Head On Photo Festival 2018

Overview

In its ninth year, the Head On Photo Festival has returned to Sydney, setting up its festival hub once again in Paddington and introducing a new venue at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Running until Sunday, May 20, the festival brings over 100 exhibitions from around the world this year, showcasing 700 photographers from 22 different countries. So from now until the 20th, you could conceivably go from peeking into intimate moments of George Harrison and Eric Clapton's lives captured by Pattie Boyd, to running away with the circus at Queensland photographer Craig Holmes' Of Caravans and Canvas, which depicts Australia's longest-running family-run circus, Ashton Circus, to exploring the booming (with an annual revenue of 80 billion dollars) wedding industry in China — and all in one day.

Unable to make it to everything? Make sure you at least make it to some of the highlights including a floating exhibition and an app-led collection in the Botanic Gardens; a collection of images focused on JFK (which happens to also coincide with the former American president's 101st birthday); and a dive into female identity and where eastern and western traditions come together.

As a first for the festival this year, it will also feature works from some of the most prestigious photo competitions and awards locally and from around the world, plus the program brings with it a host of talks, workshops and, of course, the Head On Photo Awards.

The Head On Photo Festival runs until Sunday, May 20. Discover the full program here.

Image: George Harrison, Eric Clapton & Me: The Photography of Pattie Boyd. Credit: Pattie Boyd.