Polaroid Swing is the much talked-about startup from Silicon Valley that just relaunched the classic brand in the form of Swing app that could be Instagram's strongest competitor yet. The young tech company wants to bring back the classic nostalgic feel that the older generation enjoyed through pictures. However, this time, you can take living, moving pictures, similar to what you have seen on Harry Potter movies.
The new handler of the well-established brand wants to focus more on discovering and supporting a group of new generation artists who are enthusiastic in using photography as the medium to express creative talent. This week, the startup announced that they are launching their new artist support program, which offers more than 200 photographers equipment and exhibition space. Qualified applicants can also avail to possible commissions of their artworks supported by the company.
British co-founder Tommy Stadlen says that Polaroid Swing's purpose "is to inspire artistic expression” and " to champion artists and we take that really seriously”. The startup is inspired to uphold the value that their original predecessor, Polaroid's founder, Edwin Land, created in the mid-20th century. Land gave important support to artists such as Warhol, Hockney, Robert Mapplethorpe and Robert Rauschenberg, helping to catapult them to stardom in the art industry, The Guardian reported.
Taking the name and spirit of the classic photo brand, and rebooting it with a new mission, the startup hopes to create a group of artist who are enthusiastic with living photography. Applicants can use the app to take pictures, then submit them through social media. The best submissions will be judged by a diverse panel which will include the photographer Paolo Roversi, the Tate chairman, Lord Browne, and the supermodel Natalia Vodianova, per Top Tech News.
Qualified Polaroid Swing artists around the world will then be invited on to the program which will mean getting a free iPhone and be a part of digital and physical exhibitions, as well as having the possibility of brand commission work. The whole concept is to introduce a new kind of photography in which the subject and other features in the photo move, enhancing the idea that humans see the world in short moments.
