A new photography competition launches today encouraging photographers to explore the West Midlands and capture moments where two cultures collide and East meets West.
Launched by China West Midlands 2020 and Birmingham Museums Trust on Monday 15 July, the creative competition will run until Sunday 20 October 2019. Judges will pick 25 winning works to go on display at an exhibition at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter from January to June 2020.
Photographers are encouraged to capture images that celebrate the people, places and objects in and around Birmingham where East meets West. It offers vast possibilities for photographers to explore and examine the unique mix of Eastern and Western cultures in the region.
As part of the China 2020 celebrations, the 25 framed prints chosen for display will be sold at the end of the exhibition with half of the proceeds from each sale going towards supporting Birmingham Museums Trust, an educational charity which cares for Birmingham’s unique collection and heritage. The rest of the proceeds will be split between the photographer and WuWei CIC Ltd, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese Community Centre – Birmingham, a charity that provides community services such as healthy living, elderly services, carers support and a range of sports and cultural activities.
The exhibition follows several successful displays at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter’s commercial gallery space, which have championed local artists. Past exhibitions include the first solo display of images by renowned photographer Verity Milligan, a display of micro-sculptures by record-breaking artist Willard Wigan, and a unique exhibition of intricate illustrations of Birmingham buildings by Thomas Parry, known as Made on the Canal.
China West Midlands 2020 is an initiative established by the Chinese Community Centre- Birmingham, Birmingham Business Focus and Birmingham China Business Forum. The project aims to promote deeper understanding, greater collaboration and mutual prosperity between the West Midlands and China. Throughout 2020 there will be a series of cross-culture events covering the arts, theatre, exhibitions, sports and business seminars.
The judges of the competition will be looking for high quality images that reflect the theme of East meets West. Photographers are welcome to submit up to three individual photographs by either emailing competition@chinawestmidlands.com or posting photos to Instagram between 15 July 2019 and 9pm 20 October 2019 using the hashtag #CWM2020Photo. For full entry criteria visit chinawestmidlands.com/photo-competition/.
Dr Yeow Poon, Chair of the CWM 2020 Planning Team and Chair of the Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham, said: “We are looking for photographs that explore the dynamics between Eastern and Western cultures, not just in an abstract sense, but in ways that help to build mutual understanding, as well as show how multi-cultural societies can live, work, play and dream together.”
Alex Nicholson-Evans, Commercial Director at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “We’ve hosted a series of popular exhibitions at Museum of the Jewellery Quarter over the last two years which showcase local talent and we are delighted to be partnering with China West Midlands 2020 to launch this competition.”
