Focus on the young
This year, the competition also concentrated also on young Prague photographers. “After all, they are the ones who should lead society in our city’s future. We want photographers to have fun and to be motivated by the competition. If any young photographers come up with ideas, we are glad to pass them on in discussion with our representatives,” Monika Vlková, the competition organiser, said about this year’s focus on the youth.
Wenceslas Square and its surroundings
The aim of the event is also to provoke a broader discussion about the current form of Wenceslas Square, which locals colloquially call Václavák, and its surrounding areas. Similar to most forms of art, photography is beautiful in that every photo represents something different for each person and everyone recalls a different memory when looking at it.
“Our competition wants to capture the feelings of Prague residents, those who treasure Václavák in their hearts. Often, we learn even more from photography than from regular conversations,” Monika Vlková describes the main idea.
Winners
The main prize winner was Tom Řechtáček, who captured the atmosphere of the New Year 2020 celebrations, which were so dangerous that even a fireman helplessly ran for safety. In the 7-11 years category, the winning photo was Kryštof Michálek’s ‘Modrá je dobrá’ (a reference to a homonymous Czech song meaning ‘Blue is Good’), which captures many shades of the colour blue – a blue sky and its reflection on a glass building’s windows. In the 12-17 years category, the winner was Kilián Valdman with his photo ‘Děravý jezdec’ – an image of St. Wenceslas statue from a different perspective.
Further information can be found at: https://soutez.cewe-fotokniha.cz/dve-tvare-prahy-2020. Webpage is in Czech.