Identity ‧ Open

WMA Open Photo Contest Announces Winners of IDENTITY

Identity 1” by Phey Palma has won the WMA Open Photo Contest 2015/16 selected by a panel of judges. “成長中的我” by Zion Cheng won the People’s Choice award after a month of online voting.

The WMA Open Photo Contest judges included WYNG Masters Award winner and finalists Mr. Siu Wai Hang, Mr. Ducky Tse and Ms. Lam Hoi Sin respectively.

Siu Wai Hang one of the judges of the WMA Open Photo Contest took the opportunity to comment on the award winning photos. “Hong Kong is a predominantly Chinese society and women of ethnic minorities are often marginalized, and in an ideal society, people regardless their race, gender, religion should all enjoy the same rights. The award winning photo “Identity 1” shows the sense of powerlessness and hope of ethnic minority women living in Hong Kong, reflecting on whether identity is the biggest barrier to social integration.”

“The significance of the Umbrella Movement does not lie in its influence at the time, but in the way it triggered people to reflect on identity, understanding and a sense of belonging. In the context of post-umbrella movement, the People Choice’s award winning image expresses the fact that life for people growing up in this era would be completely different. The society would have to face the issue of identity.”

The WMA Open Photo Contest aims to engage the public at large on issues connected to the topic of IDENTITY by inviting them to submit photographs and to discuss the subject. To extend this dialogue, the WMA Open Photo Contest maintains a photo library of images, governed by Creative Commons licenses for educational and non-commercial uses eg. lectures and non-commercial projects, with appropriate attribution, as well as serving as a photographic history of contemporary Hong Kong.

The winner and People’s Choice recipient will receive a $20,000 and $15,000 cash prize respectively.

The next WMA Open Contest will kick off in June 2016 with the theme MOBILITY.