On Dec. 21, the 2024 edition of the world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) exhibition makes its North American debut at ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) in nearby Toronto. The exhibition features the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, among 100 images from passionate photographers dedicated to sharing their stunning visions of nature. This acclaimed exhibition returns to ROM from the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London, where this international competition is now in its 60th year.
A perennial ROM visitor favorite, the exhibition will run until May 4, 2025. This is the twelfth year in a row the Museum has exhibited images from this prestigious global photography contest. Within Canada, the Royal BC Museum will also be presenting WPY from Feb. 14 to April 27, 2025.
The contest’s winning images, the highlights of which are the Grand Title and Young Grand Title awards, are to be announced by NHM at a ceremony on the evening of Oct. 8, 2024. Winners in each competition category will also be announced at the event. This year, NHM has introduced a new award in both the young and adult competitions, the Impact Award, to recognise a conservation success, a story of hope or positive change.
Visitors to ROM will be met with an entirely new selection of images beautifully presented in large backlit illuminated frames for an enhanced visual experience. Every photo is accompanied by a photographer’s description, revealing more about the dramatic stories behind how each image was captured. Reading these accompanying words, visitors are often deeply moved by the evident passion and reverence the photographers have for the natural world and their acute insight about climate change, biodiversity loss, and human impact on ecosystems.
“The sheer beauty of these photos reminds us what is at stake because of climate change and unsustainable activities,” says Dr. Soren Brothers, Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change and ROM curator for the exhibition. “This exhibition gives me hope that audiences will also appreciate what we must treasure and celebrate today, to preserve for future generations by living positively with our environment.”
For the competition’s 60th edition, which was open to photographers of all ages and experience levels, judges received an astounding 59,228 entries from 117 countries. Judged over two rounds by a jury of international experts, the photographers selected for exhibition receive the highest level of recognition for wildlife photography that celebrates artistic composition, technical excellence and breathtaking views of the natural world.
In addition to the Grand Title winners, there are winners in 15 categories that include Animal Portraits; Urban Wildlife; Behaviour: Mammals; Under Water; Oceans: The Bigger Picture; Plants and Fungi; Rising Star; and more as well as images from the hard-hitting photojournalism category.
