Update from the Director…
August 2023…
August is upon us and the Director’s Choice Exhibition is just around the corner… But First, our Spotlight Member exhibition is in the gallery though August 11th, and you can…
Join us on Zoom August 1st, with Emily Belz
Join us for a discussion and a preview of work submitted to our Forth Annual Spotlight Member Exhibition in a live Zoom group review session with Juror, Emily Belz on August 1st.
Pre-Registration is required and available here
A selection of projects, including all the works selected for exhibition, will be discussed in this open session. The event is designed to feature members we didn’t have the room to include, discuss selection considerations to provide a context for the projects selected.
August 17th will bring a new exhibition series to the gallery with a focus on books, and we will be featuring Stephen Starkman’s remarkable book, Proximity of Mortality in the Focus Gallery. For this exhibition we will be reconstructing the book on the walls of the gallery rather than just exhibiting framed versions of the photographs used in the book, as has been done so many times before. The installation will follow Stephen’s narrative and pacing while including the carefully crafted layouts created by book designer, Matthew Papa. For this first installment of this exhibition series, we are starting at the end and working back toward the beginning. Proximity of Mortality was conceived from the very beginning as a book and not as a series of photographs to be exhibited. We will be taking the book apart to turn it into a gallery exhibition. Our goals include exploring the difference between a book and an exhibition, to highlight the collaborative process of working with a designer or editor, how pacing, scale and the use of text can all function together to help a powerful statement connect with a larger audience… we are also looking to place Stephen Starkman’s book into the communities where his story will have the most positive impact.
In tandem with Proximity of Mortality will be a rare presentation of my own work presented in the Community Gallery. The exhibition, In the Minds Eye will feature a selection of new work that continues my attempts to visualize memory, and the creative process while exploring how human vision differs from machine vision… I don’t see like a camera and I have no interest in doing so, but I am interested in exploring and understanding the difference in how the camera records a moment in time separate from the lived experience. Often frozen and flattened, these discrete moments in time, captured out of context rarely tell a complete story. Both exhibitions will open on August 17th.
In the meantime, our 4th Annual Spotlight Member exhibition continues on view in the gallery through August 11th. Also on display is the first installment of our long awaited Featured Member series. Details on our 5th Juried Member Exhibition will be announced in the coming weeks, Member work will be juried individually with entry forms available later in August for this annual exhibition scheduled to open on October 19th.
Free Cameras from FujiFilm USA… Time is running out to get your entries in to be eligible to win
Interlines, Lifelines & Redlines call for entries will close on August 15th. This is a an exhibition to document our times and to update work first done by the FSA… This is a your chance to explore community, and a place to submit images of all the other interesting things you see while you are out searching for Payphones…
Our Payphone Scavenger Hunt continues to grow in the gallery… Entry is still free and available online through September. As an added incentive, Fujifilm USA is sponsoring our Membership initiative and has provided a number of cameras for us to offer as prizes for members. All Scavenger Hunt participants, who are Members or become Members will be entered into a random drawing for a new Fuji X-T5 with XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Lens kit. Camera equipment will be provided direct from Fujifilm USA.
Members Wanted… We are a member supported, volunteer organization and your Membership comes with many benefits, including the opportunity to participate in our three annual member exhibitions and… this year thanks to Fujifilm USA, members have the chance to take home one of two Fuji X-T5 with XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Lens or a Fuji Medium Format GFX 50s II with a 32-64mm lens. Don’t miss out… Included among the other member benefits is our monthly Print Share & Peer Review series. The next session is scheduled for August 5th, bring some prints to share and feel free to bring a friend or two…
Membership starts by registering at https://www.riphotocenter.org/registration
Details on our Membership options are outlined at https://www.riphotocenter.org/membership-info
Join us… as a Visitor or Member, visits to the gallery are free and new exhibitions open on the third Thursday of each month. Our Spotlight Member Exhibition is on view through August 10th with a gallery talk via Zoom scheduled for August 1st. Pre-Registration is required and available here
The gallery is open Wednesdays – Saturdays, Noon – 6:00pm or by appointment
Currently in the Gallery: through August 11th
Fourth Annual Spotlight Member Exhibition
This popular Member exhibition provides that rare opportunity to show a collection or series of images to tell a story or present a unified idea. This Call provides an opportunity for our members to share a small body of work, and is a great opportunity to launch a new project without the expense of mounting a solo exhibition.
This Years exhibition presents work from: Bill Gore, Hannah Latham, Diana Cheren Nygren, Sue Palmer Stone, Susan Swirsley & Carrie Usmar, representing a cross-section of members, including some long time members, some new members and a few of our student members. Thank you to all the members who submitted their work for consideration and congratulations to the six members selected.
