The Proximity of Harm — Visions of a Compromised Everyday Life

First edition of an international photography competition run by the Ippocrate Foundation, an independent Italian organisation working on health, environment and social transformation, as part of a cultural research project into contemporary forms of harm. The brief treats harm in an extended, layered sense — not only environmental damage but a diffuse condition running through relationships, social systems and the construction of individual and collective identity, and equally emotional and perceptual. The project positions photography as a tool of critical observation, looking for personal ways of seeing what is close and everyday yet stays invisible; the aim is not to document harm didactically but to offer an authentic, contemporary perspective. Open to photographers, artists and authors of any nationality aged 18 or over; one to three images, as single pictures or a coherent series, no AI-generated work. The jury is chaired by World Press Photo winner Pablo Ernesto Piovano and includes photographers Pierpaolo Mittica, Ilaria Di Biagio and Ilenia Baldina, and director Silvia Chiodin. Selected photographs are screened on September 18 at Palazzetto Widmann during the Ippocrate Convention in Bagnoli di Sopra, and the three winners are invited to a masterclass with Piovano at the Teatro Carlo Goldoni on September 19 (travel and accommodation at the participant's own expense).