Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
A retrospective exhibition of socially engaged posters opened at the Historical Atrium of the Ljubljana Town Hall. It displays works awarded and a selection of short-listed entries at Plaktivat international competitions.
Plaktivat is an international competition in designing city posters, which is open at least twice each year by TAM-TAM in collaboration with various partners depending on the content of the treated topic. The exhibited posters draw attention to different social topics including Internet addiction, violence against women, crisis of the media, brain drain, alternatives to consumerism…
Poster and design enthusiasts, activists, and creatives were addressed by Plaktivat project leader Tomaž Drozg and prof. Janez Koželj, vice-mayor of the town municipality of Ljubljana. The latter pointed out city posters as an important part of public communication, “which uses visual means to communicate values with which society is to advance. Unlike commercial advertising posters, city posters are not consumer goods, but rather lend public spaces value and meaning. Designers of public posters generate surprise by rejecting mediocrity and establishing a contact with various areas of the functioning of society.”
With the newly established TAM-TAM institute, Tomaž Drozg wants to give city posters back their rightful place, which is why he will proceed with similar projects in the future. “Today’s exhibition marks five years of the Plaktivat project, which does not represent the end of this project, but merely a milestone and a search for new inspiration. Plaktivat will remain an activator of collective consciousness.”
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At the opening of the exhibition, TAM-TAM institute also presented a catalogue titled Plaktivat – Posters that Change Society, which includes works by all 12 winners and 162 finalists as well as various contributions on the role of posters, the power of the medium, on communicating important subjects, and on design. Tomaž Drozg added: “After several years of vacuum in the field of written publications on posters, the catalogue represents a contribution to the popularisation of posters and their authors, which is a pivotal mission of the TAM-TAM non-profit institute for virtual culture.”
The publication of the catalogue was also made possible by two agencies that regularly participate in Plaktivat competitions: AV studio is a marketing agency with 40 years of experience, which has also co-created communication channels throughout its existence. As stated by Jure Tovrljan from the said agency: “Posters, as a form, co-shape public space and are one of the oldest media formats. And so TAM-TAM’s posters and thereby Plaktivat stand as a part of the ever-changing city centre. The posters induce social criticism exhibiting a strong sense of responsibility toward content and employ creative excellence to broach a variety of issues.”
Domen Husu, creative director from Yin+Young agency, which has won as many as two competitions, adds: “Posters, which have always been a ‘crème de la crème’ of media, actually made advertising what it is. For this, if nothing else, they deserve our respect and support like any elder would. At the same time, the project more or less successfully raises young prospects in our field and revives certain professional standards, which are all too often neglected. After all, when we were still a reasonably “green” agency, our first “breakthrough” onto the local “scene” was in part thanks to Plaktivat. All this considered, it is interesting that the project supporters only count two agencies rather than all of them, or at least those, who took part in or even won the Plaktivat competition. Above all, in keeping with current trends, which cause numerous agency products to strive for social responsibility, it would therefore not be bad to show a little more (associational) social responsibility towards ourselves and our craft in these instances.”
The socially responsible posters will be on display until 3 December 2019. The catalogue, which is also on display at the Historical Atrium of the Town Hall is available to purchase a mere few steps away at TIC Ljubljana. You can also order it at institut@tam-tam.si.
