18th exhibition of
World Press Photo Montreal
Haitian photojournalist Clarens Siffroy was awarded this year for his series Crisis in Haiti
August 25, 2025
The World Press Photo Montreal team is proud to announce the presence of Joumana El Zein Khoury, Executive Director of the World Press Photo Foundation, along with Haitian photojournalist Clarens Siffroy, at the launch of the 18th edition of the event, which will take place at Marché Bonsecours from August 27 to October 13, 2025. At the end of the exhibition route, visitors will also discover a retrospective wall featuring the 70 World Press Photo winners since 1955.
Crisis in Haïti • Photo: Clarens Siffroy, Agence France-Presse
“With more than 73,000 visitors in 2024, the Montreal edition ranks among the most attended worldwide,” notes Yann Fortier, Executive Director of the Exhibition and curator of Antoine in Three Acts. “But the true star remains the audience — curious, loyal, and willing to pause in front of powerful, authentic images. The local exhibitions we integrate each year add depth to this experience, highlighting talents and realities that are often overlooked.”
Joumana El Zein Khoury in Montreal from August 25 to 31
Joumana El Zein Khoury • photo: Rae Alexander
In Montreal to mark the 70th anniversary of World Press Photo, Joumana El Zein Khoury underlined the importance of these images in today’s context:
“We live in a time when it is easy to look away, to scroll endlessly without stopping. But these images do not let us. They cut through the surrounding noise and compel us to recognize what is happening before our eyes — even when it is uncomfortable.”
Born in Lebanon, educated in Paris and New York, and now based in Amsterdam, El Zein Khoury brings over 20 years of experience in international cultural management, program development, and talent promotion. Before becoming Executive Director of World Press Photo in 2021, she led the Prince Claus Fund, a globally recognized institution supporting artists and cultural initiatives around the world.
Clarens Siffroy
Based in Port-au-Prince, Haitian photojournalist Clarens Siffroy will be in Montreal from August 25 to September 3. Documenting the ongoing crisis in his country for Agence France-Presse (AFP) since March 2024, his series Crisis in Haiti earned him a 2025 World Press Photo award in the category Photo Story, North and Central America.
Photo Award Winner in the category Photo Story, North and Central America • Clarens Siffroy, Agence France-Presse
At just 24 years old, he has already collaborated with EFE Noticias, SIPA Press, and Le Nouvelliste. A former student of the VII Academy, selected for the Eddie Adams Workshop, and a member of Diversify Photo, he states: “I am proud to have been able to show the international community what the Haitian people are going through. And I am determined to continue.”
Kim Lévesque-Lizotte presents Elles, at the Heart of Quebec
In addition to the award-winning photos, the 2025 edition features a special carte blanche exhibition entitled Elles, at the Heart of Quebec, a series of portraits of influential women captured by Antoine Desilets. Kim Lévesque-Lizotte serves as the spokesperson for this edition.
Janette-Bertrand • Photo: Antoine-Desilets
The exhibition brings together around twenty portraits of influential women, photographed mostly by Antoine Desilets during the 1970s. Among them are Janette Bertrand, Édith Butler, Clémence DesRochers, Diane Dufresne, Denise Filiatrault, Louise Forestier, Pauline Julien, Louise Latraverse, Dominique Michel, and Simonne Monet-Chartrand. Each photograph is accompanied by a thoughtful and insightful text written by Kim Lévesque-Lizotte.
Antoine in Three Acts: A Tribute to a Pioneer
The exhibition also features Antoine in Three Acts, a triple tribute to the father of Quebec photojournalism, including the renowned photograph Ça grève les yeux, which won a World Press Photo award in 1967. Another free outdoor exhibition, Fragments of History, will be displayed on rue de la Commune until June 2026. The project is made possible thanks to the collaboration of Luc Desilets, Antoine’s son, along with the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
Antoine Desilets • Auto-portrait
The exhibition route is structured around three components:
- Elles, at the Heart of Quebec
- The large-scale display of Ça grève les yeux, winner of a World Press Photo award in 1967
- Fragments of History, a free outdoor installation on view until June 2026
Looking at Poverty in Quebec
Curated by Professor Normand Landry (Université TÉLUQ), this exhibition features 30 striking photographs that portray the realities of poverty across Quebec. The images are drawn from in-depth research highlighting the persistent stereotypes surrounding poverty and their continued influence on public discourse.
The 2025 Antoine-Desilets Prize Finalists
As in past years, the Expo World Press Photo Montreal will showcase a selection of finalists for the Antoine-Desilets Prize, the prestigious award granted by the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec (FPJQ).
For 2025, a jury selected about 20 photographs from among 155 submissions by 28 Quebec photojournalists working across varied media outlets. This year marks the highest number of participants in three years, with a record share of one-quarter women photographers, reflecting the vitality and growing diversity of the next generation in photojournalism.
Essential Perspectives | La Presse
Photojournalists from La Presse present around twenty images exploring pressing societal issues. Each photograph powerfully conveys the vulnerability, resilience, despair, or hope of those featured.
Décrypteurs | Radio-Canada
Through this interactive installation, the Radio-Canada team. Alexis De Lancer, Marie-Pier Élie, Jeff Yates, and Nicholas De Rosa invite the public to gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of disinformation and the mechanisms behind fake news.
70 Years of World Press Photo
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, the World Press Photo Foundation presents an extensive installation on the mezzanine of Marché Bonsecours entitled The Wall of 70 Winners. This mosaic brings together, for the very first time in Montreal, the 70 prize-winning photographs from 1955 to today, offering visitors a unique journey through seven decades of contemporary history.
Jury of the 1977 World Press Photo exhibition
With this retrospective, the Expo seeks to remind us that photojournalism is not only the capture of a fleeting moment, but also a work of memory — one that can shed light on the present and inspire critical reflection on the world.
About the World Press Photo Foundation
Founded in 1955 in the Netherlands, the World Press Photo Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes documentary photography and photojournalism as tools for understanding, dialogue, and action. Its annual exhibitions reach millions of people around the world.
18th Edition of the World Press Photo Exhibition Montreal
August 27 to October 13, 2025
at Marché Bonsecours
Tickets
- General admission: $16 (+tx)
- Seniors / students: $13 (+tx)
- Children under 10: Free
- School groups: $10 (taxes included) per student, with online reservations available.
FPJQ members receive reduced admission upon presenting their membership card at the ticket office.
Hours
Sunday to Wednesday, 10 am. to 10 pm.
Thursday to Saturday, 10 am. to midnight
Open daily, including on Labour Day (Sept. 1) and Thanksgiving (Oct. 13).
For more information: wppmtl.ca
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Featured image: Marijn Fidder – Bodybuilder Tamale Safalu training outside his home in Kampala, Uganda.
