Currents

2022 MWSPE Regional Conference

Hilton Netherland Plaza Downtown Cincinnati - Cincinnati, Ohio   |   October 06 - October 09, 2022

This year's theme highlights works concerned with the ebb and flow of social, political, and artistic trends and how these tropes and themes can return with differing focus and intensity. This conference and corresponding exhibitions focus on the incoming swell of ideas, explorations, and concerns of artists within the Midwest and how they see, process, and contextualize the recurrence and reemergence of social, political, and artistic tropes and trends in their own practices. In turn, this conference will serve as an artistic interpretation of world events / records from the perspective of artists from across the Midwest.  We're truly thrilled to have Zora J Murff and Gina Osterloh as the keynote speakers this year!  About FotoFocus: "Founded in 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio, FotoFocus is a nonprofit organization created to celebrate and champion photography as the medium of our time through programming that ignites a dialogue between contemporary lens-based art and the history of photography. FotoFocus presents lens-based signature programming, including the FotoFocus Biennial, FotoFocus Symposium, FotoFocus Talks Series, and Film and Video programming. FotoFocus has collaborated with organizations, curators, academics, and artists to present more than 750 exhibitions and programs to provide uniquely enriching access to lens-based art, film, and practices inspired by photography. FotoFocus has awarded over 600 grants to support partners presenting projects and educational programs that are accessible and engaging to the public. About the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial: The 2022 FotoFocus Biennial, now in its sixth iteration, activates over 100 projects at museums, galleries, universities, and public spaces throughout Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Dayton, and Columbus, Ohio in October 2022. Each Biennial is structured around a unifying theme; for 2022 that theme, World Record, considers photography's extensive record of life on earth while exploring humankind's impact on the natural world. FotoFocus welcomes global artists, curators, critics, educators, and regional visitors to Cincinnati with exhibitions, talks, performances, screenings, and panel discussions during an expanded week of programming, September 29–October 8, 2022.   Hotel Information:  Hilton Netherland Plaza Downtown Cincinnati 35 West Fifth Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202Phone: 1-513-421-9100 Use the link HERE to book your room at the Hilton Netherland Plaza Downtown Cincinnati!  ** When booking your room at the Hilton Netherland Plaza Downtown Cincinnati online, if you are not given the SPE rate select the "Special Rates" button and use Group Code "SPE" to book your room for the conference rate. You can use the same code if you are booking over the phone as well.

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Come Together

Bossier Parish Community College - Shreveport and Bossier City, Louisana   |   October 14 - October 15, 2022

For our 2022 regional conference, we invite members of the photography community to consider how we can come together, to explore our common humanity and help build new relationships and communities based on respect and inclusion. We will be hosted by Bossier Parish Community College for a celebration of all we share as artists, educators, and students of photography. Our keynote speaker is Andrea Morales, (b. 1984; Lima, Peru) a documentary photographer, journalist and educator who lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee. Morales is the visuals director of MLK50, a nonprofit newsroom that focuses on the intersection of poverty, power and policy. Her personal work attempts to lens the issues of displacement, disruption and magic.  This year's programming features a variety of lectures, workshops, discussions, and exhibitions of work by members and students in our region. Conference attendees will also be given complimentary passes to attend Music Prize, part of Prize Fest, an annual festival of the arts in Shreveport. Hotel Information: There is no official conference hotel, but there are several hotels close to Bossier Parish Community College, our host institution, including a Holiday Inn Express, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, and Comfort Suites Bossier City. For questions or more information, contact: southcentral@spenational.org

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- N/A, N/A   |   November 04 - November 05, 2022

"Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I'm going to take tomorrow." —Imogen Cunningham The drive to make photographs is something that unites us as a community. We feel Imogen Cunningham's excitement of thinking about tomorrow's picture and sharing her passion informs our lives. What we may not know is how to take that next step. This fall, the Northeast Chapter of SPE will host a virtual conference. Our title refers to the uncertain, the ambiguous; the next photograph one will make, the meaning of a single image, the path of one's life. On Nov. 4 and 5, we will come together to learn more about the work of two successful artists. Nona Faustine will talk about her exciting current project in a presentation moderated by Justine Kurland, and Odette England will speak about her prodigious work in book form.  And, to remind us where the excitement begins, we have invited six graduate students to discuss their work in the quick but demanding PechKucha format. Years ago, a good friend told me I was lucky. I asked her why. She said because you have photography. Are you lucky? Please join us to share our good fortune, passion, and community, which cannot happen when we are alone.   To register for the conference, click the "view conference details" button at the bottom of this page, and then the registration link will be on the right side of the next page. After you register, you must also sign up ("register") for each event to generate a Zoom link to your email. Dates:  November 4–5, 2022Location: Virtual SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (EST)November 4, Friday5:00–6:00 pm:  Meet & Greet (cocktail hour)November 5, Saturday12:30 – 1:00  Annual Chapter meeting1:00 – 2:00    Nona Faustine with moderator Justine Kurland2:15 – 3:15    PechaKucha: Justin Aungst, Rafael Concepcion,                      Lily LaGrange, Yana Nosenko, Allie Tsubota, Baillie Vensel3:30 – 4:30    Odette England: Photo Book-Ish All sessions will be conducted in a webinar format with the opportunity for a lively Q & A.

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