About the Award
The Global SinoPhoto Awards (GSPA) is an international photography contest that annually rewards outstanding
photographers with cash prizes, books gifted by the Thames and Hudson (T&H), exhibition opportunities and
worldwide media exposure.
The GSPA is open to all photographers, emerging or established, of any age, nationality,
or location, that have a Chinese story to tell across the diaspora, mainland China and globally. We encourage
submissions from talented visual artists working in any genre of photography*; documentary, fiction, fine art, mixed
media, conceptual, portraiture or constructed.
The Global SinoPhoto Awards' overall objective is to communicate Chinese culture and values through remarkable
imagery and to promote photographers internationally.
Why enter?
- The Betser Prize £1500, Category Winners £500 and T&H books for all winners,
including the Best Student Photographer and Highly Commended Photographers
- Exhibition opportunities for selected finalists' works
- Invitation to Awards ceremony at The British Library
- Recognition by the Awards' expert judges and partners, with potential mentorship and
commission opportunities
- Registered students have free submission
- International media exposure
"Receiving the Betser Prize in front of an audience at the British Library was an
unforgettable experience. The Global SinoPhoto Awards have helped share my work from pre-pandemic Wuhan to a wider
audience, from exhibiting at the Fujifilm House of Photography to being featured in a number of publications
including The Times. I am very grateful for everything that has unfolded from this opportunity and am looking
forward to following the awards into the future."
—Fergus Coyle, the Overall Betser Prize Winner
Categories and submission requirements
A Chinese element must be included in a single image, or within a set of images in a series, but beyond that we want to give photographers the creative freedom to tell their stories on all topics. The work must show originality, imagination and technical skill.
In addition to single image submissions, photographers may also tell a story through a set of photographs as a series (5 – 10 images). We are looking for a body of images in a series that work together as a coherent group either thematically, conceptually or aesthetically.
The story or concept of the image/s must also be included in the submission statement (no more than 250 words).
The Awards’ Terms and Conditions, the official Rules and Guidelines must be complied with by all submitting photographers to be eligible.
Prizes determined by the GSPA panel of expert judges
The inspiration for GSPA has always been the Family of Man, the historical exhibition curated by the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. It observes and illustrates the similarities in people via the medium of photography. While the GSPA2024 will continue to reflect this inspiration, we are also expanding into more progressive areas of photography. Wherever in the world and whoever you are, your imagery must include an element of Chinese culture.
This can be expressed within each prize category in the following two ways:
- Observational photography: this is to look, see and compose a photograph with no additions and with minimal digital manipulation.
- 'Constructed' photography: in this prize selection, photography is only an element within the image, where mixed media, stitching, painting and the imagination create a new medium.
* AI may not be used in any of the categories.
