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The contest results announcement 
PHOTOSTORY OF OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

The contest Photostory of our neighbourhood has successfully come to an end. You have contributed more than 170 photos that show living environments through the photo camera's objective, as seen by their inhabitants and users. We thank you for submitting the photos which along with the subtitles open new perspectives of urban spaces in Slovenian and other cities as well as life unfolding there! All submitted photos with subtitles will soon be presented in the online gallery.

The international jury has completed its work. Selected pictures with subtitles can be viewed here. On Sunday, 20 November 2016, after a guided tour of the exhibition Neighbourhood and the Street in the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana (MAO, Pot na Fužine 2) the winners of the contest were announced:

a.) MOST PLEASANT PLACE IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

  • Lidija Deu
  • Špela Gliha
  • Samo Jančar
  • Nenad Pataky
  • Urška Podgrajšek

b.) PROFESSIONS IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

  • Tisa Neža Herlec
  • Ana Lasič
  • Lea Piškur
  • Domen Pukl Kopinč

c.) MY NEIGHBOUR

  • Samo Jančar
  • Ana Klofutar-Hergeršič
  • Nenad Pataky
  • Maruša Račič
  • Matej Vinko

d.) BORDERS OF MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

  • Vid Bogovič
  • Ana Dujmović
  • Tisa Neža Herlec
  • Sinja Hudnik
  • Nenad Pataky

e.) SHARED VALUES IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

  • Špela Gliha
  • Tisa Neža Herlec
  • Mia Mihelič
  • Matej Vinko
 

Contest invitation 
PHOTO-STORY OF OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

5 September – 4 November 2016 (closed)

 

Contest theme

We are creating a photo album of large housing estates. The album is a thematic collection of photos of today's state of art of neighborhoods in Slovenia and elsewhere. The album is created in a participatory way with the participation of residents and visitors of the neighborhoods. Its aim is to reveal the neighbourhoods and their life through the eyes of all of us who live or occasionally spend time there.

Organizers of the contest

The contest is organized by the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (UIRS) within the framework of the international project Human Cities: Challenging the city scale (Creative Europe 2014–2020) with the cooperation of the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) and local initiative Skupaj na ploščad! / Together on the platform!.

Photo-story of our neighborhood contest is accompaying activity to the exhibition Neighborhoods and streets, which is on opened from 17 May to 20 November 2016 in the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO).

Who and how can participate?

  • Next step is to take up to ten photos of your neighbourhood.
  • The recommended image size is at least 11 x 17 cm, resolution 250 dpi.
  • Place each photo into one of the below-defined categories (A – E).
  • Add a subtitle to each photo in Slovenian or English language.
  • Provide the name and address of the neighbourhood and the city in which it is located.
  • Submit everything till 31.10.2016 (extended to 4.11.2016) on the website humancities.uirs.si

When can you participate?

  • The contest is opened from 5 September to 31 October 2016 (extended to 4 November 2016).

Other rules

  • Each of the photos can be placed only in one of the five possible categories.
  • The jury reserves the right to move any photo to another category.
  • Participants agree that submitted material with their names can be used on the websites of the co-organizers, in printed materials and press releases.
  • Participants permits the use of the submitted materials for the research work of identifying cognitive maps of neighbourhoods and values that are shared by users of the neighbourhoods.

Contact

Jury

  • The international jury is presented here.
  • The photo and its subtitle will be evaluated according to the following criteria: compliance with the contest theme, originality, visual impact, narration and contribution to the overall photo-story of the individual neighbourhoods or thematic category.

Award

  • Three photos will be selected from each category and published as postcards with the presentation of the author's view of the neighbourhood.
  • Winners of the competition will be solemnly presented on 20.11.2016 t the closure of the exhibition Neighbourhoods and the streets in the Museum of Architecure and Design (MAO).

