Launched by the Italian cultural association dotART in 2009, URBAN Photo Awards is an international photography competition which takes place every year as part of the Trieste Photo Days in northeastern Italy.
Photographers from around the world can participate in this competition dedicated to urban photography and the exploration of our contemporary lives. It is made up of four categories: a unique photograph (the themes of which can relate to the street, people, spaces and creativity), projects and portfolios, the URBAN Book & Zine Award which rewards a publication project as well as the URBAN Photo Arena which highlights young talents. This year a prestigious jury chaired by Harry Gruyaert and composed of international photographers as well as art critics, journalists and exhibition curators will consider each of the proposals.
Every year the city of Trieste is adorned with thousands of photographs submitted by photographers from all over the world. The URBAN Photo Awards have the particularity that the competition is not limited to participation on the internet, but offers photographers real visibility through exhibitions. The real beating heart of the Trieste Photo Days festival which takes place every autumn for two consecutive weekends, this competition is also an opportunity for the inhabitants of Trieste who watch the city transform into an immense photography gallery.
Over the years, the URBAN Photo Awards have acquired great renown. Certain exhibitions have left their mark, for example the one dedicated to Martin Parr in 2019, the year when the latter chaired the jury. Entitled “Life’s a beach” and produced in collaboration with the municipality of Trieste, it presented a series of iconic, and sometimes lesser known, photos that the photographer was able to capture on beaches throughout his career. Each year the members of the jury had the opportunity to exhibit their works in key locations in the city, Nino Migliori, Susan Meiselas, Alex Webb, Jerome Sessini, Bruce Gilden and Alec Soth, among them. The city’s museums themselves contribute to the selection through the Civic Museums Prize.
Since 2011, the festival has also stood out for its associations with European countries, in which the photographs are exhibited: in Poland (Krakow, Lodz and Warsaw), Hungary (Budapest, Pècs and Miskolc), Cyprus (Limassol, Paphos and Nicosia), Serbia (Belgrade), Latvia (Riga), Slovenia (Koper), Ukraine (Sumy), Croatia (Porec), Germany (Berlin), Colombia (Bucaramanga) and Italy (Rome).
The winners of each category will be announced on Saturday October 26 and, in addition to the numerous rewards – whether financial or leading to an exhibition – they will be presented with a trophy designed by the artist Giorgio Celiberti, who represented the Italy during the 1948 Venice Biennale. A Press Award will also be awarded to the best portfolio by a jury made up of photo magazine editors. Contributions are accepted until June 16 and a photograph is offered in order to open access to the competition to as many people as possible.
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