SOTIRI PRIZE 2010 – FACING FEAR
Call for Applications

Visual artists under the age of 35 working with lens-based media are invited to apply for Sotiri Prize 2010 until 30th April 2010. The works of shortlisted artist, chosen by the curator of this year ’s edition based on their quality and relevance to the topic of the competition, will be shown in the group exhibitions in Gallery of Arts in Korca and National Gallery of Arts in Tirana, Albania. A jury of experts will choose the winner.

1.About Sotiri Prize

‘Sotiri’ is an international competition for young photographers, organized by the Cultural Center Lindart&Anima (CCLA) in Tirana, Albania. The activity initially began within the framework of Project 5.6, the main project of CCLA, financed by the SCP in the Western Balkans. Sotiri Prize is organized in partnership with the Municipality of Korca under the auspice of the Mayor Mr. Niko Peleshi.

The prize is named after the local photographer Kristaq Sotiri (1883-1970) who trained at the studio of the USA photographer Steckel. There he learned not only the basic techniques of photographic portraiture, but was also acquainted with the style of pictorialism, which was quite in fashion at the time.According to Francois Cheval, director of the Museum Nicéphor Niépce in France, Sotiri was a master in capturing the proper instant and in creating intelligent compositions of events and portraits of people of his city... These portraits gave Sotiri the opportunity to apply pictorialism, which makes the collection of his images a rare thing within the Albanian photography tradition.

Since 2008, young artists from all over the world are invited to Korça in spring to show their best works in an exhibition and participate in the panel discussion. The Sotiri Prize aims to support new developments in the field of photography, both in Albania and internationally, as well as to promote the values of the Sotiri collection, as part of the Albanian photography heritage.

2. Concept:

FACING FEAR
Negotiating Relationships between Subjective Feelings and Social Norms
Curator: Paula Muhr
Keywords: alarm, anxiety, apprehension, conditioning, dread, fear, horror, nightmare, panic attack, phobia, stress-related disorders, trepidation, worry

a. Introduction

We all know that fear is an unpleasant emotion evoked by impending danger. According to contemporary psychologists, fear is one of the basic emotions, defined by its facial expression, which is universally recognizable across diverse cultures. The facial expression of fear is understood as a purely biological reaction and remarkably uniform throughout the world.
It is often said that fear is one of the most dominant cultural moods in contemporary society. We are afraid of our treacherous bodies, death and pain, poverty, natural catastrophes and global warming, economic crisis, social injustice, terrorist attacks, ageing, being overweight, intimacy, social failure, emotional rejection, uncertain future, loneliness, change, commitment.
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by our fears, unable to cope with them on our own. However, we often neglect the fact that fear is not just a subjective feeling, but also a social phenomenon and that throughout our lives we are conditioned to develop different types of fear.
The strength, form, and objects of fear are informed by cultural and historical factors. Fear is one of the most important mechanisms through which social norms and structures shape individual psychological structures. Language and the prevalent cultural rules determine the manners in which we manage and display fear.
On the other hand, the way we express fear in language, bodily gestures and symbols, not only represents our subjective emotional experience and makes it visible for other people, but also directly influences and changes our sensation of fear - acts of speaking about one’s fear make the fear stronger.
Discourses about fear are important for social interaction, as they mediate between individual subjectivity and social norm. They are also important as they reflect the distribution of power within a social structure. Inciting fear can be a very potent political weapon of manipulation. Politicians, the media, medical and psychological services and other powerful interest groups profit from our fears. Yet, fear can also be beneficial, causing people to be more careful in their conduct, or provoking them to change things.

b. Call for Applications

We would like to ask the following questions:

• How can emotional response of fear as subjective experience be represented in art in ways which are not self-evident and simplifying?
• Can an artwork offer critical insights and socially relevant comments on the “collective emotional standard of a society”?
• What are the customs of experiencing and expressing fear in today’s “Culture of fear” in which our subjective feelings of fear are ­­constantly amplified by the media?
• What are the most common types of fear today and what are their socially acceptable forms of expression?

We are looking for lens based artworks (photography, moving images, slide installations etc.) dealing with the complexities of fear as a contemporary social phenomenon with an emphasis on personal emotions or on the effects of cultural conditioning.
The preference will be given to those projects that consider the role of photography and related media in constructing meaning to the experience of fear and explore the dominant conventions of representation of fear and anxiety in our culture.

