Preparations begin for URBAN Photo Awards 2023!
URBAN Photo Awards is a prestigious annual event dedicated to celebrating photography and photographers. The 2023 edition promises to be the biggest and best ever and will feature renowned photographer Alec Soth as its jury chair. In addition, the jury for the event, which is currently being finalized, is made up of a selection of industry experts, including Alec Soth himself and Jerome Sessini, who will make the event even more prestigious and many others.
As usual, there are several categories in which photographers can enter their work.
The competition has the theme Urban Life and focuses on urban photography as a form of expression that explores the contemporary. In particular, the theme focuses on all forms of photography set in a city context, where the City, the urban environment and the people who populate it are the common denominator.
Images should show everyday life in metropolises and small towns, the contrasts and contradictions that characterize urban and suburban life, artistic details, architectural geometries, and fragments of color that break the monotony of the city. In addition, the images should be authentic and immediate, able to tell the story of the city and the stories that take place within it. A number of prizes will be awarded to the winners.
The categories of the photography competition include some particularly prestigious sections, such as “Projects & Portfolios,” “Book Award” and “URBAN Photo Arena.”
The “Projects & Portfolios” category is aimed at professional or amateur photographers who wish to submit a series of images on a single theme, creating a well-structured photographic project with a coherent visual narrative. This highlights the ability to tell a story through a sequence of shots, in which each image integrates seamlessly with the others.
The “Book Award” section, on the other hand, rewards an unpublished photo book that has urban life as its main theme. The goal of this category is to enhance the book as a medium for photography, as it allows a broader overview to be expressed than a single image.
Finally, “URBAN Photo Arena“: what would have been the third edition of the Trieste Photo Young, reserved for young photographers, which until this year was a completely separate competition, has been incorporated as a new category open to all photographers under the age of 35.
This new competition provides different challenges to demonstrate the participants’ abilities in a variety of unique photographic scenarios. In addition, the event offers special prizes to recognize outstanding achievements in the field, ensuring that the most impressive work will be awarded.
The contest will be divided into two phases, using the “World Cup” format already successfully tested in previous editions of the Trieste Photo Young contest: the first phase will consist of rounds, while the second phase will involve a knockout tournament, with the dispute of the sixteenth, eighth, quarter, semifinals and final rounds. The progress of the contest can be followed on the official website, where updated rankings will be posted as the jury votes and decides the winners.
The URBAN Photo Arena is a unique opportunity for all young photographers to showcase their talent and compete for some of the most prestigious awards in the industry. In addition, the event offers opportunities for networking and making important contacts, making it the perfect opportunity to gain exposure.
Another important new feature is the new URBAN Press Award, which will be given to the Best Author at the event. The winner will have the opportunity to be published by the best press in the field of photography, thus receiving international recognition, branding opportunities and promotion.
Finally, one more new feature has been introduced: the Best Author of URBAN Photo Awards will migrate as Best Author of the broader Trieste Photo Days, an international event that is the culmination of the entire cycle of annual events around URBAN. Trieste Photo Days this year takes place Oct. 27-29 in the vibrant coastal city of Trieste, Italy, and is a gathering of photography enthusiasts from around the world. The event offers a variety of activities, including workshops, lectures, tours and more, providing an excellent opportunity to meet other photographers, showcase their work and learn more about the art and craft of photography.
