TEHRAN – The exhibition of the winning works from the 11th Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest opened on Monday at the Iran Photographers House Gallery at the Art Bureau in Tehran.

The exhibition is a joint effort of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, Mehr Media Group, and the Iran Photographers House.

At the beginning of the opening ceremony, the video message of Alexander Shtol, executive director of the contest, was shown to the audience. “This year, our competition attracted over two thousand entries from 40 countries. The exhibition in Tehran features 30 photographs made by young reporters from Russia, Indonesia, China, Egypt, Brazil, Bahrain, and other countries,” he said.

“Stenin contest assists in discovering young talents and allows them to take their first but quite confident steps in the world of photography,” he added. “It shows us how amazing, unique, and at the same time fragile the world is. It also helps us to understand that despite being different people who live in different parts of the globe, we are concerned about similar issues, touched by similar moments, delighted by similar events, and inspired by similar stories. Therefore, I do believe that Stenin Contest unites us: from Brazil to China, from Serbia to South Africa”.

“It provides us with a chance to strengthen ties with our close partners and good friends, such as the Mehr Media Group, which once again helped us to bring the best photos of the contest to the heart of one of the most ancient countries in the world, the capital of a country that causes respect and admiration in the world – Tehran – and display them at the magnificent Howzeh Honari Complex (Art Bureau),” he noted.

Shtol concluded his remarks saying, “I would also like to invite Iranian photographers to participate in next year's competition, where I will be pleased to present the award in person”.

It has been agreed that the Iran Photographers House will serve as the secretariat of the contest in Iran. This will create greater opportunities for Iranian photographers to participate in the event.

The opening ceremony also featured speeches by Mohammad Mahdi Rahmati, the CEO of Mehr Media Group; Mohammadreza Norouzpour, Deputy Minister of Media and Advertising of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance; Vladislov Egorov, Press Attaché at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tehran; and Seyyed Amir Javid, the deputy director of the Art Bureau.

“Our shared understanding of aesthetics in the world is quite remarkable. We may encounter very different forms of beauty through our diverse experiences and cultural backgrounds, but what is interesting is that composition, subject selection, and even the principles used in judging photographs often reflect a shared global aesthetic,” Rahmati said.

“I am pleased that photographers from other countries have participated in this competition and have received awards for works addressing subjects such as Gaza and the Arbaeen pilgrimage,” he added.

Also speaking at the event, Norouzpour said: “We live in a world in which the US, over the years and under various pretexts, has waged wars against different nations, including our own country, Iran. But it is important to understand that such wars are not first launched on the battlefield; they begin in the realm of narratives”.

“The principal arena in which aggression is prepared and initiated around the world is often the image itself. First, the image of a nation is distorted, and its people are dehumanized through the way they are represented. Once a negative image of that nation has been established in public opinion, its people are portrayed as deserving destruction and annihilation. Only then does the physical attack follow,” he noted.

“If war begins before guns, tanks, and aircraft are deployed—if it begins within the frame of the camera—then one of the best ways to defend ourselves is to begin within that frame. We need to equip and empower ourselves in the same arena and confront those narratives through the very medium of photography,” he underlined.

“If an image is used to portray people in a distorted or degrading way, we must use the camera to restore their dignity and humanity and to neutralize that tactic,” Norouzpour asserted.

“Every photographer has a professional and international responsibility to portray the truth as it is and to ensure that their images are not placed in the service of the brutal militarism of hostile states. Photographers should not allow framing and visual representation to be used as tools for dehumanization or as preparation for attacks, killings, and aggression,” he stated.

He finished his speech by addressing the photographers and said: “The value you create lies precisely in preserving moments that many hostile states in the world have sought to erase from collective memory”.

In a short speech, Egorov, from the Russian Embassy in Tehran, said: “These photographers have tried to become the voices of people whose voices cannot otherwise be heard”.

“The cooperation of the Mehr Media Group in organizing this exhibition is an important opportunity to promote courage, professionalism, and social responsibility in the field of photography. It can also provide an important platform for cultural dialogue between Iran and Russia and serve as an inspiration for young photographers,” he added.

For his part, Javid referred to Mehr News Agency as a key player in the field of press photography among the news agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has been home to some of the finest examples of professional photography in the country.

“My proposal is that the Mehr Media Group and the Iran Photographers House operate as the permanent secretariat of this contest in the Islamic world. This would certainly be a valuable development and would contribute to raising the profile and quality of the festival,” he proposed.

“In this way, renowned and distinguished judges from Iran and other parts of the Islamic world could also be invited to join the festival's jury. This would undoubtedly lead to both higher-quality submissions and a stronger, more diverse judging process,” he added.

“I hope that, around this time next year, if no major developments in the world prevent us from doing so, we will be able to hold the exhibition simultaneously in Tehran, Beirut, Baghdad, Sanaa, Islamabad, and one or two other major and important cities in the Islamic world,” he stated.

“Photography is the fastest, most precise, and most enduring form of documentary storytelling in the world. There is simply no other medium that can match photography in the speed, precision, and lasting power with which it records and communicates an event,” Javid noted.

“I hope that the Mehr Media Group, as one of the largest media groups in the Islamic Republic of Iran, will also be able to establish and maintain offices in key and strategically important locations around the world. This would allow us to present our own narrative of global developments and events to people around the world,” he concluded.

The Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest is an annual event in the field of photojournalism, held with the aim of discovering young talent, supporting professional standards in photojournalism, and promoting the benchmarks of documentary photography in Russia and worldwide.

The works in this exhibition comprise a collection of visual narratives by young photographers regarding contemporary global events and issues; images that, in the form of photojournalism and documentary photography, have captured social and human developments, crises, the environment, daily life, and other realities of today’s world.

Andrey Stenin (1980 - 2014) started his career as a text reporting journalist for Rossiyskaya Gazeta in 2003. In 2008, he turned to photojournalism and, from 2009 on, worked as a photo reporter for RIA Novosti. He was an experienced military photojournalist who had worked in Egypt, Syria, Libya, the Gaza Strip, and elsewhere.

He disappeared while covering the War in Donbas. He was confirmed dead on September 3, 2014, having died on August 6, according to the Investigative Committee of Russia. Stenin was awarded Russia's Order of Courage posthumously.

The exhibition of the winning works of the contest will be open to the public until September 21 at the Art Bureau.

SS/