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6th Guizhou Photo China Original Photographic Exhibition 2013

We have just returned from a trip to the closing ceremony of the 2013 Photo China Original International Photographic Exhibition (中国原生态国际摄影大展), a photography festival and competition in China organised by China News Service. I was invited as a nominator by curator Wang Xi for their first ever international photo competition and one of my nominees, young Vietnamese photographer Do Manh Cuong won the first prize. You can read more about the nominations here: If you look at something long enough, it will sprout wings and fly.

The trip included a closing press conference and exhibition visit at Guiyang City. This was followed by a road trip to Leishan province, home to the Miao minority, where we made a few cultural visits and attended photography forum hosted by Leishan county administrators. The forum was attended by a large group of established photography leaders and personalities from all over China. While most of the forum discussions were lost in translation (I speak the cantonese dialect only), the few insights shared with me by David, our translator, was a great note of the sentiments shared during the day. Key discussions included roadmaps towards future festival activities in Guizhou and Leishan, issues faced with current photo events and competitions in China, and the need to develop more content focused on deeper story elements. The other notable question posed was how photography could help the local Miao community. I had a few thoughts I would have liked to share with the forum, but was invited as an observer only.

China News Service were great hosts. I met quite a few interesting people and engaged in great dialogue. It takes even a small trip like this to really appreciate how gigantic a country China is. Much thanks to my hosts – I look forward to my next encounter in China in the near future.