Identity ‧ Open

WMA Open Photo Contest 2015 Call For Submissions: IDENTITY

June 15, 2015

Call For Submissions:  IDENTITY

The WMA Open Photo Contest 2015 calls for images on the overwhelming issue of IDENTITY in Hong Kong. Deadline for submission July 15, 2015 (23:59 Hong Kong time; GMT + 8:00).

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From 15 June to 15 July 2015 the WMA Open Photo Contest invites image-makers and the public to submit their images and discuss the subject of IDENTITY in real time. Images must relate to the theme IDENTITY and be made in or relate to Hong Kong. To enter the contest, participants can visit: http://photocontest.hk and register with one’s Facebook account. Each participant can upload a maximum of 10 photos.

To extend this dialogue, the WMA Open Photo Contest will maintain a photo library of submitted images governed by Creative Commons licenses for educational uses eg. lectures and non-commercial projects, with appropriate attribution, as well as serving as a photographic history of contemporary Hong Kong. The winner of the WMA Open Photo Contest will be chosen by a panel of judges and will receive HKD$20,000 cash prize. The People’s Choice Award will be open for public vote and the winner will receive HKD$15,000. The winners will be announced in September 2015.

About IDENTITY

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else” - Margaret Mead

Certain aspects of one’s individual identity such as race, gender, ancestry, genetic makeup and so on, come naturally at birth.  One could, however, consciously choose other aspects such as nicknames, profession, religion, hairstyles, ways of life, gender expression et cetera, to make oneself more unique.

Between choice and nature, there are aspects such as nationality, history, psyche and social roles, which influence our sense of identity. Identity could simply be personal disposition, or an unwilling imposition by the society at large.

If identification of self makes the person, collective identity allows for mutual recognition—security as well as solidarity. Group attributes, though, could be real or virtual, lasting or ephemeral, like one’s profile on social media. Overemphasis of the collective, however, could result in alienation, prejudice, confrontation and even enmity.

In the age of globalization, a local majority could easily become a minority in the wider world. As global citizens, we hope for and embrace the belief that elastic and flexible identities can bring diversity and progress, rather than confrontation.

If defining our collective identities in this city seems like an almost impossible pursuit, images could, perhaps, provide a platform to start.

Most people are other people.  Their thoughts are someone elses opinion, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation” - Oscar Wilde