The exhibition was created within the ambit of the European project “OpenMuseums” and will put on display 194 images of Ljubljana broken down by theme.

In the period January to March 2013, the Museum embarked on a photographic experiment: users of Instagram were invited via the Museum’s web page, Facebook and Twitter to send their images of Ljubljana via this application to the Museum (#fotolj). Many (occasional) photographers responded, sending in a total of over 1,000 shots. The jury selected as many as 194 photographs by 43 photographers for the exhibition. An interesting exhibition of individualised views of the city of Ljubljana has been created on the basis of the selected photos, bearing the title Experiment: mobile! Mobile photography − from phone to exhibition.

As to what will be shown in the exhibition and why it was created in the first place, Blaž Vurnik, curator of modern history, said: "Museums have always tried to allow for the peculiarities of the time they live in. One of the peculiarities of our time is social networks. Any content in social networks is soon replaced by new content and just as soon disappears into oblivion. The photos shot by mobile telephones and ‘processed’ by various applications are momentary in nature. The motive for their creation is usually short-lived − they are intended to appear in social networks, with the image itself becoming a means of communication with friends and followers. The exhibition aims to gain an insight into these individualised views of Ljubljana and to transfer a fragment of digital urbanity from social networks into another medium, i.e. a museal exhibition. Since the safekeeping function of museums also involves the heritage which is being created right in front of our eyes, the exhibition aimed to obtain as many images as possible to be included in a museal record of our time".
Thus, all of the selected photos will become part of the photographic collection of the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana.

The Museum at Close Range study group (Muzej od blizu) consisting of five students, i.e. Valerija Novak, Brina Devetak, Maja Nemec, Meta Turk and Jernej Trebežnik, also participated in creating this exhibition. Along with designing the exhibition and selecting the photos, they compiled a fascinating alternative guide to Ljubljana based on the photos received. By using the guide, visitors to the City Museum will be able to discover some spots in Ljubljana they might have previously overlooked.
The Museum at Close  Range is a programme of the City Museum of Ljubljana intended for students of the social sciences and humanities who would like to become acquainted with the work of museums.

Both by launching the photo competition and by inviting the Museum at Close Range study group, the City Museum has opened its doors wide to members of the public interested in creating museal content and collections, thereby literally becoming an open museum − OpenMuseums.

PROGRAMME ACCOMPANYING THE EXHIBITION
ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION: Does mobile photography have a place in museal collections?
6 p.m. on Thursday 19 September
The subject of the round table discussion will be connected to photographic images created by mobile devices which are largely intended for publication in social networks. The key question to be asked is how value added − documentary, historical, aesthetic and perhaps even artistic − may be found in these images. Should museums pay attention to such creativity and such recordings of the present moment?

ABOUT THE EUROPEAN PROJECT OPENMUSEUMS
The photography competition and exhibition are within the ambit of the European Cross-border Cooperation Programme Italy-Slovenia 2007-2013, “OpenMuseums”. The aim of the programme is to improve, re-evaluate and promote the historical and cultural heritage of museums as the prime custodians of history by introducing technological innovations. Eleven Slovenian and Italian partners are collaborating in the project: the City of Ravenna Art Museum, the region of Rovigo and the region of Venice, the Goriška Museum Kromberk – Nova Gorica, the municipality of Udine – the city museum and art history galleries, the municipality of Ljubljana, Maritime Museum “Sergej Mašera”, the  townof Piran, the Regional Museum of Koper, the Aquileia Foundation and the Kobarid Museum. The project's main goal is to establish a network of “open” museums, with an innovative approach, providing as much flexibility and dynamism as possible, as well as improving and expanding on what they currently offer through professional collaboration. The project is co-financed within the ambit of the Cross-border Cooperation Programme Italy-Slovenia 2007-2013, from the European Regional Development Fund and national funds. The net worth of the programme is €3,856,000.

   
Lead partner: Pokrajina Ferrara / Provincia di Ferrara

Project partners: Museo d’Arte della Città – Comune di Ravenna / Mestni umetniški muzej - Občina Ravenna; Provincia di Rovigo / Pokrajina Rovigo; Provincia di Venezia / Pokrajina Benetke; Musei Provinciali  di Gorizia / Goriški pokrajinski muzej; Comune di Udine- Civici Musei e Gallerie di storia ed arte / Občina Videm – Mestni muzeji in galerije zgodovine umetnosti; Mestna občina Ljubljana/ Comune di Lubiana; Pomorski muzej “Sergej Mašera”, Piran / Museo del mare “Sergej Mašera”, Pirano; Pokrajinski muzej Koper/ Museo regionale di Capodistria; Fondazione Aquileia / Fundacija Oglej; Kobariški muzej d.o.o./ Museo di Caporetto

Projekt, sofinanciran v okviru Programa čezmejnega sodelovanja Slovenija−Italija 2007−2013 iz sredstev Evropskega sklada za regionalni razvoj in nacionalnih sredstev.
Progetto finanziato nell'ambito del Programma per la Cooperazione Transfrontaliera Italia-Slovenia 2007-2013, dal Fondo europeo di sviluppo regionale e dai fondi nazionali.