ASSOCIATION NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2009 | by Aaron K, Executive Director

Following on from last month's column I can now provide some more detail regarding two significant AIPA events that will take place before the end of this year.

Firstly, the highly anticipated Sony /AIPA Student and Assistant Scholarship competition is up and running once again. This event aims to reward photographic excellence and help better educate the next generation of professional shooters. The two category winners will each receive an incredible prize package that should help set them up for future success in the industry.

This time around both the top student and the top assistant will receive a fantastic Sony Alpha d-SLR camera - but this is really just the tip of the iceberg! Just like last year there will be a raft of other great photographic products and services up for grabs. And then of course there are the special ‘career enhancing' opportunities included with each prize package. The student winner will receive 5 days of on-the-job work experience with leading AIPA photographers in a speciality of their choosing. The assistant winner on the other hand will receive a personal portfolio consultation with leading photo agent Christina Force, and an entire year of one-on-one mentoring with the Executive Director of the AIPA (that's me). Furthermore, both winners will have their winning portfolios published in NO Magazine - one of New Zealand's leading fashion/art/contemporary culture publications.

If you're a tertiary photo student or an assistant and you'd like to know more please visit the AIPA website for further details (including a complete list of prizes, entry requirements, terms and conditions, etc). The deadline for entries is Friday, November 13 - so start planning your photo submissions now, and then get shooting!

The other big event on the horizon is an entirely new AIPA initiative called Image Nation. This two day photography conference will be held at Unitec in Auckland on Saturday October 11 and Sunday October 12. Like the AIPA Scholarship competition Image Nation will have a dual purpose - i.e. to provide entertainment and inspiration while also delivering practical and up-to-date business advice. Obviously this is a fairly tall order, so we're going to pull in a number of "heavy hitters" to make sure we deliver the goods. So far the speaking roster for this event includes Georges Antoni (from Sydney), Arno Gasteiger, Phil Simpson, Becky Nunes, Ian Batchelor, Rob Lile, Kristian Frires and Tom Roberton. Even more speakers will be announced shortly.

The range of topics covered at Image Nation will be diverse - but the overriding aim is to explore the relationship between art and commerce in professional photography today. So attendees can not only expect to see some astounding photographic presentations, they'll also hear about how each photographer has managed to develop their career to the point where producing such incredible imagery (and being paid well for it) is a daily reality.

If you have any involvement with the photographic industry then this is clearly an event you won't want to miss. To avoid disappointment I would strongly recommend that you secure your seats early.

Photo above: © Nick Servian