Maja Gligorić has a mission in Sombor: she looks for little, good news that sometimes go under or are missed in the rush of everyday life.
The situation is not simple in Serbia: the unemployment is high, the average income low and the end of the economic crisis is not in sight. The news is full of topics that offer headlines for classic “bad news”.
In 2014, Maja already had the idea to put a counterpoint: “I asked myself what would be the least thing I could do against the negative atmosphere here in Sombor. Soon the idea arose to look for little good news that is normally missed. For I am tired of all the pushed sensational news in the media that is mostly bad news.”
Maja (37) is a media designer and photographer and thus it soon became clear that photographs and the Internet would be her media.
The stain on the favourite shirt is gone
She found her first candidates for her project among friends and acquaintances in Sombor. “It was a little more difficult to find the good news”, says Maja. “I asked each person which news they were glad to hear about recently – it doesn’t have to be the new car, but also the small occurrence in everyday life. One or two had to think a little longer”, she tells with a chuckle.
„In the end everybody discovered such good news and sometimes they were themselves astonished what this all was “, Maja recalls the beginning of the project.
One said it was the visit of his son who lives abroad, another that it was the angler’s luck of her husband, good grades of the children in school or even good blood values, confirmed by a doctor. Others were still happy about their wedding, their daughter’s first day of school or even that a persistent stain on the favourite shirt was gone.
She published the short texts in Serbian and English together with a photograph, showing the participants in a place of their everyday life. This can be their workplace or garden at home.
Maja uses Social Media for good news
“It was important to me to show people from as different professions and social areas as possible in order to also create and uphold a picture of the diversity in Sombor“, she comments the interim result.
Thus, a small, but nice series of people from Sombor and their little positive stories was created. The concept reminds a bit of „Humans of New York“ where also people are photographed and published with a really short story.
With her project “Good news” (in Serbian: dobre vesti), Maja can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Even the Serbian media reported about it. “I want to show that there still exist good things in our country, although they are not in the headlines of newspapers”, she concludes.
Besides the project “Good news”, Maja likes to take pictures in nature or at the nearby Danube. With her Canon SX30is she also records changes in her hometown and has already contributed photos to several exhibitions.
Maja is currently on the road for a new series again. So don’t be surprised if you are addressed in Sombor and asked about some little good news.
Photos: People from Sombor and their good news
Photos: Maja Gligorić
Web: www.majagligoric.wix.com
Please contribute by appreciating and sharing: Do you like this article? Please share it on social media – and also follow Sombor Blog on Twitter and/or our Facebook page! Thank you!
Read more english reports from Sombor and Serbia here.
Translation: Aleksandra Davidović, Belgrade
Schreibe einen Kommentar