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The Recuperem el Port de Maó campaign has launched a narrative photography contest with the aim of giving visibility to the environmental, social and heritage pressures that threaten the values still preserved in the natural harbour of Port of Maó.
The initiative has the collaboration of the Balearic Sea Conservation Audiovisual Contest MARE, and invites the public to look at the port with critical and sensitive eyes and to explain, through photography, the processes of transformation and deterioration affecting the bay. The contest does not seek only aesthetic images, but photographs capable of narrating a reality and generating reflection.
The port of Maó is one of the most singular natural harbours in the Mediterranean, with thousands of years of history linked to the populations of its surroundings. It is a huge natural refuge from the open sea, where vessels, marine fauna and flora coexist, and where a rich and diverse seafaring culture has developed over time.
However, the promoting organisations warn that this balance is increasingly threatened by dynamics of overcrowding and transformation of the port area. The contest aims to focus on issues such as the loss of natural habitats, tensions within the bay, the disappearance of shoreline huts and old piers, the situation of traditional wooden boats, and the displacement of the port’s social and popular uses.
The call is open to anyone interested in the port of Maó, without the need for professional experience in photography, and registration is completely free. The rules of the contest are reproduced below. For more information, the participation rules of the contest can also be consulted in detail (in Catalan, English translation follows).
Three prizes have been established:
1st prize: €400 in cash and land stewardship products valued at €75.
2nd prize: €250 in cash and land stewardship products valued at €50.
3rd prize: €100 in cash and land stewardship products valued at €25.
The four organisations promoting the Recuperem el Port de Maó campaign that are driving the contest are:
- Associació d’Amarraments Públics Es Jonquet
- Amics de la Mar – Port de Maó
- Casetes de Vorera de Menorca
- GOB Menorca
The organisations point out that this initiative seeks to help strengthen the bond between the population and the port and to generate collective awareness of the need to preserve its natural, cultural and social values.
PARTICIPATION RULES
- Participants: Anyone who wishes to take part.
- Registration: Free of charge.
- Works: Up to four per author, monochrome or colour.
- Format: Minimum longest side of 3,500 pixels. Minimum resolution of 300 dpi. JPG format. No watermarks, signatures or copyright notices.
- Submission: Images must be sent as email attachments to:
medimari@gobmenorca.com - Subject line: Photography contest. The main body of the email must include the author’s first and last name(s), email address, telephone number and social media accounts, if applicable.
- Identification: The title of the work must be the file name of the attached image. GOB Menorca guarantees that the author’s details will not appear on the images submitted to the jury.
- Jury: The jury will consist of three people with expertise in the subject of the contest, one of whom will be a representative of MARE (Fundació Marilles).
- Jury’s work: The jury members will digitally select thirty finalist works and, from these thirty, will choose the first, second and third prizes.
- Exhibition of selected works: The thirty selected works will be printed on A3+ paper (329 × 483 mm) and exhibited, indicating the author. All submitted photographs may also be viewed, projected on a screen. The possibility of touring the exhibition to different venues remains open.
- Ownership of printed works: Once the exhibition tour of the selected works has concluded, the printed photographs will be given to each author.
- Prizes: The prizes will consist of a cash award and a batch of products from estates with an Agricultural Land Stewardship agreement. Three prizes will be awarded based on four criteria. The jury will consider losses or threats affecting: natural values, maritime heritage and seafaring culture, shoreline architecture, and the port’s popular and social uses.
- First prize: €400 in cash and a batch of products from estates with an agricultural stewardship agreement valued at €75.
- Second prize: €250 in cash and a batch of products from estates with an agricultural stewardship agreement valued at €50.
- Third prize: €100 in cash and a batch of products from estates with an agricultural stewardship agreement valued at €25.
- Rights to the works: Participants authorize GOB and MARE (Fundació Marilles) to freely use the submitted works, provided that such use is for nature conservation purposes, the author’s name is credited, and there is no commercial intent.
- Deadline: The deadline for the acceptance of works is 15 September 2026.