Portál Pražana
Outdoor photo exhibition captures the beauty and ugliness of Wenceslas Square
'Dvě tváře Prahy', meaning Two Faces of Prague, is a competition in which the participating photographers capture either the positive or the negative aspects of Prague. An outdoor exhibition of 23 winning photographs on large panels can be seen until the 5th of November in the pedestrian zone of Na Příkopě Street. The theme of 'Dvě tváře Prahy 2020' was Wenceslas Square and the surrounding area, and all types of photographers took part: adults, young people, children, keen amateurs and professionals. A total of 720 images were sent to the competition, the most in its eleven-year history.
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.