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2027 SPE Annual Conference

Community in Contrast

Society for Photographic Education   /   Deadline: 05/15/26

"When despair prevails, we cannot create life-sustaining communities of resistance." ― bell hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope

For over six decades, The Society for Photographic Education has provided a network of support for photographers, artists, educators, students, curators, critics, and historians. Not only are we practitioners and scholars, members of SPE have illustrated that we are a resilient and steadfast community that will weather adversity with strength and grace.

In a sustained climate of social, political, environmental, and technological uncertainty, The Society for Photographic Education's 2027 National Conference supports a Community in Contrast to contemporary conditions of power. We foster a community that highlights diverse perspectives, recognizes our lived experience, and resists efficacy-driven models of education and art practice. As scholars, critical thinkers, image-makers, and viewers, we examine contemporary perspectives on community, addressing questions of belonging, solidarity, equity, and agency.

SPE invites our current and prospective members to submit proposals for SPE's National Conference: Community in Contrast, taking place March 11-14th in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We are seeking visual presentations, workshops, panels, and other forms of inquiry that explore our communities, both chosen and inherent, and how the diversity of our educational spaces can deepen scholarly research and active learning.

SPE will issue a two-part call for the 2027 National Conference. There will be a Call for Session Topics/Session Chairs, as well as presentations (Individual, Student, Workshops), from March 30 to May 15, 2026, followed by a second Call for Session Panel Participants from June 15 to July 31, 2026.

Location

https://spenational.slideroom.com/#/Login

Fees

12.00

Eligibility

This call is open to all.

Requirements

Submissions are accepted through Slideroom. The application will need to be completed and submitted by the deadline of May 15, 2026.

If your proposal is accepted you will be required to renew or join SPE by December 15, 2026 AND register for the conference by February 1, 2027.

Awards

The highest ranked peer-reviewed Individual Presentation will receive the 2027 SPE Imagemaker Award, and the highest ranked peer-reviewed proposal by a High School Educator affliliated with SPE's High School Educator Cacus will receive the 2027 SPE High School Educator Award. To learn more about these award please visit -- https://www.spenational.org/resources/spe-awards-grants

Considerations

Community in Contrast is specifically interested in presentations and explorations in various formats, addressing but not limited to any of the following subcategories:

Art Administration, Art Education, Art History, Collaboration and Building Community Engagement, Change in the Classroom, Commercial Photography, Curatorial Studies, Documentary Photography, Experimental Practices, Editorial Photography, Identity and Representation Photographic Art, Photographic Scholarship, Place-based Investigations, Scientific Photography, Shaping the Future, Social Justice & Advocacy, Studio Art

Evaluation Criteria

All proposals will be considered by our 2027 Peer Review Committee.

Contact Information

Toni Roberts
2298 Young Ave PMB 1097
Memphis, TN 38104

W: https://www.spenational.org/conferences/2027-spe-annual-conference
E: SPEMPLS@spenational.org