Northwest Chapter

Looking Inward: Reflecting on 2020

- Online Event, All Are Welcome!   |   September 26 - September 26, 2020

In light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, our traditional in-person fall chapter conference has been postponed until 2021. That said, with times like these, there are an abundance of conversations to be had about the state of the world and "The New Now", and so we're encouraging submissions from photographers, educators, artists, and students to broadly interpret this concept for a virtual conference to be held September 26th, 2020 entitled "Looking Inward: Reflections on 2020".

In the last two months, what "The New Now" refers to has dramatically changed. No longer is the Covid-19 Pandemic the only aspect that is working to reshape and redefine our lives. These are tumultuous times that we live in, and we would be remiss not to rise to the call and encourage a dialogue through sharing your efforts in addressing these concerns both in and out of the classroom and with your creative work.

May and June have been redefined because of the ongoing struggles behind the #BlackLivesMatter movement. We're reassessing our histories, considering our privilege, and educating ourselves in new ways. Confederate statues are toppling and calls to Defund the Police have us reconsidering the responsibilities we give our law enforcement. The recent Supreme Court decisions and Executive Orders have LGBTQ+ rights in a constant state of flux. Beyond all of this, the rift between fellow Americans continues to widen, as politics, policies, individual beliefs and world views pit us against friends, family and loved ones.

How has 2020 changed you, your work in the classroom, the way you teach, or your creative output? How do we create connection while teaching online, and how can we create more inclusion in the classroom in terms of race, identity, and mental health?

We warmly accept submissions from professionals that are not SPE members as well as people living outside of our region. Thank you for your interest and do not hesitate to contact our Conference Chair through email (provided below) or via SPE-NW's Facebook and Instagram pages.

We encourage submissions in the following categories:

Workshop / Hands-on Training (1 hour)

Image-maker Presentations (30 minute)

Teaching methodology & research (30 minute)

Panel discussion (1 hour)

Lightning round artist presentation - for single bodies of work (15 minutes)

Deadline and Submission Guidelines

Proposal submissions are due by July 15th at 11:59pm, AKST. Please submit your proposals via an email to northwest@spenational.org . Please have the following prepared prior to submitting:

Proposed presentation style, title of presentation, and name(s) of presenters

Equipment needs for your presentation (power, projector, darkroom, studio space, computer lab, etc)

Biography of each presenter, <150 words with additional links to social media accounts & website

Up to 500 words dedicated to your proposal concept. This and all above elements should be housed in a single .PDF document.

Image-based or image-maker presentations must include no more than 10 images resized to less than 1500 pixels max wide/tall


Any questions? Please contact Conference Chair J. Jason Lazarus at lazarus@obscura-works.com

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