Visual Currents

2026 SPESC Photography Conference

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock - Little Rock, Arkansas   |   October 23 - October 24, 2026

We're thrilled to announce that the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host the 2026 SPE South Central Chapter Conference! Join us for two days of talks, exhibitions, and community events celebrating photography and education in the region. This year's conference will feature acclaimed photographer Todd Hido as keynote speaker, along with an exhibition of his work and that of Angela Strassheim, plus a juried members and student exhibition at UA Little Rock. 2026 Honored Educator: Call for Nominations Visual Currents: Call for Proposals

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2026 SPE West Chapter Conference

Sacramento

- Sacramento, CA   |   November 05 - November 08, 2026

Shared (Un)realities: Photography, Truth, and Meaning in 2026 In 2026, photography exists within a fractured public sphere. Artificial intelligence generates images at scale. Politicians and public figures circulate demonstrably false visual and verbal narratives. Social media platforms algorithmically shape perception. Audiences inhabit parallel information ecosystems with few shared reference points. The 2026 SPE West Fall Conference invites artists, educators, scholars, and technologists to examine photography's evolving relationship to truth, meaning, and quality in this environment. How do photographs construct meaning today? How do they function amid algorithmic feeds and attention economies? What does photographic "truth" mean at a time when images are shared endlessly, easily generated? What constitutes quality—formally, ethically, politically—when belief itself appears polarized? This conference brings together critical discourse and technical engagement. One day will focus on hands-on workshops addressing contemporary tools and processes—from alternative photographic methods to AI workflows and hybrid video practices. A second day will foreground presentations, panels, and discussions that interrogate photography's epistemological, political, and aesthetic stakes today. Call for Proposals: Papers, Panels, and Presentations Deadline:May 24, 11:59 pmPresentation Date: November 7, 2026 Photography has long claimed proximity to truth. Today, that claim is unstable. Generative AI produces plausible fictions. Political discourse normalizes visible falsehoods. Social media platforms distribute images through opaque algorithmic systems. Audiences increasingly inhabit distinct visual and informational environments, with diminishing shared reference points. What is the status of photographic truth? How do images construct, distort, or stabilize meaning? What formal strategies encourage sustained looking in an age of accelerated consumption? What constitutes quality in a field saturated with images? How do we teach critical literacy when belief itself is polarized? How do photographers critique fractured publics while participating in them? We welcome proposals that engage these questions historically, theoretically, pedagogically, or through studio practice. Possible areas of inquiry include: Photography and post-truth politics Attention, duration, and resistance to scroll culture The place of physical exhibitions in a digital world Image verification, authorship, and authenticity Algorithmic feeds and the fragmentation of public discourse Photography and the disappearance of shared cultural channels The definition and relevance of "quality" in contemporary photographic practice Pedagogical models for critical visual literacy Documentary ethics in the age of AI Possible formats: 20–40-minute presentations 60–90 minute panels (3–4 presenters) Roundtable discussions Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged! Proposal Guidelines Individual Presentations: Title Abstract (300–500 words) 5–10 images Brief bio (150 words max) Panels: Panel title 500-word overview Individual abstracts (250 words each) Short bios for all participants We will look for conceptual rigor, clarity of argument, and relevance to the conference theme. Submit here:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUjuS5_p-Qz1YN7dCa5RSJHGIt3zE2ELiTqYQFFGBbmFMe_A/viewform

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