Most striking photos of 2017 to go on display in Singapore

The World Press Photo of the Year captured 28-year-old protestor José Víctor Salazar Balza on fire amid violent clashes with riot police during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. PHOTO: AFP/RONALDO SCHEMIDT
Police outside the concert grounds after a gunman opened fire on concertgoers at the Route 91 country music festival in Las Vegas, USA, on Oct 1, 2017. The photo is part of a series that won the top prize in the Spot News Stories category. PHOTO: DAVID BECKER, GETTY IMAGES
A bald eagle feasts on meat scraps in the garbage bins of a supermarket in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, USA, on Feb 14, 2017. The photo won top prize in the Nature Singles category. PHOTO: COREY ARNOLD

SINGAPORE - The most provocative and poignant images from around the world will be on display in Singapore from the end of this week.

Presented by The Straits Times, the World Press Photo exhibition (WPP) will feature 161 images by 42 photographers for their powerful images in the non-profit organisation's annual competition, one of the most prestigious in photojournalism.

The 161 prize-winning photographs from eight categories in the 2017 contest will be on display from October 6 to 28.

The photo of the year captured 28-year-old protestor José Víctor Salazar Balza on fire amid violent clashes with riot police during a protest against President Nicolás Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela.

Salazar was set alight when the gas tank of a motorbike exploded though he survived the incident with first and second-degree burns. The image was taken by Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt who was covering the demonstrations in May 2017.

The Singapore leg of the roving exhibition is being presented by The Straits Times for the fourth year. The exhibition will be at the National Museum of Singapore, the official venue supporter. Admission is free.

The exhibition will visit 100 locations in 45 countries. It is seen by more than 4 million people each year.

The competition drew 73,044 images from 4,548 photographers from around the world.

In conjunction with this year's competition, there will be weekly panel discussions and talks by guest photographers as well as Straits Times photojournalists.

WPP Sports category judge Maye-E Wong will moderate the Oct 6 talk on covering North Korea. She is the lead North Korea photographer for Associated Press and is responsible for taking and sharing images that document both news events and everyday life in the country.

The Straits Times photojournalists Mark Cheong will talk about the wide-ranging assignments he has covered in the past year, both locally and overseas, including the aftermath of the Lombok earthquake in August.

There will be a guided tour of the exhibition, limited to the first 20 people, every Saturday and Sunday at 11am and 1pm.

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