with the world. And we are glad when they become friends and interact with each other in some joint projects, exhibitions etc.”

Founded in 2018 by the OpenDoors Production Center and Odessa Theatre of Young Spectators, Theatre Exposed has come a long way, from when critics countered its purpose with the argument that there is no such profession as a theatre photographer. Today, the number of participants in the competition has increased.

“We knew that it was in this area that the creative potential of a true artist is most fully revealed. In tandem with theatrical art, something unique and inimitable is born. The photographer not only represents reality, but begins to create in the space he finds himself in, including what for the audience is called ‘the Magic of Theatre’,” said Averina.

Whilst organizers still debate the introduction of incentives like a small cash prize to stimulate novice photographers, it believes professional photographers value intangible assets (like the annual traveling exhibition of the winning works each year and inclusion of winners in the competition’s jury) more than monetary ones.

But that is the least of their worry. Rather, they are preoccupied with the challenges posed by new technologies and society’s demand for Artificial Intelligence-generated images. Hence, the introduction of a new clause in the competition – “images obtained based on artificial intelligence are not allowed.”