Capture Your City 2020: What is everyday magic to you?
Exhibition
Jun 25 - Oct 7, 2020
Capture Your City 2020: What is everyday magic to you? was a free outdoor photo exhibition featuring 55 selected images from 5,500+ submissions, documenting everyday life and public space during the COVID crisis.
The selected photos, captured by ordinary Danes, documented a historical time during the corona crisis. The motifs contributed with new perspectives on how we will use the city’s space in the future; from new ways of using the city and the home to new ways of being socially together – and separately.
55 photographs were exhibited as part of the Capture Your City photo competition. The competition, held this year for the 5th consecutive year, set a record with over 5,500 photos submitted.
The photo exhibition could be seen at Bryghuspladsen in front of the Danish Architecture Center throughout the exhibition period, but it also popped up elsewhere in the city space.
The exhibition was free for everyone.
Pop-up exhibitions
June 25 – August 20: Copenhagen Central Station
August 21 – September 10: Hillerød Station
September 11 – October 7: Høje Taastrup Station
Photo: Asger Korsgaard Jensen Asger Korsgaard Jensen
The jury said: "The winning photo clearly has elements of documentary photography – and plays with the pink in the trees and the children’s clothing. It captures life during coronavirus, when even nature and the blossoming cherry trees in Bispebjerg Cemetery had to be cordoned off. And yet it is hopeful – life goes on, spring unfolds. Therein lies the magic, not just in everyday life, but perhaps in the world, too."
Photo: Laura Lorence Laura Lorence
The jury said: "The photo of the woman in the window is both timeless and can be interpreted in light of the coronavirus situation, where we have been very isolated indoors. The mood is melancholy, and you can sense a longing to get out into the world – away from the loneliness. This is a photo that stays with you."
Photo: Kirsten Damgaard Kirsten Damgaard
The jury said: "Everyday magic is very strong here! The children have found their own space, away from Mom and Dad – high up on a roof. There is something magical about being able to have, even in the city, a secret place, a sanctuary – where you can create your own little world as a child. Perhaps all the extra time away from school has given children room for more for free play and imagination?"
The winners
Loud silence captured in photographs
During the spring 2020, photographers of all ages captured their take on everyday magic, as part of Danish Architecture Center’s annual photo competition Capture your city. The initiative had come to live to make more people open their eyes to the architecture in the city and to discover how architecture sets the framework for our everyday life.
Spring 2020 was a spring that came with a surprise for most. Corona made the streets desolate, interrupting normal everyday life. This was reflected in many of the participating photos, which were far quieter and longing than noisy and festive. These were photos that communicated emotions and stories compared to traditional architectural photos. And they documented a time that will in many ways affect our everyday lives – also in the future.
“There were surprisingly many photos of nature and green urban experiences, which indicates that there was a great need for these experiences during the corona quarantine,” said Camilla van Deurs, City Architect and jury member.
Tanya Lindkvist, program manager and jury member elaborated: “The photographs depict an interaction with the architecture, which differs from previous years. There is a much higher degree of intensity and personality in them. The pictures show renewed wishes and demands for closeness to nature and urban nature. The corona crisis has changed our view of the city. I think the crisis will affect our urban development; that we want to rethink public space, our urban space and our squares.”
Here you could experience a unique photo exhibition that focused on a very special time in Danish history.
School contest winners
Photo: Theodore Knightley Theodore Knightley
5th grade, Ørestad Friskole
The jury said: "The winning photo in the school contest is beautifully composed with lovely depth of perspective. It is at once very playful yet inquisitive – what happens when you look at the world through water? It captures the magic of a-ha moments when you suddenly discover how the world works."
Photo: Julie Johansen Julie Johansen
4th grade, Nibe Skole
The jury said: "This photo exudes freedom – letting your hair down and getting rid of all your frustrations on a trampoline. It is everyday magic at home in suburbia! The photo also has a lovely symmetry in its structure."
Photo: Ingrid Leerstrup Reingaard Ingrid Leerstrup Reingaard
Spirerne, Freinetskolen
The jury said: "This photo captures a lovely detail – that many adults might overlook. The grass battling its way up through the asphalt reminds us of nature’s wondrous strength and capacity to survive. Imagine if our cities continued to be as empty as they have been during the coronavirus crisis – how quickly would nature take over?"
More exhibitions in the same series
Capture Your City 2024: New Beauty
Capture Your City 2023: No Filter
Capture Your City 2022: Soul of the City
Capture Your City 2021: A City for Everyone
Capture Your City 2019: Change in the City
Capture Your City 2018: My Home in the City
Capture Your City 2015: Photo exhibition with 1,000+ views of city life
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What was Capture Your City 2020: What is everyday magic to you?
Capture Your City 2020: What is everyday magic to you? was a free outdoor photo exhibition featuring selected images from DAC’s annual Capture Your City competition.
When did the exhibition take place?
The exhibition ran from 25 Jun to 7 Oct 2020.
How many photos were shown, and how many were submitted?
55 photographs were shown and more than 5,500 photos were submitted.
What did the 2020 images document?
The selected photos documented a historic period during the COVID crisis, offering new perspectives on how we use public space and how we socialise—together and apart.
Where could visitors see the exhibition, and how was it distributed?
The exhibition stayed at Bryghuspladsen for the full period and also popped up at Copenhagen Central Station (25 Jun–20 Aug), Hillerød Station (21 Aug–10 Sep) and Høje Taastrup Station (11 Sep–7 Oct).
What should I know if I only read one thing?
Capture Your City 2020 (25 Jun–7 Oct 2020) was a free outdoor photo exhibition showing 55 selected images from 5,500+ submissions capturing everyday city life during COVID.