With the support of ASSITEJ International, the eighth International Theatre Photography Competition THEATRE EXPOSED took place in 2025.
This year, photographers from forty countries: Azerbaijan, Algeria, Abkhazia, Armenia, Argentina, England, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Germany, Greece, the Dominican Republic, Zambia, Israel, Italy, Iran, Spain, Kazakhstan, China, Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, France, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Cyprus (Limassol), Chile, Ecuador, South Africa, etc.
Each year, the winners of the competition are selected by an international jury composed of representatives from different countries, including renowned photographers, artists, and theater professionals: Yuri Mechitov (Georgia) — chairman of the competition jury, legendary Georgian photographer, author of many books, including the photo album “Sergei Parajanov. Chronicle of a Dialogue”; Jelena Vilt (Estonia) — photo artist, theater photographer; Izya Schlosberg (USA) — curator of the competition, artist, writer; Sergey Zhdanovich (Belarus) — photo artist; Makinde Adeniran (Nigeria) — playwright, director, chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts (NANTAP Lagos state); Jovan Vidaković (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – photographer; Seok-hong KIM (Korea) – Director of the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS), Member of the Board of ASSITEJ Korea, Vice President of ASSITEJ International; Aki Tonaka (Japan) – photographer, member of the Japan Stage Photographers Society (JSPS), member of Doogaphoto; Darja Štravs Tisu (Slovenia) – photographer, winner of the theater photography competition; François Fogel (France) — photographer, international project manager, winner of the theater photography competition in 2024.
This year, 70 participants reached the final stage of the competition. As a result, the international jury selected 65 photographs in four categories: Art, Portrait, Movement in Art, and Experiment (an open category). The Grand Prix of the competition was awarded to two participants from Iran in the categories of ART and Movement in Art. The photographs of these participants were recognized by all members of the competition’s expert jury.
The winners of the Audience Choice Award in all four categories were determined by online voting on the project’s Facebook page. In addition, a special jury prize and a special prize from the competition organizers were established.
We asked the members of our international jury to write about how difficult it is to be an expert in such a competition and what they would like to wish the participants of future competitions.
Yuri Mechitov (Georgia) – Chair of the International Jury of the Competition
“I am always interested in what others are doing. When you find something special in photographs, new approaches, a new vision, it is very inspiring. Unlike film, a photograph is static, but when you manage to convey the movement, dynamics, and mood of a performance through a photo, it’s always a success.
I am a photographer myself, and I had to photograph theater at a time when there was no good lighting on stage, no normal film, and no modern equipment. But it turned out that the difficulty of theatrical photography has not gone away. Because it is incredibly difficult to create a photographic equivalent of a performance. On the one hand, the idea of the performance must be more or less clearly expressed. On the other hand, the photographs must be self-sufficient, that is, capable of existing outside the context of the performance.
Seok-hong KIM (Korea) – Director of the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS), Member of the Board of ASSITEJ Korea, Vice President of ASSITEJ International.
“All of the photos are so vivid, and your lenses have captured every dynamic action and profound movement on stage. They make me feel as if I were part of a performing arts festival. It was truly mesmerizing to take a closer look at your works. I am deeply grateful and honored to have been able to share in the breathtaking moments you offered.”
Jovan Vidaković (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – photographer
“This year’s photographs have given me a delightful challenge. Although there were slightly fewer entries compared to previous years, the overall quality was significantly higher.
For now, I set aside the technical aspects and focused entirely on the images themselves. I chose those photographs that pull me into the theatre, making me wish to see the rest of the performance.
While photographers have little control during a live stage production, they do have the power to decide how they will present that performance to the world. A photographer’s perspective – their unique signature – was one of the key criteria in my selection process.
Dynamics, message, light – these are all essential pieces of the puzzle that make a strong theatre photograph, and this year, none of them were in short supply.
Many authors told the theatrical story beautifully, allowing me to feel as if I had seen numerous performances, despite being miles away from them.
I thank them for that, and I extend my congratulations to the winners as well as to those who made it to the shortlist – I am certain that only the smallest of margins made the difference.
And thank you, Irina, for still managing to keep Theatre Exposed alive. Bravo!”
We are particularly pleased that the geography of participants is expanding every year and we can not only get acquainted with new theatrical productions in different countries around the world, but also learn the names of those wonderful enthusiasts with cameras who never cease to delight us and the audience with their amazing photographs.
We hope that the 2026 competition, which we will announce in the fall, will introduce us to new interesting names!
We would like to thank ASSITEJ International, the International Association of Theatre and Performing Arts for Children and Young People, for their support, and we look forward to holding a new competition in 2026.
