Julia Durkin MNZM

Julia Durkin MNZM is the Founder and CEO of Auckland Festival of Photography in New Zealand. Founded in 2004, the festival began as Auckland Photo Day, a 24-hour community photography competition. The Auckland Festival of Photography is the longest-running photography festival in Australasia/Oceania, with 21 annual editions curated and directed to date. In 2010, Julia played a key role in the Auckland Festival of Photography becoming a founding member of the Asia Pacific Photoforum, a network of international photography festivals across New Zealand, Australia, and Asia.

In the 2020 New Year’s Honours List, Julia was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contributions to photography.

She has been a portfolio reviewer for festivals across Asia, Europe and Australasia – Kaunas Photo, Lithuania; Pingyao International Photography Festival, China; Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops, Cambodia; Higashikawa International Photography Festival, Japan; Indian Photo Festival, Hyderabad, India; Guatephoto, Guatemala, Obscura Festival of Photography, Malaysia; Chobi Mela, Bangladesh; Tokyo Institute of Photography, Japan 2020 and FORMAT, UK in 2021.

Julia has been on the jury of various prestigious contests including the Nikon Photo Contest, Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards and China International Press Photo. She has also been a nominator for the 2016 Lou Stoumen Prize, 2015 Prix Pictet, and the Leica Oskar Barnack Award from 2022 to 2024.

World Press Photo involvement:
2025 World Press Photo Contest jury member

Julia Durkin on Social Media:
Instagram: @aklphotofestival
X: @AklPhotoFest