Canadian War Museum showcases top international photojournalism in exhibition of award-winning World Press Photo images

July 25, 2014

Ottawa, Ontario, July 24, 2014 — The Canadian War Museum is putting the best of international photojournalism on view with World Press Photo 14, an exhibition of award-winning images from this year’s prestigious World Press Photo competition. The War Museum, the first of five Canadian venues on the international tour, will host the exhibition starting on July 25.

The overall winner, named World Press Photo of the Year 2013, is by American photographer John Stanmeyer of the VII Photo Agency. His haunting photograph shows African migrants on the shore of Djibouti City at night, their phones raised at arm’s length to capture an inexpensive cell signal from neighboring Somalia — perhaps their only link to relatives abroad. Djibouti is a common stop-off point for migrants in transit from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The dark, dramatic image, shot for National Geographic magazine, also won 1st Prize in the Contemporary Issues category.

“We are very proud to welcome the World Press Photo exhibition for the seventh year in a row,” said James Whitham, Director General of the Canadian War Museum. “These breathtaking images open our eyes to newsworthy subjects and events around the world, including conflicts in Syria, the Central African Republic and Burma, the Westgate Mall massacre in Kenya, and the Boston Marathon bombing.”

This year’s contest drew 5,754 entries, comprising 98,671 images taken in 2013 by photographers from 132 different countries. An international jury awarded prizes in nine categories, including General News, Daily Life, Nature and Sport.

Established in the Netherlands in 1955, the World Press Photo Foundation is a non-profit organization that encourages high professional standards in visual journalism, and promotes free and unrestricted exchange of information. Its annual exhibition aims to generate wide public interest in, and appreciation for, the work of photographers and other documentary journalists.

A free mobile Exhibition Guide for iOS and Android smartphones is available at worldpressphoto.org/app. The app lets users listen to descriptions of the photos, read photographers’ biographies, and learn more about the equipment they used. It also features commentary from some of the winning photographers, and translations of all photo captions in nine languages.

World Press Photo 14 was developed and circulated by World Press Photo and is presented at the Canadian War Museum in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery, and is sponsored worldwide by Canon.

The winning photographs will be on display in the War Museum’s Barney Danson Theatre from July 25 to August 21, 2014. This presentation contains subject matter that some visitors may find disturbing.

The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Its mission is to promote public understanding of Canada’s military history in its personal, national, and international dimensions.

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A selection of the winning images is available online on the World Press Photo press download area (www.worldpressphoto.org/downloads).

Media contacts:

Yasmine Mingay
Manager, Public Affairs
Canadian War Museum
Telephone: 819-776-8608
yasmine.mingay@warmuseum.ca