This year, Poland is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the turning point year of ’89. Organisers together with photographers are looking for a picture that will serve as a symbol of these three decades of change. Invitation to this quest is aimed at photographers in Poland and worldwide, photographic agencies, as well as heirs of photographers who are no longer with us.

The iconic photograph may relate to a single event, a social process, a person or a group of people, a space, or to architecture or culture. We are seeking something that symbolically encapsulates these changes.

Organisers appreciate that it may well require much labour: searching through archives and perhaps even discovering yet unpublished photographs. But at the end of this quest, an international jury will be able to select an icon that will also serve to stimulate discussions on recent history. The Icon will be selected by a jury, composed of: Bruno Barbey (Magnum Photos), Anna Brzezińska (History Meeting House), Kasia Madera (BBC World News), Katarzyna Madoń-Mitzner (History Meeting House), Maciej Nabrdalik (VII Photo), Thomas Szlukovenyi (Thomson Reuters) and Jarosław Włodarczyk (Press Club Polska).

The winner’s prize will be 30,000 zl (approx. €7,000), and will include promotion of the picture in Poland and around the world.

The joint organisers of the competition are History Meeting House and Press Club Polska. The “Icon of 30 Years” competition is being held under the patronage of the International Association of Press Clubs (IAPC).

Entries for the competition are accepted up to 10 May 2019 online at www.ikona30lecia.pl