As part of The Instituto Terra e Memorias’ Transformative Territories project, ITM has launched its UTOPIA photo competition. This photo competition invites the citizens of the municipality of Mação to compete by submitting photographs they have taken of the fires that have devastated Mação over the years, in particular in 2003, 2017 and 2019. The competition is being organised in response to the need for reflection and dialogue on the community’s past, present and future. 

The municipality of Mação, located in central Portugal and with a population of just 6,000, is facing major challenges linked to forest fires. The area, characterised by an ageing population, vast areas of monoculture forestry and a continental climate with high summer temperatures, has been severely affected by fires in recent years. These fires have devastated the local ecosystem, destroyed property and left significant psychological scars in the community. However, despite the ecological and economic losses, the community of Mação has shown remarkable resilience. 

The UTOPIA photography competition, organised by Instituto Terra e Memória, is part of this process of regeneration. The project and subsequent exhibition will serve as a legacy of the community’s memory, impact and regeneration process. It will create a platform for awareness-raising and dialogue on the processes of community resilience in the face of landscape transformation and its economic, social and psychological impacts.

Follow the progress of the project on the Instituto Terra e Memoria’s website