2026 SPE Annual ConferenceSpeakers

Mary Virgina Swanson

Friday, March 20, 2026 @ 9:00am, Atlanta 5

After the Glut - Photobook Publishing in the Age of Plenty

Mary Virginia Swanson is an innovative independent educator and advisor to artists who is an active member of the contemporary photobook community. Swanson is coauthor with Darius Himes of "Publish Your Photography Book" (Third Edition,... read more

Noah Thompson

Saturday, March 21, 2026 @ 9:00am, Atlanta 4

Interdepartmental Collaboration in Image Making

Noah S. Thompson is a New England-based image maker. They received an M.F.A. from the University of Connecticut and a dual B.A. in English and Studio Art from Dickinson College. Noah currently serves as the... read more

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Vahid Valikhani

Saturday, March 21, 2026 @ 9:00am, Atlanta 2

The Art of Wet Scanning: A Complete Film-to-Digital Workshop

Vahid Valikhani is a photographer and documentary filmmaker. He employs straight photography to illuminate environmental and social dynamics in his surroundings, both in his homeland and abroad. His scholarly work centers on archival materials, including... read more

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Jennifer Wilkosz

Friday, March 20, 2026 @ 9:00am, Agusta

Analog Meets Eco-Tech: Course Design for Sustainable Photography

Jen Wilkosz, a fine arts educator and photographer from Lebanon, Connecticut, blends traditional analog processes with eco-conscious digital practices. Holding an MFA in Photography from SCAD and teaching for over 16 years, she inspires students... read more

Sara J. Winston

Friday, March 20, 2026 @ 2:30pm, Atlanta 4

An Unfixed Pilgrimage: Vulnerability, Kinship & Healing through Collaboration

Sara J. Winston is an artist who works with photographs, text, and the book form to describe and respond to chronic illness and its ongoing impact on her body, mind, family, and memory. Sara currently... read more

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Vanessa Wood

Friday, March 20, 2026 @ 9:00am, Atlanta 3

Cut Time: Collage and the Afterlives of Photographs

Vanessa Woods is an artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area whose practice, spanning photography, collage, and sculpture, explores themes of identity, motherhood, and gender. Since earning her MFA from the San Francisco Art... read more

Ruiqi Xu

Thursday, March 19, 2026 @ 2:30pm, Macon

Folded Histories - A Study of the Fortune Cookie Mythos

Ruiqi Xu is a lens-based artist from China. He holds a B.A. in Visual Arts - Media from the University of California, San Diego, and is currently an MFA candidate and teaching assistant in Photography... read more

Eric Zeigler

Saturday, March 21, 2026 @ 9:00am, Georgia 12

Science as Art/Art as Science

Eric Zeigler is Associate Professor of Art at the University of Toledo. Aaron Ellison is Senior Research Fellow Emeritus in Ecology at Harvard. read more