World Press Photo Exhibition returns to Auckland

Runner Up / Droughts in the Amazon by Musuk Nolte, Panos Pictures, Bertha Foundation
A young man brings food to his mother who lives in the village of Manacapuru. The village was once accessible by boat, but because. of the drought, he must walk two kilometres along the dry riverbed of the Solimões River to reach her. The Amazon River is experiencing record low-water levels due to severe drought intensified by climate change. This ecological crisis threatens biodiversity, disrupts ecosystems and impacts local communities reliant on rivers for survival. As droughts intensify, many settlers face the difficult choice of abandoning their land and livelihoods for urban areas, changing the social fabric of this region permanently. This project makes the effects of climate change, which can so often be abstract or difficult to represent, appear as a tangible and concrete reality shaping the futures of vulnerable communities closely connected with the natural world.

Hosted by the Rotary Club of Auckland, NZ, the 2025 World Press Photo Exhibition will run from July 26 – August 24.

The internationally acclaimed World Press Photo Exhibition returns to Auckland later this year, showcasing the best and most important photojournalism and documentary photography from around the globe. The exhibition, which presents the winning photographs of the prestigious annual World Press Photo Contest, will head to Tāmaki Makaurau, thanks to the Rotary Club
of Auckland.

Presented in more than 60 cities each year, the exhibition invites viewers to step outside the news cycle and think critically about important topics in our world. Key themes range from politics, gender and migration to conflict and the climate crisis.

This year, New Zealand is well represented. For the first time ever, a New Zealander was appointed as a judge. Julia Durkin MNZM – founder and CEO of the Auckland Festival of Photography – served on the judging panel for the Asia Pacific & Oceania regional winners, while Nelson-based photographer Tatsiana Chypsana was announced as the Asia Pacific & Oceania – Long Term Projects winner, with her powerful series Te Urewera – The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People.

The 2025 global Photo of the Year winner and two runners-up have also been announced.

Photo of the Year – Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine, by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times
Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Qatar. As his family fled an Israeli assault, Mahmoud turned back to urge others onward. An explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other. The family were evacuated to Qatar where, after medical treatment, Mahmoud is learning to use his feet to play games on his phone, write and open doors. Aside from that, he needs special assistance for most daily activities, such as eating and dressing. Mahmoud’s dream is simple: he wants to get prosthetics and live his life as any other child.

Runner Up – Night Crossing by John Moore, Getty Images
Chinese migrants warm themselves during a cold rain after crossing the US–Mexico border.
Unauthorised immigration from China to the US has increased dramatically in recent years due to a host of factors, including China’s struggling economy and financial losses after strict zero-COVID policies. Moreover, people are being influenced by video tutorials on how to get across the border, shown on Chinese social media platforms. This image, both otherworldly and intimate, depicts the complex realities of migration at the border, which is often flattened and politicised in public discourse in the United States.

Asia Pacific & Oceania – Long Term Projects Winner (all photos this spread)
Te Urewera – The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People by Tatsiana Chypsanava, Pulitzer Centre, New Zealand Geographic
The Ngāi Tūhoe people of the Te Urewera region in New Zealand have maintained a staunch independence. Tūhoe have never lost their connection to their language and cultural identity, and in a groundbreaking 2014 agreement, the New Zealand government opened the way to Tūhoe managing their ancestral lands according to their cultural values. Recent changes by New Zealand’s right-wing government are seen as reversals of such hard-fought progressive policies regarding Indigenous peoples. Yet the Tataiwhetu Trust farm in Te Urewera offers a revitalising model for a younger generation.

World Press Photo Exhibition Auckland:

• Dates: July 26 – August 24
• Times: Sunday – Tuesday: 10.30am – 6pm. Wednesday – Saturday: 10.30am – 6.30pm
• Location: Level 1, Smith and Caughey’s Building, Elliot St Entrance 
• Tickets: On sale soon
• globe-asiaworldpressphoto.org
• worldpressphotoexhibitionauckland.co.nz