Wes and the World Photo Contest 2020

Each year the Fries Center for Global Studies asks Wesleyan students who have had any global experience over the previous year to submit photographs to the annual Wes and the World Photo Contest. We are especially interested in submissions from study abroad returnees, international students, exchange students, fellowship recipients, and foreign language teaching assistants, but all students in the Wesleyan community are eligible to submit.

This year is certainly different. Wesleyan students abroad have been impacted by the current pandemic in various ways. Study abroad students and fellowship recipients were evacuated early from their placements while many international students and foreign language teaching assistants will be joining us remotely this Fall. The purpose of the Wes and the World Photo Contest is to share stories about humanity across the globe through photographs in various categories. In response to the current pandemic and calls for social justice around the world, the Fries Center for Global Studies is modifying this year’s categories to diversify previous years’ submissions and reflect the current moment in history. This year’s categories include equity, pandemic, selfie, nature, and urban.

Our hope with these categories is to allow students to reflect on the ways in which their global experience is meaningful, whether unexpectedly affected or not. These categories will enable students to raise awareness about peoples and cultures outside their ethnocentric lens, reflect on the role of global communities in calling for social justice, recognize how the pandemic has manifested in their spaces, contemplate their own agency in their communities abroad, and appreciate both natural and artificial landscapes of the world.

Students are not required to be professional photographers to participate. In fact, our photo jury is more interested in the stories behind the photographs than the photo-editing software they use. Winning photos will be judged by the stories and descriptions of how the photographs capture the categories stated below. We look forward to your submission!

VIEW 2016 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

VIEW 2017 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

VIEW 2018 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

VIEW 2019 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

  • The Wes And The World Photo Contest is open to all current Wesleyan students.
  • Students must have a valid Wesleyan email address to submit photographs.

CONTEST RULES: 

  • Photos must be your original work.
  • Photos must be free of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, or any inappropriate content.
  • You may submit no more than 1 photograph per category for a total of 5 submissions.

HOW TO SUBMIT: 

  • Describe all photos on the Fall 2020 Wes And The World Photo Contest Entry Form.
  • Please title your file: first_last_category (ex: Natalia_Roman_equity)
  • In order to be displayed in our online gallery without being stretched or distorted, photographs must be submitted in .jpeg format, at least 2,000 pixels wide, and no larger than 10 MB.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:  

  • September 30th, 2020, 11:59 p.m. (EST)

WE HAVE 5 CATEGORIES FOR SUBMISSION:

  • Selfie: A picture of the student meaningfully engaging in the community in context.
  • Nature: A picture of flora, fauna, or natural landscapes.
  • Urban: A picture of architectural structures, buildings, or urban landscapes.
  • Equity: A picture documenting political, social, economic, cultural, environmental equity or lack thereof.
  • Pandemic: A picture of human activity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    (Photo: Bruno, Luca/Associated Press. “A worker sprays disinfectant in front of the cathedral of Milan on March 31.” Wall Street Journal, https://www.wsj.com/articles/italy-hopeful-that-coronavirus-epidemic-is-slowing-down-11585682758. Accessed 11 August 2020.)

PHOTO RELEASE PERMISSION: 

I hereby grant Wesleyan University’s Fries Center for Global Studies permission to use my photographs and/or video in any and all of its publications, including webspace, and in any and all other media, whether now known or hereafter existing, controlled by Wesleyan University’s Fries Center for Global Studies, in perpetuity, and for other use by the University. I understand that by submitting photos to the Wes in the World Photo Contest, I am agreeing to grant the Fries Center for Global Studies license for use of the photographs in displays related to the contest and in the FCGS printed and electronic publications. Photos may be modified, retouched, and used for promotional purposes, such as on the Fries Center for Global Studies website, Facebook, Flickr, and in brochures, flyers, annual reports, or posters. I will make no monetary or another claim against Wesleyan University for the use of the photographs and/or video.