Midwest Chapter

Communities, Collaborations and Collectives

Saint Kate - Milwaukee, Wisconsin   |   October 24 - October 27, 2019

Ours is a time of increasing political, cultural, and economic division.  While the impulse to turn inward and interact with only those of like minds is strong, the creative class has every opportunity to resist that urge by bridging divides, building community, and bringing visibility to voices and efforts that are working to strengthen our shared visions for the future.  Creative collaborations and artist collectives help to provide effective and sustainable models for building sound structures that serve to unify our regional, national, and global populations of varying needs and perspectives. This year's theme is an opportunity to think beyond the needs of the individual maker, gesture, or venue, in an effort to promote shared agency in utilizing the photographic medium as a tool for unifying group interests, bringing voice to underrepresented communities, and communicating the experiences of those on all sides of the divide.

Calls for Entry:

Midwest Honored Educator:

Students, educators, professionals: please email midwestspe2019@gmail.com by May 15 with your nominations for Midwest Honored Educator to be awarded at the 2019 Midwest Society for Photographic Education Conference #SPEMKE this October.

The criteria for selection of the Honored Educator are as follows: 

• The recipient has made a significant contribution to the field of photographic education.
• The contribution to the field could be made through classroom teaching, writing, publishing, museum education, or other areas of professional practice in the field of photography. 
• The recipient is a full-career educator. There is no specific requirement for the number of years in the field, but 15 years would generally be seen as a minimum. 
• The recipient has been a member of SPE. 
• To be considered for the Honored Educator Award, the educator must be nominated by a current member of SPE. 
• Nominations should include a formal letter of nomination citing specifics about the educator's contributions to the field of photographic education and a summary of the nominee's career.

Past Midwest Recipients include: 
2018 James Nakagawa
2017 Judy Natal
2016 Barbara Houghton
2015 Linda Adele Goodine
2014 Stan Strembicki
2013 Jeff Curto
2012 Ardine Nelson

Student Exhibition:

#SPEMKE Student Exhibition juried by Alejandro Cartagena.

Deadline: June 8

This open-theme call for entry is open to all student members of SPE. All lens-based media and works made utilizing photographic processes will be considered for exhibition. Selected works will be exhibited in the Brooks Stevens Gallery at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Sept 21-Oct 27, 2019. Submit your work here: 
https://miad.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/47691

About the Juror:

Alejandro Cartagena lives and works in Monterrey, Mexico. His projects employ landscape and portraiture to examine social, urban, and environmental issues in America. 

Cartagena's work has been exhibited internationally and is in public and private collections in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, and the United States, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, the Portland Museum of Art, and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 
Cartagena has published several photo books including Santa Barbara Shame on US (Skinnerboox, 2017), A Guide to Infrastructure and Corruption (The Velvet Cell, 2017), Rivers of Power (Newwer, 2016), Santa Barbara Return Jobs to US (Skinnerboox, 2016), Before the War (self-published, 2015), Carpoolers (self-published / FONCA 2014), and Suburbia Mexicana (Daylight/ Photolucida 2011). He is the recipient of several major national and international grants, numerous honorable mentions and acquisition prizes in Mexico and abroad including the Photolucida Critical Mass Book Award, the Lente Latino award in Chile, and the Premio IILA-Fotografia 2012 award in Rome. He has been named a FOAM Magazine "Talent" and one of PDN's 30 "International Emerging Photographers To Watch".

Member's Exhibition:

#SPEMKE Members Exhibition juried by Jennifer Murray, Executive Director of Filter Photo. This open-theme call for entry is open to all professional members of SPE. All lens-based media and works made utilizing photographic processes will be considered for exhibition. Selected works will be exhibited in the Brooks Stevens Gallery at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Sept 21-Oct 27, 2019. Submit your work here: 
https://miad.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/47691

Deadline: June 8

About the Juror:

Jennifer Murray is an artist, curator, and educator who lives and works in Chicago. She is the Executive Director of Filter Photo. Filter organizes the annual multi-day Filter Photo Festival and hosts year-round programing at Filter Space, including social, educational, and professional development activities, exhibitions, workshops, and lectures. She was Director of Averill and Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery, at Columbia College Chicago for eleven years where she organized a broad range of exhibitions in art and design. She is an Instructor of Photography at Loyola University Chicago and an independent artists' consultant and mentor working with artists on project development and exhibition preparation. She is a frequent portfolio reviewer and juror at photography events across the US including FotoFest, Photolucida's Critical Mass, SPE, and Filter Photo, among others. Recent curatorial projects include Furtive at the Chicago Cultural Center, Aint-Bad Magazine Issue 13, and Jackson Patterson: Recollected Memories at Gallery 19, Chicago. Murray received an MFA in photography from Columbia College Chicago in 2002.

Call for Proposals:

#SPEMKE planning committee is seeking proposals for any interpretation of the conference theme, "Communities, Collaborations, and Collectives", with special encouragement for group presentations and collaborative/interactive approaches. We welcome submissions from artists from all parts of the global photographic community. Submit your proposal here: https://miad.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/47667

Deadline: June 8

Non-traditional formats will be considered. Current membership is required for all participants of accepted proposals. All presenters, co-presenters, panelists, and moderators will have 10 days to join SPE or renew their membership once acceptance notifications are sent out. Please indicate which presentation category you are applying for within your proposal. 

Categories include: 

• Student (15 min) – short presentation of your own artistic work and a brief introduction to your academic program.
• Imagemaker (40 min) – presentation on your own artistic work 
• Lecture (40 min) – presentation on historical topic, theory, or another artist's work 
• Panel Discussion (90 min) – active discussion among panelists, moderator, and audience to discuss a chosen topic.

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