Tehran – Every year, Florida Museum of Photography and Arts (FMOPA) celebrates photography excellence from around the world through an international photography competition. The winning work has been featured at an ongoing exhibition at the museum, with three photographs by Iranian artists Majid Hojati and Ahmin Amilian.
The work, selected from 2,537 photographs submitted by 579 photographers from 55 countries, will open on July 8th and be on display at an exhibition that will be held until September 7th.
A ju-degree panel of curators, educators and photography experts, the exhibition reflects FMOPA’s ongoing commitment to foster dialogue through the medium by introducing the global photography perspective.
On display are two works by Majid Hojati, who ranked first in the People/Portraits and Place/Scenery section.
A photo of Hojati’s victory in the People/Portraits section is “Pray for Eid al-fitr”. Showing the Grand Mosque in Hadan city. A playful little boy in stylish new clothes plays behind his mother as Muslim women pray for Eid al-Fitr, facing the city’s mosque quibra (towards the house of God).
His winning work in the Location/Scenery category is “The Flow of Life”, indicating the Kaj Bridge in Isfahan city. People sit on the stairs of the 400-year-old Kanji Bridge in the historic city of Isfahan, enjoying themselves by the Zayande Rood River, which flows again after months of drought.
Majid Hojati is based in Tehran and began his artistic career in 1999 when he enrolled at the Isfahan Academy of Art. He holds a Masters in Photography and pursues independent and personal projects in the field of photography. He has received over 300 awards from various photo festivals and has participated in many international exhibitions.
In the concept section, Armin Amirian took first place in his photo entitled “Rebel-01”.
Iran is a depository rich in contributions in the fields of art, architecture, music, literature and film. In particular, the city of Isfahan, with its gorgeous architectural structure, is the birthplace of many well-known Iranian artists and figures. He was also the home of 20-year-old photographer and artist Armin Amylian, inspired by many of his previous works, and chose to create a dynamic interpretation of his people’s collective experiences.
The 2025 edition of the FMOPA International Photography Competition exhibition brings together award-winning works from a diverse group of emerging and established photographers who push the boundaries of visual storytelling, techniques and cultural commentary.
Selected photos represent a wide range of genres, including portraits, conceptual photography, landscapes, documentaries, and still lifes. These works speak the power of photography, once intimate, vast, reflective and provocative, photographic as a global language.
Whether capturing fleeting moments or constructing elaborate visual metaphors, the artists of this exhibition explore themes of identity, conflict, environment, memory and time.
Photo: “The Flow of Life” by Majid Hojati
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