Functioning as a dynamic platform for showcasing excellent photojournalism from the world’s top investigative photographers as well as new talents, beginning this month, Athens Photo World (APW) presents a series of exhibitions around the city, to continue throughout the summer.

First launched in 2019, Athens Photo World was created according to the vision of Pulitzer Prize-winning Greek photojournalist Yannis Behrakis, who passed away that year, to highlight and support the work of international photojournalists.

Returning now in 2021, the Yannis Behrakis International Photojournalism Award is an integral part of the event, presented along with the Athens Photo World Award. The winners of both awards will be announced on June 1, but you can see examples of the work of the finalists here.

Naturally, much of the content presented at this year’s event is focused on the pandemic. For example, the program includes an exhibition by young photographers titled “Mission Freedom, Code Name #6,” which looks at the reality of life during the pandemic from a teenager’s point of view, and can be seen at the Central Square of the Municipality of Chalandri until June 20.

“In an age of limitations and redefinitions of the global daily life, the image has been – more emphatically than ever in modern history – the only real channel of information and communication. Photojournalists around the world are among the few professionals who have worked tirelessly, facing indefinable risks, revealing aspects of a new and unexpected reality,” reads part of the introduction to this year’s program on the APW website.

But not all of the exhibitions relate to the pandemic; “Sports ‘n’ the City,” on display at the railings of the National Garden until May 30, features 46 photos by sports photographers Yorgos Matthaios and Vladimir Rys, while at the Athens Concert Hall, the exhibition “Greece” includes photos by some of Greece’s top photojournalists, depicting important landmarks.

The centerpiece of the program, which will take place at the National Library of Greece at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, between August 23 and September 14, is the exhibition of World Press Photo 2021, a major international contest of photojournalism and documentary photography, with photos that were awarded this year.

APW, and the World Press Photo exhibition, is sponsored by the Stavros Niachos Foundation.

Find the full program of events here.