If you had to capture what Salem is in one photo, what would it be?

This summer, Salem Is has teamed up with the folks at “be” to bring you a three-part, interactive art project — one that asks you to take a deeper look at the city around you.

Created by Carlee Wright and Brian Hart, “be” is a company working to create a connected community and to inspire people to embrace their creative individuality — its projects so far have included Salem’s Before I Die wall and the upcoming TEDxSalem event.

For our new summer project, you may have already contributed to the first part without even knowing it. Below is a video compilation of every Instagram picture with the hashtag #salemor. This photography art experiment includes more than 2,000 pictures in a little more than two minutes!

Now comes part two. From today, July 15, to Thursday, Aug. 15, we encourage you to post photos that capture the heart and soul of Salem to Instagram with the hashtag #salemis. Please spread the word to all of your friends and post as many pictures as you like. After Aug. 15, we will create another montage of these photos for all to see.

be creative!

be curious!

be adventurous!

And most importantly, have fun!

These #salemis pictures also will be central to part three, but for now we are keeping that portion of the project a mystery …