3. Application Material

In order to participate in the competition please send the following application material:
- Name and surname, address, telephone, email and website (if applicable)
- Project description – up to one A4 page
- CV with education, previous exhibitions, grants, awards etc – up to two A4 pages
- Visual documentation of up to 15 images or video-stills in digital form (JPEG, 72dpi, longer side max. 1200 pixel)
- Image identification list with technical details regarding your work

Deadline for applications: 15th April 2010.
Please send your application material to the following e-mail address: info@projekt56.com

ÇMIMI SOTIRI 2010 – PERBALLJE ME FRIKEN
Ftese Per Aplikim

Artiste pamore nen moshen 35 vjeç krijimtaria e te cileve bazohet ne mediume me baze lentet, ftohen te aplikojne me Çmimin Sotiri 2010. Aplikimi eshte i hapur deri ne daten 30 prill 2010. Punimet e artisteve te perzgjedhur nga kuratori I edicionit te ketij viti duke u nisur nga cilesia dhe pershtatja ndaj kerkesave te konkursit, do te ekspozohen ne aktivitetin e organizuar ne galerine e arteve ne Korçe dhe ne Galerine e Arteve ne Tirane. Nje juri ekspertesh do te perzgjedhje fituesit e konkursit Sotiri 2010.

Mbi Çmimin “SOTIRI”

Çmimi “SOTIRI “, eshte nje konkurs nderkombetar per fotografe te rinj, i cili organizohet nga Qendra Kulturore Lindart. Aktiviteti e nisi rrugen e tij fillimisht ne kuadrin e Projekt 5.6, te financuar nga SCP in the Western Balkans.

Aktiviteti mban emrin e fotografit korçar Kristaq Sotirit (1883-1970), i cili u formua si fotograf ne studion Steckel ne SHBA. Ai mesoi atje jo vetem bazat e fotografise dhe teknikes se portretit, por u njoh edhe me piktoralizmin, mjaft ne mode ne fundin e shekullit XIX dhe fillimin e shekullit XX. Sipas Fransua Sheval, drejtor i muzeut Nisefor Nieps ne France, Sotiri ishte mjeshter ne kapjen e çastit te duhur dhe ne kompozimin inteligjent te ngjarjeve dhe portreteve te njerezve te qytetit te tij, qe ai i njihte mire..., keta portrete i jepnin Sotirit mundesine te perdorte 'piktoralizmin' mbi keta portrete te bukura, gje qe e bejne kete koleksion nje gje te rralle...

Për të promovuar keto vlera te fotografise shqiptare dhe per te ndertuar nje tradite te re te zhvillimit dhe promovimit te fotografise ne Shqiperi, per te promovuar risite ne fushen e fotografise bashkekohore ne ftojme çdo pranvere fotografe te rinj dhe artiste nga e gjithe bota ne nje ekspozite dhe ne nje panel diskutimi ne qytetin e bukur te Korçes.

Çmimi Sotiri realizohet ne partneritet me Bashkine e Korces dhe nen kujdesin e kryebashkiakut, zoti Niko Peleshi.

PERBALLJA ME FRIKEN
Diskutim mbi marredhenien midis ndjenjave subjektive dhe rregullave shoqerore
Kuratore: Paula Muhr
Fjale kyç: ankthi, kushtesimi, frika, tmerri, atak paniku, fobia, çrregullime nga stresi