Select the category in which you will place the photo

a.) MOST PLEASANT PLACE IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

We usually spend a major part of our time in our neighbourhood, therefore its arrangements importantly influence the quality of our life. Which are the spaces in the neighbourhood that I like, I find interesting and like to spend time in? What makes them pleasant? Activities and people that spend time there, street furniture, presence of natural elements, maybe the light and colours or details on surrounding buildings? Try to show the places of your neighbourhood that you find pleasant, and explain what makes them attractive, through the photo and its subtitle.

b.) PROFESSIONS IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

Good neighbourhoods are not merely sleeping spaces, but places where different activities and programs take place which cater the inhabitants of the neighbourhood and the city. The baker at the end of the street, the shop-seller in a local shop, the driver of a bus stopping in the neighbourhood, the local greens care-taker ... are only few more visible professions which importantly contribute to the quality of life in a neighbourhood. At the same time there are many other professions which are more hidden to our eyes – people with different skills, abilities and knowledge. Present their activities through a photo and its subtitle.

 

c.) MY NEIGHBOUR

Fast rhythm of life and new ways of communication supported by new communication technologies are changing and often weaken the contacts between people living in the same space. With the help of a photography and its subtitle catch moments showing that social beings inhabit neighbourhoods that desipite changed ways of life still gather, support and help each other. Street play, chatting on a bench in a local park or ringing neighbour's door when running out of flour when baking biscuits are examples of activities that join people in a neighbourhood. Photos with subtitles in this category shall show that in vivid neighbourhoods reside people, who make neighbours and not complete strangers to each other.

d.) BORDERS OF MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

Until where reaches my neighbourhood? What is its border and what defines it? Is it physically, functionally or symbolically defined? Borders may sometimes be clear and exact, sometimes blurred and fluid. Getting to know the borders is welcome for someone to be able to overreach them. Or strengthen the distinctive identity of space within. Present the borders of your neighbourhood with a help of photography and its subtitle.

 

 

e.) SHARED VALUES IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

Which are the shared values among inhabitants of my neighbourhood? Which ideals unite us as a community? How are they reflected in space? And can they be a basis for common action of inhabitants in the endeavours to improve the living conditions in a neighbourhood? The values are an immaterial category, nevertheless often reflected in the physical, real environment. In this category we are collecting the photos which will show the state of the art of the neighbourhoods reflecting the values of their inhabitants.

 

 

Jury

The international jury is composed of project partners Human City: Challenging the City Scale and external professionals:

  • Laura Galluzzo, research fellow and adjunct professor, Polytechnic University of Milan (IT),
  • Nina Goršič, researcher and architect, Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (SLO),
  • Blaž Jamšek, photographer and architect, civil initiative Together on platform! (SLO),
  • Natalija Lapajne, curator, Museum of Architecture and Design, Ljubljana (SLO),
  • Anke Strittmatter, exhibition design professor, FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Science, Graz (AT),
  • Biba Tominc, researcher, geographer and pedagogue, Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (SLO),
  • Damjana Zaviršek Hudnik, architect, civil initiative Together on platform! (SLO),

More about the projects Human Cities

By the initiative of Pro Materia from Brussels in 2007 a two-day international conference was organized entitled Sustainable Environmental Design, where the concept of Human Cities was introducedfor the first time. The conference was devoted to issues of public spaces and their social and cultural dimensions. The success of this meeting has been a stimulus for a formation of a broader international group where Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia plays an important role in the research of urban public space. Various activities are carried out within several projects under the European programs Culture 2007–2013 and Creative Europe 2014–2020. 

  • The first project entitled Human Cities: Sustainable urban design (2008–2010) focused on the users of public open spaces in cities and examined how public places are experienced, interpreted and used. The publication Human Cities: Celebrating public space was published by Stichting Kunstboek (BE) in collaboration with the Urban Planning Institute of Slovenia (SLO) and Pro Materia (BE).
  • The second project entitled Human cities: Reclaiming the public space (2010–2012) highlighted the values of public spaces in European cities and an understanding of different approaches that contribute to innovative and effective provision of public space in cities. Special attention was given to local initiatives, especially their role in the promotion of activities in public spaces. Public spaces were not tackled as a physical form only, but also as a social network to be established between users.  The online publication entitled Human Cities / Civil Society Reclaims Public Space. Cross Perspectives Based on Research was published by Urbani izziv (SL). 
  • The third project called Human Cities: Challenging the city scale (2014–2018) analyzes the advantages of the integration of local initiatives in revitalizing urban public spaces of contemporary cities. The main purpose of the project is to demonstrate and explore innovative management practices of urban public spaces according to the bottom-up approach in order to understand the power of local initiatives. You are invited to follow our activities on the project facebook page.