2025 SPE Annual Conference Overview

Adaptation

When March 06-08, 2025
Where Peppermill Reno Resort, Reno, Nevada

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We are living in a time of enormous upheaval. Nearly all aspects of our lives and cultures are undergoing sweeping changes at a pace few of us have experienced before. As we confront these new realities, adaptation will be essential if we are to grow, to succeed and to survive. 

As photographers, we are no strangers to adaptation. The history of our medium has been a tale of continual reinvention. Today, the editing of our photographs, our projects, and our ideas is increasingly driven by algorithms, while the very concept of creativity has been shaken by the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence. Change continues to be the only constant in photography. 

Technological, economic, and social revolutions are similarly transforming the landscape of academia. New opportunities abound for expanding our notions of what a classroom looks like, and who we find there. But navigating these new models requires reimagining what it means to teach and to learn. We are adapting. 

In 2025, our community will gather in Reno, Nevada, to consider how we can adapt to our moment – as photographers and as individuals. Reno is a city with a rich history of reinvention. Located at the junction of the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains and the vast expanses of the Great Basin, the city has repeatedly adapted itself to changing times. Born as an entrepreneurial hub for mining, in subsequent years Reno recast itself as a mecca for early gambling, easy divorces, world-class ski resorts, and summer recreation. More recently, it has evolved into a hub for creative arts, including the Sierra Arts Foundation; the Nevada Museum of Art and its Center for Art + Environment; and the annual launch pad for Burning Man, in the nearby Black Rock Desert. 

SPE encourages members and non-members to submit proposals for presentations that will advance this discussion. 

Consider: 

• How is this moment different from previous cycles of upheaval? 

• How do we understand and respond to radical changes in so many facets of our lives? 

• What do our times ask of us as creatives and as educators? 

• How are you responding to shifting dynamics of power, wealth, and privilege? 

• How are you planning for a changed environment, and an uncertain ecological future? 

• How can we leverage new creative technologies with ethics and social justice in mind? 

• How are educational expectations and institutions evolving, and how are you navigating these changes? 

• Can confusion, anxiety, and grief be recast to fuel hopeful creativity and action? 

• How do you prioritize self-care and care for others when your time and energy are limited. 

• How are you adapting? How can we help each other to adapt?