A new look at what is old and familiar
"Lodz Through the Eyes of Students" is a project of students of New Media and Digital Culture, carried out under the supervision of Dr Natalie Moreno-Kamińska as part of the subject "Organization and management of culture in the era of new media". Its aim is to show the city and academic space from the perspective of young people. It is an honest story about how they perceive the place where they live, study and function every day.
We came up with the idea when we realised that our colleagues do not have the time or motivation to get to know the city better, apart from the daily route between the dormitory and the faculty. Our goal was to show alternative places, spaces that we like and want to recommend to others. Lodz is a city full of interesting, often underestimated places – said Maja Wiosna, the coordinator of the project
– said Maja Wiosna, the project coordinator.
As part of the initiative, the project’s authors created an Instagram profile where they have published photos and videos showing the city and its most important locations. In addition to the historical and cultural context, they have also shared their personal feelings and memories related to a given place.
We have set up an Instagram profile to reach a wider audience. The ability to dedicate a post and a reel to a specific location was a big advantage for us, especially since Instagram allowed us to create content in cooperation with institutions we had established contact with
– Maja added.
The students have also created a video, which is the culmination of their work, combining shots of urban spaces with fragments of student life. It was published on YouTube. Additionally, a virtual exhibition, containing photos and descriptions of various locations in Lodz, has been created on ArtSteps. Thanks to it, the creators were able to convey the unique atmosphere of the city and the perspective from which they see and feel it.
We have decided to present all the selected locations in the form of a video. It is a story about three days in the life of students, our colleagues from the group. We recorded them walking around Lodz following the route we had designed. In this way, we wanted to show how easy it is to break away from routine and discover new places. We have also decided to create a virtual exhibition for those who prefer to absorb information in a more structured form. The ArtSteps platform turned out to be an ideal solution, it allowed us to create an interesting, three-dimensional space, where you can move freely, spending as much time as you want to see a given location
– added the student.
A different look at the city
The "Lodz Through the Eyes of Students" project proved that Lodz is a city that does not stand still – it is constantly developing and it is possible to discover it anew, through subjective emotions and the fresh perspective of the new generation of its inhabitants.
The project itself has been very well received, especially on Instagram. We are very happy that it has achieved such a wide reach. We hope that thanks to our recommendations, more students will decide to discover lesser-known corners of Lodz
– concluded Maja.
The project shows the soul and historicity of the city. All materials created by students are available on their channels:
Edit: Natalia Sobczyk