This year's edition of the competition saw 16 winners who will receive financial resources to implement their artistic projects. This year, the amount of the scholarship has been increased to PLN 25,000, which is PLN 10,000 more than in previous years.

Here are our recipients and their projects:

* Mateusz Gil (screenwriting) Film –  "Will the sky fall on us?"

The aim of the project is to develop a 30-minute script into a full-length one and present it to the audience in the form of a performative reading. Its premise is as follows: When a young man begins to suspect that his Guru is not who he claims to be, he decides to discover the truth about him and reveal it to other members of the sect. However, he must do this in complete secrecy, because if his plan were discovered prematurely, his earthly "brothers" would tear him to pieces. The protagonist faces a difficult dilemma: whether to remain under the influence of a man he now sees only as a fraud, or to risk his life and try to break free.

The main inspiration for the antagonist in my story is the doctor of philosophy Łukasz Mazur, known on the rap scene under the pseudonym "Zero89" (formerly "ZeroCool").

* Filip Mańka (film and tv production) Film – Manhattan Project

"The Manhattan Project" is a story about preppers from Łódź - people who, instead of trusting the system, are preparing for its collapse. The film's premise would be to observe their everyday lives and try to understand their motivations, without making any sudden or hasty theses. I want to examine the small things and gestures that push them to dedicate their lives to a scenario that may never come. From gathering supplies, organizing meetings and recording lessons, to building their own bunker.

“The Manhattan Project” aims to raise awareness of real preparations for crisis situations. “The Manhattan Project” will be an observational documentary, enriched with in-depth interviews with experts and archival materials. The film will juxtapose urban space with non-urban areas, showing their importance in the context of survival and preppers' strategies.

* Bartłomiej Talaga (photography lecturer) Visual Arts – The City as a Score

The project is an attempt to capture the visual rhythm of Łódź through an original photographic method. The development of three photographic scores will allow for mapping the multi-layered structure of the urban tissue. The aim is not only documentation, but also the creation of an alternative map of the city, where the image becomes a sound record. Thanks to the use of unique techniques of analog photography and editing inspired by musical notation, the project has the opportunity to broaden the understanding of photography as a potential for the form of an urban score. The project is based on analog photography as a method of capturing the rhythm of the city, where the image is not only a document but an organic trace of presence in space.

The City of Lodz Scholarship Programme is aimed at people involved in artistic creation, popularization of culture and care of monuments. The overriding goal of the scholarship programme is the possibility of artistic development of candidates. The winning projects are to be a chance for their authors to expand their creativity, as well as a tool allowing them to reach for new but not necessarily obvious artistic solutions.

Artistic scholarships of the City of Łódź may be awarded to individuals implementing projects in the field of artistic creation, popularization of culture and protection of monuments. The artistic scholarship programme consists of awarding financial resources in the amount of PLN 25,000 to individuals implementing specific projects in the following fields: visual arts, film, theatre, music, dance, literature, popularization of culture, protection of monuments.

Complete list of scholarship recipients: bip.uml.lodz.pl/files/bip/public/BIP_TW_25/Kul_stypendia_art

photo: City Hall press materials