Scandal after scandal, why not cancel the regional photo festival?

The Southeast Regional Art Photography Festival did not end when the awards were given. The competition continued with many controversies about the winning works: was the composition okay, did the judges judge based on the explanation of the work rather than the photos?...

On August 29, the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists issued Decision No. 193 on canceling and revoking the gold medal of this contest.

Nguyen Kim Hoan's work "Future Light" had its gold medal revoked.

Why cancel the results?

According to Decision 193 signed by the President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists Tran Thi Thu Dong: "Rescind the gold medal for the work Future Light and the work displayed at the exhibition New Day by author Nguyen Kim Hoan of Ninh Thuan ". The Organizing Committee of the Southeast region festival is responsible for withdrawing the gold medal and accompanying certificate.

Although the decision did not specify whether the reason for the revocation was due to a violation of the rules or not, Ms. Thu Dong said that the contest rules required that the works submitted for a particular region must be taken in that region, specifically the Southeast region. This is what author Kim Hoan did not do correctly. She also said: "Currently, we are only in the stage of canceling the results, and disciplinary action has a process of the Association. Accordingly, the Association will send a document to the Branch to follow the correct process, and handle the discipline according to the regulations. The Branch will have to meet again to see what this author violated and how to handle it."

According to regulations, this author is facing a ban from competing, not being considered for titles or photography awards in 2024...

End of historical mission

This is not the first time a regional art photography festival has encountered a scandal and had to withdraw its awards.

In 2021, in the Hanoi area, the third prize work titled Love for the Fatherland by Le Thi An Thu, taken on election day, had the error of cutting off the slogan and the text on the background. After that, this work was revoked. In 2016, also in the Hanoi area, the gold medal awarded to the work Artist Phan Ke An by author Nguyen Dac Nhu was withdrawn on the grounds that the work was edited and assembled...

Opposing opinions between festival judges and many prestigious photographers have also appeared continuously. However, according to Ms. Thu Dong, the job of a judge is also very difficult when having to find something new and beautiful at the same time, and it is easy to get criticized. "Many people refuse to be judges because they feel too much pressure. Mr. Le Hong Linh refused to be a judge in domestic competitions. At the regional level, he judges for so many days, but the salary is only one and a half million, and he receives so much criticism," Ms. Thu Dong shared.

With the quality of the awards often being complained about and the judges struggling, the question is why regional photo festivals are not "closed". Regarding this, Ms. Thu Dong said that since 2020, there have been many opinions that regional festivals are no longer wanted to be held. Before that, regional festivals also did a very good job of developing the movement. "At the end of 2022, there was a discussion on whether or not to maintain regional festivals, but localities still wanted to, because from these festivals, authors have points to join the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists. If there are awards, individuals can also be rewarded... That's why, in the end, localities still applied to host, some provinces applied to host until 2027", Ms. Thu Dong said.

It is difficult to have good works, difficult to have good judges, but still continue to organize; this makes concerns about the quality of regional festivals increasingly grow. Perhaps it is time for the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists to review this. Each bad photo that wins an award is a time when the aesthetic of amateur photographers is likely to be distorted.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/be-boi-lien-tiep-sao-khong-bo-lien-hoan-anh-khu-vuc-185240902231736815.htm