Marketing Photos with Mary Virginia Swanson

The Magnum Festival continues! Check the festival website for roster of events/exhibitions honoring the 60th anniversary of the founding of Magnum Photos.

At the Whitney Museum on Friday at 7 p.m.: “Curator’s Close-Up: On Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar

Senior curatorial assistant Tina Kukielski is joined by Taryn Simon for an insider’s look at Simon’s process and photos. Exposing scenes that are under the radar or behind closed doors, Simon combines text and image to render transparent that which is often opaque.

This presentation is free with Museum admission, which is pay-what-you-wish on Fridays from 6 to 9pm. Please register by visiting www.whitney.org. Inquiries: Email public_programs@whitney.org or call (212) 570-7715.

LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST!
Friday June 22nd, 6-8 p.m.: the opening reception for the exhibition THE NEW AMERICAN PORTRAIT at Jen Bekman Gallery, 6 Spring Street (between Elizabeth and Bowery). Participating artists include Christine Collins, Jen Davis, Ben Donaldson, Amy Elkins, Peter Haakon-Thompson, Todd Hido, Alec Soth, Brian Ulrich and Shen Wei. Read the press release for this show by clicking here.

This outstanding group show will continue through August 3rd.

I’ve written often about the value of attending grantwriting classes at The Foundation Center, and of their great on-line tutorials on this important skill. Yesterday, I was checking on their NYC location’s educational offerings and noticed a great day ahead on Wednesday, May 9th, with three terrific classes, and when taken back-to-back, make for an extremely valuable afternoon:

Grantseeking Basics at 1:00
Introduction to Foundation Directory Online at 3:00 (this session has more limited space as all are seated at individual computer stations)
Grantseeking Basics for Individuals in the Arts at 5:30.

When you view the education schedule, you can see three months out, so plan your calendar accordingly.

You can register for all these free classes online.

And remember, if you do not live in the NYC area, the Foundation Center has branch offices in Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco and Washington, DC.
Additionally, there are “Cooperating Collections” in every state, so be sure to be aware of what grantwriting assistance you can gain in your own city/state. Cooperating Collections are free funding information centers in libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit resource centers that provide a core collection of Foundation Center publications and a variety of supplementary materials and services in areas useful to grantseekers. Click here to view a list of offerings in your state.

There is a complete chapter on the importance of fundraising to support your personal project in my 2007 book “The Business of Photography: Principles and Practices” available on my website.

Don’t miss The Photography Show 07 from April 12-15th at the Park Avenue Armory (Park Avenue and 67th Street, NYC).

PUBLIC VIEWING TIMES:

Thursday, April 12, 2:00pm-7:00pm
Friday, April 13, 12noon-8:00pm
Saturday, April 14, 12noon- 8:00pm
Sunday, April 15, 12noon- 6:00pm

Ticket Price:
Run of the Show: Four day pass: Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday: $40
Three day: (any three days) $30
One day: (any one of the four days) $20
Ticket price includes 360 page illustrated catalogue

SPECIAL LECTURE, free and open to the public:

When: Saturday, April 14th, 10am-11am

What: “The Passionate Eye: Henry Buhl, Collector, in Conversation with
Jennifer Blessing, Curator of Photography, Guggenheim Museum”

Where:
Peter B. Lewis Theater
Guggenheim Museum

CLICK HERE to print PDF form for advance reservations to be faxed to AIPAD.

If you can’t attend this important gallery expo, order the 2007 catalogue from www.aipad.com after the show closes.

“Connect 07,” The Second Annual Palm Springs Photo Festival will be held May 6-11 at the Korakia Pensione Hotel. Offerings include a fine art print walk, workshops/exhibitions, evening presentations, portfolio reviews, seminars and symposium. Visit the website for full details of entering the print competition, registering for the event (rates increase April 1) and as well as travel information.

Aperture continues to bring exceptional dialogue to the NY community. Last night’s presentation “What is Asked of a Picture? Images and Advocacy” was outstanding. Be sure to check the schedule for upcoming months, especially if traveling through NYC. Check the website to confirm location of talks listed are to be held at Aperture in Chelsea; remember to come early and enjoy the exhibitions on view as well as shop for Aperture publications. Our gratitude to Aperture for making this series free and open the public; it was particularly great to see so many students attending last night’s lecture.
Hats off to Aperture for 50+ years of outstanding contributions!

February 13: Surveillance: Context and Content (Panel)
February 20: Visual Culture: In Print/Online (Panel)
February 21: Behind the Faces of Fashion (Panel)
February 27: Alexandra Boulat (Artist Lecture)
March 7: The New Color: The Return of Black and White (”Tip of the Tongue Heated Debate”
March 13: Fine Artist or Commercial Photographer? (Panel
March 20: Bert Teunissen (Artist Lecture and Book Signing
March 27: Marco Breuer (Artist Lecture and Book Signing)
April 11: Feeling Nostalgic (”Tip of the Tongue Heated Debate”)
April 24: Alex Webb (Artist Lecture and Book Signing)
April 26: Gillian Laub (Artist Lecture)
May 1: Survivors (Panel)
May 8: Matthew Montieth (Artist Lecture and Book Signing)
May 9: Gilbert and George “Confounding Expectations: Photography in Context”

Everyone wants a digital camera for Christmas. Learning to use it - mastering the technical to your creative advantage - is another thing completely. Two of my favorite new books bring more to their respective “table of contents” than simply the mastering the techniques, adding personal reflections on photography’s past, present and future to their teachings. AND, their incredible artwork. Both individuals are presenters at all major industry events, both are widely-respected as great teachers, and authors.

So, ladies first:

WINDOW SEAT: The Art of Digital Photography & Creative Thinking by JULIEANNE KOST
and
ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY by STEPHEN JOHNSON.

Don’t miss these inspiring and resourceful recent publications.

The Magenta Foundation has announced “FLASH FORWARD,” Year Three of its Emerging Photographers Exchange. This competition is open to photographers in Canada, US and UK whom are 34 years of age or younger. The selected photographers will have their work published in a hardcover book and will have an exhibition in Toronto in October, 2007. Addtional prizes TBA.

This year’s judges:
Daniel Faria from the Monte Clark Gallery in Toronto
Darren Ching from Photo District News in NY
Simon Bainbridge from British Journal of Photography in London
Rebecca McClelland from The Sunday Times in London

DEADLINE December 31; guidelines are posted on their website. To view FLASH FORWARD 2006 winning entries, go to this link.

Magenta has also published CARTE BLANCH, a showcase of Canadian Photographers, a valuable contribution to broadening awareness of talent in Canada. This book is available from their website.