‘Life in Color’ at SM Aura Premier
• Mall goers will have the rare opportunity to see the works of some of the world’s most talented photographers in Life in Color, an exhibit showcasing the winners and finalists of the prestigious Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International
Photography Award (HIPA) at SM Aura Premier from May 28 to June 3, 2015.
A joint project of HIPA and SM Aura Premier, the exhibit includes last year’s Grand Prize winner – a photograph by Anurag Kumar the splash of colors during the India’s Holi Festival. It also includes the works of two Filipino photographers – Jaime Singlador’s photograph of children enjoying a kawa hot bath and Xyza de la Cruz Bacani’s candid portrait of a child behind a translucent glass window in Hong Kong.
Sharing honors at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the HIPA photography exhibit are HIPA secretary general Ali bin Thalith, UAE Ambassador Moosa Abdulwahid Al Khajah, UN Ambassador of Goodwill for Visual Arts Gion Gounet. They were joined by SM Prime Holdings Inc. chairman Henry T. Sy, Jr. They are warmly welcomed by SM Malls officials, led by SCMC president Annie Garcia, SVP for Operations Steven Tan, SVP for Marketing Communications Group Millie Dizon, SM Aura Premier’s regional operations manager Bernice Baculi and Mall manager Margie de Leon.
A media launch was held earlier and Ali bin Thalith said he believes Filipinos are one of the most talented photographers in the world that’s why they came here to encourage more of them to join the competition. “The gallery and workshops present our largest ever participation in the Philippines and we hope to inspire more Filipino photographers to participate and in turn excel in the art of photography.”
HIPA was founded in 2011 under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai. HIPA recently concluded its fourth season with a Life in Color theme, and is now launching its fifth season themed Happiness with Wildlife, Father and Son, and General making up the rest of the categories. A grand prize of $120,000 and an overall prize pool of $400,000 await the winners.
Apart from the exhibit, the event will also have two workshops at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura Premier by world renowned photography author and HIPA judge Tom Ang.