Picturing Footscray Photography Prize exhibition

Published by: VU in the Community | 12-Aug-2020
Picturing Footscray is a free open-entry photography prize that has been celebrating Melbourne's unique inner-west suburb of Footscray since 2016, documenting a period of significant change. In 2020, this is particularly poignant. Against the backdrop of home-isolation and a global pandemic, life as we know it has changed and we're adapting with it. Welcome to Picturing Footscray, virtually! @vuinthecommunity #vuinthecommunity #picturingfootscray
In this year's exhibition, view 150 photographs that celebrate and explore Footscray in unique ways.

Ranging from landscapes and portraits that are quintessentially "Footscray" to creative interpretations from the confines of isolation, Picturing Footscray 2020 documents a moment in time that juxtaposes the vibrancy of this inner west suburb with the loneliness of a pandemic.

Picturing Footscray 2020 judge, Cameron Cope, was impressed by the diversity of this year's entries.

It was a great privilege to judge the Picturing Footscray award in 2020 alongside the artist Megan Evans.

This year's competition received over 150 entries that explored Footscray from a whole spectrum of angles, and they really reflected the community and its heritage as well as this very particular moment that we find ourselves in history.

We saw many of Footscray's streets and architectural icons represented. Alongside those were interior moments from private lives in lockdown and isolation. We also saw an unassuming pre-covid imagery emerge through a new lens “ that of loss and nostalgia. And there are images that also communicated beautifully the newfound strange emptiness of our public spaces.

Many pictures made us laugh, and they reminded us of both the irreverence and inclusivity of Footscray. They provided lots of hope for the future, too.

Fellow judge Megan Evans added:

One of the things I noticed in judging this prize was the tendency to narrative in the works. They all seemed to tell a story which may or may not be due to the times we are living in. As a judge I found myself engaged in the many layers of meaning embedded in the images.

Visit www.vu.edu.au/picturing-footscray to view the winning photographs, online exhibition, and vote for your favourite photograph.

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