Dorsett Hotels to showcase Sony World Photography Award-winning images
15 Sony World Photography Award-winning photographs will be on display in a touring exhibition created by Dorsett Hospitality International, in partnership with the World Photography Organisation.
Last month, the winners of the renowned Sony World Photography Awards was announced, with an exhibition of the winning photographs taking place at Somerset House between April 18th and May 6th. Created by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards 2019 saw a record-breaking number of entries to the competition, with more than 327,000 images entered into the Awards’ four competitions: Professional, Open, Student and Youth.
© Albert Tan Chee Hiang, National Awards, 1st Place, Singapore, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards
Though the exhibition at Somerset House may have finished, this is only the beginning of the journey for some of the winning photographs. 15 of the images from the Awards’ Open competition and National Awards programme have been chosen for a second exhibition that starts in London, and will journey on across the globe, including stopping in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and China.
Working with the Awards on this second exhibition is one of Asia’s fastest-growing international hotel groups, Dorsett Hospitality International. The hotel group, also known as Dorsett Hotels, is committed to supporting art globally, and have curated the selection of award-winning images for the exclusive second exhibition, which will begin on the 9th of May at Dorsett Shepherd’s Bush.
© Baerbel Brechtel, National Awards, Winner, Germany, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards
“We want all of our guests to feel inspired and excited whenever they stay with us in any of our hotels around the world,” says Winne Chiu, executive director and president at Dorsett Hospitality International. “Partnering with the World Photography Organisation allows us to showcase exciting new artistic talent and share this with our guests, offering a unique experience and a new perspective on traditional travel to appreciate the world through the artists and photographers’ eyes. Guests no longer need to leave the hotel in order to experience local art and culture.”
“We are delighted to be the World Photography Organisation’s sole official hotel partner worldwide, giving guests and visitors the opportunity to connect with a prestigious collection across our hotels internationally,” Chiu continues. “Aiming to achieve our brand promise – stay vibrant – there is great synergy between the Dorsett Hotels brand and World Photography Organization, further highlighting our passion for contemporary art and photography.”
© nicolas boyer, France, Winner, Open competition, Travel, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards
Each of the images chosen for the touring exhibition has been carefully selected to support the local talent in the locations of Dorsett Hotels around the world. “We see our hotels as ambassadors of each vibrant city where we are located,” explains Chiu. “We have exclusively curated a selection of 15 award-winning images to be displayed not just in London but as part of a global tour which will visit five Dorsett hotels; Dorsett Shepherds Bush, Dorsett Kuala Lumpur, Dorsett Singapore, Dorsett Wan Chai in Hong Kong and Dorsett Shanghai in China.”
“It’s incredibly important to us to be able to showcase these images on a global scale and to support talented artists from around the world,” Dorsett Hospitality International’s president continues. “Our curated selection includes 15 images by photographers located in all of the major countries where we have hotels [UK, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan and Germany], and are all strategically chosen because we love the community and neighbourhood.”
© Philippe Sarfati, France, Winner, Open competition, Architecture, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards
Discussing how Dorsett Hotels hopes guests will react to the exhibition, Chiu mentions, “The exhibition offers a huge variety of stunning photographs from around the world, from intricate still life to arresting portraiture. We hope that guests will engage with these images which offer the opportunity to look at the world from a different perspective, and enjoy viewing the exhibition as it travels through each of the Dorsett Hotels’ locations. Guests may also have the chance to meet and greet local award-winning photographers during their stay to learn more about the individual images.”
“Art is like “food for the soul” – it comes in all shapes and sizes and stimulates different tastes and flavours for different people, and we are proud to provide a platform to offer this experience to our guests,” she continues. “Each award-winning image has been carefully selected through Dorsett Hotel’s Dorsett Discoveries programme, which offers guests access to the hottest events, happenings and dining spots in each city. This initiative which means when you stay with Dorsett Hotels, you are staying connected to local community.”
© Toshio Ishido, National Awards, Winner, Japan, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards
“Art and culture is extremely important, and it isn’t necessarily something that we feel should be classified as ‘luxury’,” says Chiu. “Art is all about the story, the inspiration and the history behind it and photography, in particular, is so accessible because of its visual quality. Nowadays, it is vital to go above and beyond guest expectations with thoughtful and meaningful experiences and we are passionate about achieving this by offering a unique insight into the culture and art. In such a fast paced and rapidly changing world, it’s vital that we start conversations and continue to inspire and innovate.”
Feature image: © Carole PARIAT, France, Winner, Open competition, Street Photography, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards
