Photographic project ´Via Lucis 1989-2009 – Czech society of the last 20 years in photographs

Invitation to participate in the photographic project ´Via Lucis 1989-2009 – Czech society of the last 20 years in photographs´

Dear photographers, please allow us introduce this project to you.

The most important part of the project is the photo competition. It aims to gather photographs that make up a factual and spiritual mosaic of Czech society between the years 1989 and 2009 as well as to hold a mirror to this particular period. This competition is open to amateur or professional photographers without any restriction on age or nationality.

Themes of the photo competition:

A picture of Czech society during the years 1989 –2009:

• The year 1989 ▫ The West European life style (seaside holidays, leisure pursuits, new forms of entertainment, political meetings, globalization, shopping)
• Transformation of the economy (voucher privatization, the demise of factories, the transformation of the countryside)
• New family life (change of roles in the family, upbringing of children, satelite towns)
• Life of a politician
• Social projects (foundations etc.)
• European Parliament

We anticipate that the photographic genres will be reportage and documentary.

The deadline for the first part of the competition is 31st March 2008

We would be pleased if you choose to take part in our competition and tell your collegues and friends about it.

We are honoured that the project ´Via Lucis 1989 – 2009´ is under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Mayor of the City of Prague, Pavel Bém M.D. The project is organized by the Director of the National Museum of Photography in Jindřichův Hradec, Miloslav Paulík PhD.

We require that the photographs (either black-and-white or colour, but no photomontages) should be in a paper form of the size 20 x 30 cm. If the format is atypical, the longer side must measure 30 cm.

The criteria for the selection of works by a special jury will be determined by the level of artistic achievement and how true the work is to the given project´s theme.

The selected works will be presented at exhibitions in Jindřichův Hradec and Prague as well as publicized in a book of the same title. The authors of the best evaluated work will receive financial prizes and prizes from an assortment of photographic equipment.

The collecting and selection of photographs will take place in three stages. The deadline for submitting images from the first period of 17th November 1989 to31st December 2007 is 31st March 2008.

For further information regarding this photographic competition, please write to our e-mail address: nmf@nmf.cz. State the subject as ´Via Lucis 1989–2009´.