Athens Photo World (APW) is a celebration dedicated to the memory of photographer Yiannis Behrakis and his 30-years of photojournalism. In 2015, Behrakis and his team of Reuters photographers were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for outstanding coverage of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.
Yiannis Behrakis
Some of his incredible photography can been seen in this link. Yiannis Behrakis was one of Reuters’ “most decorated and best-loved photographers”. He died at 58, after a battle with cancer.
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“The best photojournalist is the invisible one!” Yiannis Behrakis
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Athens Photo World exhibitions began in 2019, not only in memory of Behrakis, but also to “support his fellow photojournalists worldwide”. As part of APW, from May until the end of the summer, “photojournalism projects are presented in various Athens outdoor exhibition spaces and through digital screenings”. His exhibition, Sports ‘n’ the City, in Athens National Garden features “great sports moments of the last years through the lens of photographers George Matthew and Vladimir Rys”.
Greece Exhibition 2021
While walking, I noticed photographs from the APW 2021 Exhibition, Greece, displayed on the fencing of Athens Concert Hall. I stopped to take photos. The beautiful images are of Greek landmarks with “travel and aesthetic interest”. It’s best to see them in person, instead of as “photos of photos”!
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“In 2021, a time of constraints and distances, the image, perhaps more than ever, has been a crucial lever for communication and information.”
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The exhibition includes images “from the frozen Pamvotida Lake of Ioannina, to an idyllic beach on Rhodes Island at the moment when an imposing setting of Meteora appears next to it”. On Andros Island, Tourlitis Lighthouse emerges, and then the “eye catches a familiar Thessaloniki image of umbrellas on a beach, a creation of the great sculptor George Zongolopoulos”. Images of the Shipwreck of Gythio and the Dome of Athena Pronaia in Delphi have magical “starry sky backgrounds”.
The “view of Lycabettus is captivating, and the landscape of Ancient Corinth invites you for a second, maybe even a third look”. Nothing is missing from the amazing Acropolis image, “a fine finale for a photo tour with the scent of Greece”.
