AUCKLAND, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Auckland Festival of Photography, New Zealand's premium international photographic festival, kicked off on Friday to celebrate contemporary art and culture exchange.

This year's event runs from May 31 to June 16 with a variety of programs, including the annual commission, cultural talks, exhibitions, street arts and satellite shows. Around 10,000 artworks by 500 artists from over 40 countries including New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan and South Korea participated in this year's event.

This year's festival features the 9th annual commission. The commissioned artist Yvonne Shaw created a new body of work in which she investigated the method of psychodrama for exhibition during the festival.

Jim He, chairperson of the Auckland Festival of Photography, said at the opening ceremony that the annual event has become a city-wide celebration of contemporary art and culture, which encourages emerging and established artists both home and abroad to showcase the best of their work.

At the opening ceremony, the Mazda Beauty by Subtraction Award was announced to South Korean photographer Jiongxin Peng for his artwork Between Heaven and Earth.