SAKARYA/ISTANBUL 

The fifth exhibition of İstanbul Photo Awards 2025, organized by Anadolu, opened in the northwestern Turkish province of Sakarya, featuring award-winning images selected from nearly 22,000 submissions by an international jury.

The exhibition showcases photographs that won awards in 10 categories in the international news photography contest and is on display at the Ofis Art Center as part of Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality’s December cultural and arts program. It will remain open to visitors through Jan. 11, 2026.

Speaking at the opening, Anadolu’s Türkiye News Director Hasan Ay said the agency carries out multifaceted work in photography and organizes competitions closely followed by the global press photography community.

“We do not merely press the shutter; we record history,” Ay said. “We shed light on realities that some parts of the world do not want to see.”

Ay said the number of photographs distributed worldwide by Anadolu this year exceeded 1 million. He added that photography once again proved to be a powerful tool during Israel’s genocide in Palestine.

Ay added that photographers from 114 countries submitted nearly 22,000 photographs to this year’s contest.

The Sakarya exhibition follows previous displays in Ankara, Istanbul, New York and Madrid.

The 2025 competition is held with Turkcell as communications sponsor, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) as overseas events sponsor, and Turkish Airlines as a partial transportation sponsor.

Applications for the 2026 İstanbul Photo Awards are ongoing. The competition will award a total of $58,000 in prizes across 10 categories, including news, sports, nature, portrait and daily life. Applications will be accepted until Jan. 9, 2026.