Young photographers in Beijing are invited to play a game of “Truth or Dare” – with a prize of mentorship by a professional photographer.

The competition is run by Inkbeat Arts, publishers of the Beijing Youth Literary Review, and the theme challenges entrants to take a photograph which “reveals a truth or captures a daring image.”

“We want contributors to reveal something secret, hidden, or brutally honest and/or capture an image that is surprising, original, or bold,” as the competition brief puts it.

We asked Simon Shieh, Director of Inkbeat Arts, where the idea for the theme came from.

“We wanted a theme that would inspire young people to do something on their own – without parents or teachers – that reveals something about who they are,” he told us. “This, in itself, is a daring act. We want to give young people the permission to express themselves in a way that nobody – not even themselves – has ever seen.”

The winners will be selected by an international panel of judges, consisting of three professional photographers. Mark Leong is an award-winning photojournalist, Sharron Lovell describes herself as a visual storyteller and educator, and Wu Hao specializes in documentary, reportage and street photography.

“Our judges will all have their own criteria,” Shieh said, “but I would like to see photographs that are as honest as they are daring – something that captures more than what is physically in the shot, and shows that the photographer is pushing the limits of his or her own creativity.”

To find out more about the competition, visit Inkbeat Arts’ website: https://www.beijingyouthlit.com/contest