Starting on January 1st 2011 until 31st December 2011 a team of photographers has captured the people and places of Canterbury. All their pictures were displayed at the Beaney during the Canterbury Festival, in the heart of the City.
The 365 project is the result of a collective work, where individuals submitted photographs during the year 2011, capturing glimpses of life around them. It is quite astonishing the amount of creative talent that has come out of it.
As a commitment to the idea of community photography, it was designed not only to reveal, define and preserve the City’s identity, but also to help change the way people relate to the place they live in and appreciate it.
‘A Year in the Life of Canterbury’ brought together the work of 72 photographers through 365 photographs – one for each day of the year – selected by a judging panel out of 1502 pictures submitted by 127 photographers. It shows the different ways in which to capture the City, the well known as well as the less reported aspects of life. The photographs offer an opportunity to see the work of amateurs alongside the work of established photographers.
365 combines the objectivity of documentary with a reflective and artistic approach. The result is a fragmented information about life telling a story visually, and revealing a proud community.
The subjects covered by the photographers are extremely diverse. Their photographs explore what people do at home and at work, presenting day-to-day life as it is lived. They also describe the colourful way they entertain themselves. The pictures capture other moments too, objects and landscapes. This diversity demonstrates the various ways the photographers observe aspects of their community.
Along the way, the photographs remind us of how much we have to lose. The City around us is changing, with traditional characteristics slowly disappearing, buildings being built and destroyed, people coming and going, so these images become part of our visual heritage. They make us aware and create things to think about.
This project was designed to take you on a journey through Canterbury and we hope it is a pleasant one.
We would like to thank the photographers whose commitment over the year has been fantastic. This is their work. We are also immensely grateful to all those individuals who helped, and to our sponsors and funders. It wouldn’t have been possible without them.
With a special thanks for the judging panel:
Nathalie Banaigs, Project Manager.
