In January 2013 I designed a 6 month instagram contest structure for Chitecture to result in a physical gallery exhibition and official Chicago instagram meetup event. The structure consisted of running one contest per month for six months; with different themes for our community to explore for a chance to win a feature in the gallery show. We determined six photo themes (while still incorporating the city); contest themes were: PEOPLE, MONOCHROMATIC, H2O, COLLAB, GOLDEN, and a shot with a BIO of a new or historical Chicago building that resonates with them. 

The grand prize each of the contest winner's printed photo to hang on display next to a plaque in the beautiful Loft on Lake venue & gallery space. We featured the work of big name players on the Chicago scene @swopes, @jasonmpeterson, @lielane, and more; and auctioned featured artists framed pieces by myself and my chitecture colleagues in a silent auction. We locked in print, food/beverage, and transportation sponsorships Pixuru, Uber, Mercadito Chi, Goose Island, and Ink361. 

There were over 7,000 submissions to the contest and over 400 guests in attendance. We secured press and media coverage for the local evening news which was a huge surprise! For entertainment, guests enjoyed posing with friends in 2 closed and open photo booths. A timelapse video of Chicago projected throughout the evening by a talented local timelapse videographer Eric Hines Photography. A slideshow of select submissions from the community through the #ChitectureEX hashtag was on rotation for everyone to see their work included in the show. We felt that everyone that participated was a winner. Click through below to see some photos taken at the event!

In 2012 I was able to join four talented instagram photographers to moderate Chicago's popular @Chitecture instagram feed. Chitecture is a hub for instagram users to view twice-daily features of the most deserving Chicago architecture photography of the day. Local Chicago instagrammers and visitors of Chicago alike can submit their instagram photos to the #Chitecture hashtag for a chance to be featured on the feed to gain exposure, connect with the supportive community, and feel an overall sense of accomplishment! 

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:
 

CHITECTURE TO HOST CHICAGO’S FIRST INSTAGRAM EXHIBITION OF CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY
‘ChitectureEx’ to showcase photography by many of Chicago’s top Instagrammers and display winning photos from the Chitecture Ex Contest

Chicago, Ill. (September 3, 2013) – Chicago’s beautiful skyline is coming from your smartphone to the art gallery. Chitecture, the leading source for Chicago architecture photography on the photo and video sharing app Instagram, is hosting a free gallery show, ChitectureEX, at Loft on Lake on September 13, 2013 from 7-11pm.

To further showcase the architecture photography of Chicago’s Instagrammers, Chitecture is turning their favorite Instagram photo submissions into physical works of art on display. Since January, users have been uploading their favorite Instagram photos of Chicago architecture with the hashtag #ChitectureEX. Chitecture has been selecting their favorite submissions to include in the gallery show, and in the weeks leading up to the show, special daily feature picks will allow for another chance for submissions to be showcased. 

“Chitecture has become a huge inspiration for people to go out and capture pictures of this city that we love,” said Tim Hara, co-founder of Chitecture. “We started #chitecture in the beginning of 2012 to provide Chicago with an architecture photography tag on Instagram, and since then we’ve seen over 90,000 photos tagged from hundreds of different users. We’ve been able to highlight new, unknown photographers and show off the impressive views in Chicago, and we feel that this gallery event will let our fans see these beautiful photos as the way they deserve to be seen - as art.”

The Chitecture panelists deciding the featured submissions are Kyle Buckland (@kbucklandphoto), Tim Hara (@thara_photo), Matt Lohmus (@chicagomatt), Ryan Postel (@ryanpostel), and Jessica Garrett (@jezibell). 

“ChitectureEX is a great opportunity to bring to life the growing art of ‘iphoneography’ and to celebrate the community that Chitecture has become,” said Jessie Garrett, the newest member of the Chitecture collective after winning Chitecture’s “I Want to be in Chitecture” contest in 2012. “We wanted to create an event where the Chicago IG community can come together, meet each other, and enjoy this great living collection of photography.”

Guests can also capture photos of their evening in photo booths provided by Loft on Lake. Bar style gourmet appetizers and drinks will be provided by Goose Island Catering and Events, while Chicago artist jBass will create a soundtrack to the evening. Other sponsor packages include drink ticket giveaways from Mercadito tapas restaurants offering 150 drink tickets and brunch coupons, redeemable at all three restaurant locations. Uber, the smartphone app that connects riders with safe, reliable, and affordable transportation options throughout Chicagoland, is sponsoring rides to ChitectureEX. Guests must RSVP through Facebook at the ChitectureEX event page.