exposure - 2023
For sixty years, the Society for Photographic Education has been a community for those who love photography and a forum for exploring the social, cultural, and aesthetic discourse about lens-based images. As artists and educators, the members of SPE know that photography matters in the world. We want future generations to appreciate the power of the medium and to engage with it wisely. We chose Homecoming as the theme for our 2023 Annual Conference to invite us to gather for the first time in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of us, SPE is a favored community of affiliation. Lifelong friendships are made at SPE. Students find mentors. Artists find collaborative partners. Teachers discover pedagogical strategies. Discussions between scholars lead to groundbreaking insights. Creative practices are shared, and new inspirations take root. Our annual gathering is a treasured chance to renew old bonds and to forge new ones. Homecoming is also a concept worthy of rigorous examination. The word can conjure impressions of a nurturing place of renewal, but can also connote a stifling normativity. SPE's 2023 Annual Conference investigates photography's capacity to interrogate what constitutes a home, to voice the agony of being severed from a home, and to render the uneasy challenges in finding a new home. Whether through Sama Alshaibi's explorations of diasporic exile and reunion, the affecting poignancy of Jess T. Dugan's mournful and joyous portraits, Lali Khalid's charged depictions of domesticity as a form of colonialist resistance, or Ryan Debolski's playful portrayal of migrant laborers finding connection despite their transience, photography can insightfully probe the complex matrix of concepts that signify "home." The revival of SPE's storied journal exposure, returning to print form after a lengthy hiatus, marks another homecoming. Over its fifty-year run, exposure has been a forum for cutting-edge discussion and scholarship about the status of photography in contemporary life. Co-editors Hannah Frieser and Charles Guice, working with designer Ashlae Shepler, have produced a remarkable volume that expands upon this rich history, as it highlights the creative achievements of SPE members. The past few years have been enormously challenging to SPE, and we would not have survived without the hard work and dedication of more individuals than could possibly be mentioned here, but a few are worthy of special note. This volume of exposure would not have happened without the oversight of SPE's Communications Committee—Julie Anand (Chair), Gabi Magaly Cruz, Arthur Fields, Margaret LeJeune, and Michael Borowski. SPE Executive Committee members Micah Cash, Lauren Greenwald, and Jordanne Renner have been tireless in their work to keep SPE afloat. And all aspects of SPE's operation benefit from the astounding diligence of our Administrative Director Toni Roberts. My sincerest thanks to all who have helped to make our Homecoming possible. Scott M. Hilton Chair, SPE 2023 Annual Conference Chair, SPE Board of Directors
