In the Principality, a spotlight now falls on urgency: the urgency to see, to feel, to protect. This year, Monaco is inviting its youngest visionaries, ages 11 to 25, to wield their cameras like both brush and blade, capturing a truth.
A Contest Born of Responsibility
Organised by the Direction des Affaires Culturelles, the second edition of the photography competition Patrimoine en danger (Heritage in Danger) asks more than just artistic skill, it demands imagination. Participants are called to explore tangible and intangible pieces of Monaco’s soul: alleyways, the crests of Baroque facades, whispered traditions and fading rituals.
Unlike traditional contests that seek the beautiful, this one seeks the meaningful. The images that count are those that mark vulnerability in heritage, whether threatened by time, climate upheaval, booming construction, or shifting cultural tides.
More Than Photographs
What does it mean when a photograph shouts out something? When a doorframe, cracked by age, becomes an ambassador for preservation? That’s the kind of questioning this competition nurtures.
Young photographers are encouraged to stretch beyond the lens and into philosophy, prompting them to define their own connection to Monaco’s legacy. Is the real heritage the walls and stones, or the stories etched into them?
The Jury
To guide this introspective visual journey, an expert jury stands at the ready including Stéphane Bern, a champion of cultural heritage and Nick Danziger, internationally celebrated photographer and storyteller; plus distinguished figures from Monaco’s extensive cultural community, Françoise Gamerdinger, Jean-Philippe Vinci, Björn Dahlström et Célia Bernasconi.
Their mission isn’t just to select photos, but to choose narratives that pulse with insight and urgency.
Exhibition
Fifteen selected images will find a public stage in Saint-Martin Gardens along the garden railings, between April and October 2026, so every passerby becomes a witness to these young visions.
This setting transforms the exhibition into an open-air chronicle, where tourists and locals alike encounter these windows into Monaco’s culture.
Three Ages
The competition awards three distinct age groups, 11–14, 15–18, and 19–25, nurturing young perspectives at every stage of growth.
Deadlines and Participation
The call for entries remains open until 15 March 2026 (23:59). The competition is open to Monegasques, residents, students, and workers in the Principality, ensuring a true community reflection.
Clarion Call
Beyond its artistic framework, the competition seeks to raise awareness among young people about the fragility of Monaco’s heritage, encouraging them to observe, interpret, and reflect on elements of cultural significance that may be threatened or overlooked.
In Monaco, where the old and new perpetually entwine, this photography contest becomes a cultural clarion call:
See what is at risk. Then capture it. Then protect it.
