Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) have announced a new five-year partnership. Under the agreement, the Society will host major annual exhibitions of the awards’ travel photography supported by an ongoing programme of workshops and events. The first free exhibition will run from May 6th to June 10th, 2011. Held in the Society’s modern glassfronted Pavilion at the heart of London’s cultural quarter in Kensington, it will feature winning shots from the 2010 International Travel Photographer of the Year awards.

TPOTY Press Release

Travel Photographer of the Year in association with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

A new journey begins with major London exhibition

Travel Photographer of the Year and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) are delighted to announce a new five-year partnership that will see the Society host major annual exhibitions of the awards’ stunning travel photography supported by an ongoing programme of workshops and events, starting this summer.

The first free exhibition will run from May 6th to June 10th, 2011. Held in the Society’s modern glassfronted Pavilion at the heart of London’s cultural quarter in Kensington, it will feature winning shots from the 2010 international Travel Photographer of the Year awards. The Society’s remarkable archive of more than half a million artworks, negatives, lantern slides and albums, which includes iconic images such as Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley’s Antarctica photographs and Alfred Gregory’s momentous shots of the first ascent of Everest, will provide a fascinating and evocative selection of images documenting the history of travel photography to accompany the exhibition. 

Each year a programme of photography and travel-related workshops and talks will also take place during the exhibition period (details to follow online). Dr. Rita Gardner CBE, Director of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) said: “Photography has a unique power to instantly inspire and inform us in equal measure about the landscapes, people and places of our world. As an avid photographer, I welcome this opportunity for the Society’s historic collection to be linked with some of the very best contemporary images from a diverse and international field of winners - amateur and professional young and old - reflecting the Society’s long-term commitment to the photographic image as both a means of visual record and also as a source of pleasure and inspiration. We are delighted to be associated with this exciting new initiative.”

Travel Photographer of the Year founder Chris Coe said: “This is wonderful news for the awards, for our entrants and for all lovers of travel photography. The Society is steeped in the history of both travel and photography and it is a privilege to be able to exhibit the amazing imagery from this prestigious award at such a great venue. I am particularly pleased that the annual exhibitions will be free to visit, so everyone can enjoy them.

“I can think of no more appropriate organisation to join forces with than the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), which has been at the forefront of scientific geographical research since 1830 and at the cutting-edge of travel photography since the earliest days of the camera.  The combination of the very best contemporary travel photographs with images from the extraordinary wealth of material in the Society’s archive will be fascinating and make for a hugely rewarding visitor experience, and I look forward to working with the Society to develop an informative and entertaining programme of events around the exhibitions.”

Further information on Travel Photographer of the Year can be found at www.tpoty.com. The 2011 awards will be launched on May 4th

Further information on the Royal Geographical Society with IBG can be found at www.rgs.org

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