Exhibition: "Creatives 2013"
"Creatives 2013" is a photographic narrative about the creative class of Lublin - creators, artists, and entrepreneurs working at the crossroads of art, craft, technology and business. At the very core of the project lies the principle according to which people representing creative industries are - because of their innate proclivity for innovation - the most valuable group among businesspeople as they conceptualise and then commercialise and capitalise on their own ideas and ideals.
This strongly dispersed and atomised group fully deserves preferential treatment as it is beneficial to the interests of every major city, which in turn provides opportune habitat for the members of the creative classes. By providing better and better living conditions as well as opportunities for development, cities become more open and tolerant, gaining in return most sought-after reputation of being citizen- and business-friendly.
The aim of the project is, first of all, to identify uniquely creative Lubliners, being self-employed and offering non-cookie-cutter solutions. Second of all, the project is a showcase for their talent, presenting their work as an example of inspirational and laudable market practices. Twelve people were shortlisted for the first project in the series.
The exhibition is composed of photographs created in the course of 12 photo sessions, the end product of which is a series of portraits, a detailed description of the creative process as well as the images of the work space and the final product. All the photo sessions were also accompanied by in-depth interviews with all the 12 models (representatives of Lublin's creative class), which led to a series of short narratives about each participant. In the future, the photos will be handed over to the participants themselves, contributing to their individual promotional activities and to the development of their brands. The photos will be also widely used as a means of communicating the business potential of Lublin, as a way of disseminating the idea of Lublin as a city conducive to the lifestyle of the creative class.
Michał Furmanek, employed as Brand Manager / Head of Entrepreneurial Programs at the City of Lublin, is the project's originator, coordinator as well as the exhibition's curator. Lublin-based photographer Maciej Rukasz is the author of the project's photo conceptualisation. All the photos created for the purpose of the project were taken by Maciej Rukasz, Marta Zgierska, and Jakub Rubaj.
Paweł Batyra, Lublin-based freelance graphic designer, created all the graphic design for the project. He was also responsible for marketing communications.
"Creatives 2013" is part of Entrepreneurial Programs of the City of Lublin.