The month of May is designated to recognize the contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (AAPI) to the United States. As a member of the AAPI community, Chinese Culture Development Center (CCDC) proudly celebrates the Heritage Month each year with friends from all walks of life through cultural programs and events.

This year, teaming up with local photographer organizations, we are thrilled to announce a special project: AAPI: Living Heritages Photo Contest and Exhibition.

Opening to all photography enthusiasts across the country, this program aims to reflect how AAPI heritages are experienced and kept alive every day in the community and beyond. Through each contestant’s unique perspective, AAPI: Living Heritages hopes to present a diverse and inclusive landscape where traditions, cultures, and customs of different origins are preserved, celebrated, and working together to build a thriving future we all share. And this is the charm of photography!

Contest Introduction

Theme: AAPI Living Heritages

• Traditions, celebrations, lifestyles, or cultures of Asian American and Pacific Islander community in the United States

Participation: open to all photography enthusiasts in the country.

Jury: Nick Ut(Pulitzer Prize winner), Ringo Chiu(Pulitzer Prize winner), Guorong Jia(World Press Photo winner)

Submission: contestants submit qualified digital photo works to the contest online platform until April 24, 2024.

Selection: ONE Gold Award, THREE Silver Awards, SIX Bronze Awards and TEN Honorable Mentions. FIVE Voter’s Favorite Awards will be granted to photos receiving most likes on media supporter’s social media.

All awarded photos and Honorable mentions will join TEN photos by award-winning professional photographers from renowned news agencies to be displayed at the Exhibition.

Contest Rules

1. Single frame photographs.
2. There are no restrictions on the time and location of the photographs; photographs must be taken in the United States.
3. Each participant may submit up to 10 photographs.
4. Submission period: From now until April 24, 2024.
5. Technical requirements:

• Must be uploaded in JPEG format with high-quality compression. Each JPG file should be within 10MB and have a minimum of 4000 pixels on the longest side.
• Stitching, special effects, multiple exposures, distortion correction, etc., that alter the pixel or aspect ratio of the photograph, are prohibited. Adding, adjusting, or removing people or objects in the image is not allowed(Except for cropping). Photos that excessively adjust brightness, contrast, color saturation, color temperature, etc., resulting in blurring or disappearance of the background or objects in the background, thus altering the image content, are not eligible for the contest.
• All photographs must be made with a camera. Photos generated using AI technology are not allowed to participate in this contest.

6. Captions guidance:

• The photographs submitted must be accompanied with titles and captions. The caption must be comprehensive, including but not limited to the date and location of the photograph (city, region, state), the identities of individuals in the photograph, the events depicted, and any necessary background information not directly visible in the image. For submissions via email, please attach a separate text file with the same filename as the photograph for the caption.

7. Terms and Conditions:

• Participants must ensure that they are the sole authors of the submitted works and hold independent, complete, clear, and undisputed copyright to the works in their entirety and in part. Participants must also ensure that the submitted works do not infringe upon the legal rights and interests of third parties, including but not limited to copyright, portrait rights, reputation rights, privacy rights, etc. Participants are solely responsible for any legal issues arising from disputes over copyright, portrait rights, etc., of the submitted works.
• Participants retain the copyright to their works, and the organizers have the right to use the submitted works for promotion, exhibition, and non-commercial publication, while respecting the participants’ right to attribution.
• Entries that do not comply with the contest rules may be disqualified by the organizer.

8. Awards：

• Gold Award: 1 winner, prize of $500, and a certificate.
• Silver Awards: 3 winners, prize of $200 each, and certificates.
• Bronze Awards: 6 winners, prize of $100 each, and certificates.
• Honorable Mentions: 10 photographs, awarded certificates.
• All awarded photos and Honorable mentions will join 10 photos by award-winning professional photographers from renowned news agencies to be displayed at the Exhibition.
• Additionally, the top 20 winning works will be published on the social media platforms of Meihua Magazine. 5 Voter’s Favorite Awards will be granted to photos receiving most likes on media supporter’s social media.

9. Announcement of Award Winners:

• May 1, 2024: Announcement of the 20 finalist works for the main awards and commencement of online voting for the Voter’s Favorite Awards.
• May 16, 2024: Announcement of the final list of awards.
• Late May 2024: Award ceremony.(Location: Monterey Park, CA & Irvine, CA)

 

10. Submission method:
Online submission or email submission.

Online submission click here!

Email submission：event@ccdcusa.com
（Please attach a separate text file with the same filename as the photograph for the caption.）