1. Hyrje

Te gjithe e dime se frika eshte nje ndjenje e pakendshme, qe lind nga nje rrezik i afert, nga paniku apo nga ndonje kercenim. Psikologet bashkekohes thone se frika eshte nje nga emocionet tona baze, qe percaktohet nga shprehjet e fytyres, te njihen ne gjitha kulturat. Shprehja e fytyres, qe tregon frike, njihet si nje reaksion thjesht biologjik, vertet i njejte ne te gjithe boten.
Shpesh thuhet se frika eshte nje nga shprehjet kulturore me dominuese ne shoqerine bashkekohore. Ne kemi frike se mos na tradhetoje trupi yne, kemi frike nga: vdekja, nga frika, varferia, katastrofat natyrore, ngrohja globale, nga krizat ekonomike dhe padrejtesite shoqerore, nga sulmet terroriste, mplakja, shendeti i tepert, intimiteti, deshtimet shoqerore, refuzimet emocionale, nga e ardhmja e pasigurte, vetmia, ndryshimet, detyrimet.
Na ndodh qe te ndjehemi te mbytur nga frika jone dhe te paafte t’i a dalim vete kesaj gjendjeje. Nga ana tjeter ne nuk e vleresojme faktin se frika nuk eshte thjesht nje ndjenje subjektive, po eshte edhe nje fenomen shoqeror dhe se gjate gjithe jetes ne jemi te kushtezuar te zhvillojme lloje te ndryshem frike.
Fuqia, forma apo objekti i frikes formohet nga faktore kulturore dhe historike. Frika eshte nje nga mekanizmat me te rendesishem, nepermjet te cileve normat dhe strukturat shoqerore percaktojne strukturat psikologjike te secilit prej nesh. Gjuha dhe rregullat kulturore percaktojne menyren se si ne e perballim dhe e shprehim friken. Ajo jo vetem qe perfaqeson eksperiencen tone emocionale subjektive dhe e ben ate te dukshme edhe per te tjeret, po ndikon edhe drejtperdrejt mbi ndjesine tone ndaj frikes dhe e ndryshon ate - kur flasim per friken e dikujt, ajo zmadhohet edhe shume.
Diskutimet mbi friken kane rendesi ne marredheniet shoqerore, pasi behen ndermjetes midis subjektivitetit te individit dhe rregullave shoqerore. Ata jane te rendesishem sepse pasqyrojne shperndarjen e pushtetit ne nje strukture shoqerore. Nxitja e frikes eshte nje arme e fuqishme manipulimi. Politikanet, mediat, sherbimet mjekesore dhe psikologjike, si dhe grupe te tjera interesi te fuqishem perfitojne nga frika jone. Po frika mund te jete edhe e dobishme, pasi i shtyn njerezit te jene me te kujdesshem ne sjelljen e tyre, apo i nxit ata te ndryshojne.

2. Ftese per aplikim

Do donim t’ju pergjigjeni pyetjeve te meposhtme:

• Si mund te paraqitet ne art eksperienca subjektive e reagimeve emocionale ndaj frikes, ne menyre jo te drejtperdrejte apo te thjeshtesuar?
• A mundet nje veper arti te beje nje kritike te thelle dhe komente shoqerore te rendesishme mbi ‘standartet emocionale kolektive te nje shoqerie’?
• Cilat jane zakonet ndaj reagimit dhe shprehjes se frikes ne ‘kulturen e frikes’ ne ditet e sotme, kur ndjenjat tona te frikes shumefishohen perdite nga mediat?
• Cilat jane llojet me te zakonshme te frikes sot dhe cilat jane format e tyre te shprehjes te pranuara nga shoqeria?

Ne presim nga ju vepra arti te prodhuara nga mjete me baze lentet (fotografi, video, imazhe levizese, instalime diapozitivash, etj.) qe merren  me natyren komplekse te frikes, si nje fenomen bashkekohor, qe ndikon mbi emocionet tona personale apo mbi zakonet kulturore. 
Do te preferohen ata projekte qe me ane te fotografise apo mediave qe bazohen ne te, pasqyrojne ndodhi qe lidhen me friken dhe eksplorojne rregullat mbizoteruese ne paraqitjen e frikes dhe ankthit ne kulturen tone.

2. Materiale aplikimi

Qe te merrni pjese ne konkurs, ju lutemi dergoni per aplikimin materialet e meposhtme:
- Emri dhe mbiemri, adresa, numri i telefonit, e-mail dhe web site (ne se ka)
- Pershkrimi i projektit – deri ne nje faqe A4 (500 fjale).
- CV me edukimin, ekspozitat e meparshme, projektet, grantet, etj (deri ne dy faqe A4)
- Dokumentimi me deri ne 15 imazhe apo video-stills ne formatin dixhital (JPEG, 72dpi, longer side max. 1200 pixel)
- Lista e pamjeve, me te dhenat teknike te detajuara te punes suaj

Afati i fundit i aplikimit: 15th prill 2010. Te gjitha aplikimet duhet te vijne brenda kesaj date.