The traditional exhibition that shows the best of photojournalism in the world 2022 World Press Photo returned to the Franz Mayer Museum in the Mexican capital to exhibit the importance of journalism responsible, in a particularly violent context for the said profession in the country, of 12 journalists killed so far this year.

“The objective of an exhibition as it is in a place like Mexicowhere freedom of the press is a very big problem, (is that) we want to invite the public to read the news, to be well informed and to know more about the projects”, assured Martha Echevarría, representative of the World Press Photo and curator of the exhibition.

With the presence of photojournalist Canadian Amber Bracken, whose photo won World Press Photo of the Year, museum director Alejandra de la Paz highlighted the progress made on issues of inclusion in the competition, including the exhibition will be open to the public from July 15 to October 2.

“This year, there were nine women winnersthe photo of the year is of a woman, there is a lot of work to be done for women to be present in many more sectors, photojournalism is one of the spaces that are moving forward,” explained De la Paz .

Last April they announced the 122 selected photographs that are on display in the exhibition itinerant, chosen from 64 thousand 823 applications from 4 thousand 66 photojournalists from 130 countries.

Bracken’s photograph commemorates the deaths Aboriginal children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School through the perspective of a series of crosses at the graves of the deceased in which a cross stands out in the foreground with a girl’s orange dress, while a rainbow was born nearby.

The Canadian asked to always keep in mind that the journalistic work He is based on people’s stories and not their aesthetic value, so he hopes his work can be seen in a more complex way.

“The stories we tell shouldn’t be reduced to objects, they are about people,” he said. amber in the conference.

Also among the winners is Mexican photographer Yael Martínez, from the southern state of Warriorwith the series of images entitled “La flor del tiempo”, an artistic work that exposes the indigenous communities forced to cultivate opium.

The photographer could not be present during the press conference devoted to the presentation of the exposurebut De la Paz assured that he hopes that during the time of the exhibition, Martínez will be able to participate in activities with the public.

a new formula

This year the World Press Photo It changed the operational form of the competition by eliminating categories in the photographs and by rewarding at the regional level the work of photojournalists around the world with the aim of representing the specific social problems of each geographical space.

“It gives us a more local perspective of knowledge of the region,” elaborated the conservativewho pointed out that among the themes that predominate are the climate crisis, social protests, as well as stories of resistance from indigenous communities.

With information from EFE