As Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, Founder and Director of Head On Photo Festival, tells ArtsHub: ‘The issue with photography these days, in Australia at least, is there is very little support, and as a result very little ability to deliver photography.
‘As far as I know, Head On is the only avenue for the general public to see photography [in NSW] on a large scale, and what we do also is mostly outdoors, so it is all free and in very central places, as opposed to going to galleries,’ he explains.
The 16th edition of Head On launches this week and will continue across the month of November. Established in 2004 and becoming an annual event in 2010, it has grown to become not just Australia’s largest photo festival, but the second largest in the world.
So, what’s on show in 2025 and what are ArtsHub’s picks?
1. Finding truth: Southern Hemisphere premiere of the film ‘The Stringer’
In his latest feature documentary, The Stringer, Vietnamese-American director Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop, Be Water) takes audiences on a thrilling hunt for the truth. Making its Southern Hemisphere premiere at the festival, The Stringer tracks the two-year investigation into the truth behind ‘Napalm Girl’, one of the Vietnam War’s most iconic photographs.
Rosenzveig says of this work’s place in the festival this year: ‘In an age of disinformation, images still cut to the truth. Head On Photo Festival 2025 celebrates photographers who show us the world through fresh eyes – whether from war zones or the everyday.’
Acclaimed war photographer Gary Knight and a small team of journalists embark on a relentless search to locate and seek justice for a man known only as “the stringer,” grappling with questions of authorship, racial injustice, and journalistic ethics.
The screening will be followed with a Q&A with Carl Robinson, a former AP photo editor during the Vietnam War. Must see watching: Sunday 9 November, 6.30-8.30pm at Bondi Pavilion. This is a paid ticketed event.
2. Head On: expert advice on exhibiting and collecting photography
Head On recently presented a booth at the new Photo Sydney as part of Sydney Contemporary. He told ArtsHub on this occasion: ‘It is important to have photography as part of the art fair because, up until now, photography was regarded as the ugly cousin that no one talks about. Now it has been accepted into the family, and hopefully we will be able to get more [people] interested in fine art photos and other photography, and hopefully more commercial galleries will realise that this value – commercial value that is, on top of artistic value – and maybe start to represent and show more photographers.’
Read: The fall of drawing and the rise of photography
This Head On panel will break down the business of photography, offering unique insights into the commercial art world. The discussion will be led by internationally acclaimed photographer Murray Fredericks, Sydney Contemporary Art Fair Director Zoe Paulsen, and international commercial gallerist, Michael Reid OAM. This ticketed event takes place at Bondi Pavilion on Saturday 8 November from 1-2.30pm. Book your ticket to join the conversation.
3. Head On new event: Photobook and zine fair
A new initiative this year, Head On’s Photobook and Zine Market will be held on Sunday 9 November from 11am-4pm at Bondi Pavilion. The one-day-only event will bring together publishers, bookstores, indie artists, and editors to showcase and sell their photobooks and zines directly to existing and new audiences. This is the first major photobook fair in Sydney since 2019, and is a free event.
4. Head On shows two-time Pulitzer Prize winning photographer
This year, Head On presents 36 exhibitions from Paddington to Sydney’s CBD. ArtsHub‘s pick of the bunch is Michael Robinson Chávez’s exhibition Imperium, a portrait of life, loss and resilience in Ukraine.
Read: What happens to art caught in war’s crossfire?
A two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, Chávez is a prominent visual journalist with a 15-year tenure at The Washington Post, and previous roles at The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and the Associated Press. His images of the missing and imprisoned in this exhibition will remind us of what is at stake for a country fighting for its survival. See it at Paddington Reservoir Gardens, 251-255 Oxford St, Paddington from 8-30 November. Free entry.
5. Head On celebrates sports photojournalists
One for all the family, The Walkley for Sport Photography recognises photographers who capture the emotion and drama of sport. Introduced in 1998, it is one of 30 categories in Australia’s prestigious journalism awards, the Walkleys.
These images show our history, culture and humanity through moments of sporting achievement and agony. These photographers are masters of timing and the elements, using the play of light, weather, emotion, and playing surfaces (often, spectacularly, the water) to capture the split-second moments that mean everything to an athlete.
For Head On Photo Festival 2025, the curators have combed through the archive of Walkley-winning sports photography and curated images from 1998-2024, showcasing Australia’s best sports photography over a vast range of sports, events and visual styles. See them anytime of the day or night in the free, outdoor exhibition along Bondi Beach Promenade.
6. Become a voyeur: look into women’s bags at Head On
Russian-born freelance photographer Sergei Stroitelev says: ‘Women’s handbags have always been a mystery to me’. He explains of his Head On exhibition: ‘I spent a couple of months wandering around my hometown, St. Petersburg, asking every woman I met to ”show me what’s in your bag.” Some thought I was a mugger, some thought I was insane, and some complied.’
The outcome is a fascinating study of modern society. The photographer, who is now based in Germany, having fled Russia for his safety as a bisexual artist exploring topics of identity and gender orientation, says the project expels personal demons but also connects deeply with other human beings.
Stroitekev is an award winning photographer, including the NPPA Best of Photojournalism, Bartur Photo Awards, Pictures of the Year International, Pictures of the Year Asia, Istanbul Photo Awards, Direct Look Photo Contest, and the Luis Valtueña Humanitarian Photography Award. You can see his free exhibition along Bondi Beach Promenade.
7. Head On: party with Australia’s photography scene
Head On launches this Friday, 7 November, 7-10pm at Bondi Pavilion. It is always a great night for bringing the photography community together – to enjoy music, drinks, food and celebrate this year’s Head On Award with 110 images on show and the winners announced. Book your ticket.
Head On Photo Festival 2025 runs from 7–30 November, across Bondi Beach Promenade, Bondi Pavilion and Paddington Reservoir Gardens, in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Many of the events are free.