Join us on Zoom August 1st, with Emily Belz
Discussion and a preview of work submitted will be provided in a live Zoom group review session with Juror, Emily Belz on August 1st. Pre-Registration is required and available here
A selection of projects, including all the works selected for exhibition, will be discussed in this open session. The event is designed to feature members we didn’t have the room to include while providing a context for the project selected.
and… We have launched our Featured Member Series:
This is a dedicated exhibition space in the gallery to feature work of Members on a rotating basis. The program is open to Exhibiting Members and above…
Our First Featured Member is: Reed Pike
Reed is an active member and can often be found at our monthly print share events or gallery sitting. His early inspirations included the work of the members of the f64 Group, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham. After studying photography at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and six years as a photographer in the U.S. Navy, Reed stopped taking photographs for over 25 years.
It wasn’t until he bought an iPhone, that photography was “new” and fun again. Reed currently uses an iPhone and Fujifilm cameras in his work. He focuses on “dramatic” black and white images and recreating the “film” look when working in color. Reed’s goal with his images is to tell a story that captures the emotions of the being “in the moment.”
A selection of Reed’s work is on display in the gallery through September 15th. Reed is available in the gallery on Saturdays to talk about his work and answer questions about membership.
#Payphonemaps: Scavenger Hunt – ongoing through October…
Open to photographs captured with any technology, from pinhole to cellphone cameras, and everything in between. Participation is free, but to be included in the map and exhibition, each payphone MUST be submitted with either the physical address or cross-streets, city, and zip code and if the Payphone is operational or not. Members who participate are automatically entered in a drawing for a new Fuji X-T5 with XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Lens kit, provided direct from Fuji USA.
The #Payphonemaps: Scavenger Hunt is live… Join us in this challenge we are looking to draw on the talents of our Community to crowd source a map a of the remaining Payphones, or former sites of Payphones in the United States. The project is an initiative started by Eric Kunsman as an extension of his personal project, Felicific Calculus: Technology as a Social Marker of Race, Class, & Economics that we hosted here at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts in March. Starting in March and running through October, we are curating a constantly expanding exhibition from images submitted in our Streetside Gallery and all images will be added to the map of Payphones throughout the United States on a dedicated website with image credit provided to each photographer.
The #Payphonemaps: Scavenger Hunt
Entry is free, Enter as often as you want, One Payphone location per entry.
Submit your images here: https://tinyurl.com/Payphonemaps
David DeMelim and Eric Kunsman will juror the submissions, adding images from #Payphonemap to the walls of RICPA starting in March 2023 and running through October 13th. All selected images will be printed for free utilizing HiTi Dye Sublimation printers and provided free for participating individuals. At the end of the exhibition, prints will be available for pick up in the gallery, or participants can pay to have their prints shipped. Otherwise, the prints will be archived as portfolio available for viewing, but not for sale at RICPA in Providence, RI.
#NewEnglandPayphones will also curate a separate collection for us to feature the Payphones in New England. This will also be presented at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts and will be published by BookSmart Studios, as limited addition Artist Book.
Full Details and Entry form for this free exhibition can be found at #Payphonemaps: Scavenger Hunt
Call For Entries – Interlines, Lifelines & Redlines
The deadline for this Call is August 5th. Interlines, Lifelines & Redlines is a call to explore Community, and a place to submit images of all the other interesting things you photographed while you were out searching for Payphones… Again, Fuji USA has provided a Fuji X-T5 with XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Lens and a Fuji Medium Format GFX 50s II with a 32-64mm lens to offer as prizes for participating members.
Building on work done for the FSA and what might be for some, a new way of seeing, we are looking to explore or document the, structures or situations that consciously or unconsciously assign value or status of a neighborhood. This is an open ended call for all images to explore, document, comment or reflect on how we inventory the world around us.
Interlines: Lifelines, Redlines & Social Markers looks to capture the present through a wider lens, to explore and question what you see in your community, what you see in neighboring communities. “Good Neighborhoods” “Bad Neighborhoods” As we discuss infrastructure on a national level, what landmarks, signposts or stores do you use to evaluate need, health, or affluence of a community? This is a call to explore social markers… to start conversations… to ask the question, is your fear real?
Interlines, Lifelines, Redlines:
Social Markers of Race, Class & Economics
Entry is open through August 15th.
Exhibition: September 21st.
Next in the Galleries – Opening August 17th, with a Gallery Night Reception
The Directors Choice Exhibition
In the Minds Eye: David DeMelim
A rare presentation of work by Managing Director, David DeMelim, featuring new work from continuing attempts to visualize the creative process. “My interest is in exploring how we see and experience the world with a focus on how human vision differs from machine vision… it is not about seeing like a camera, or even recording what something looks like, but capturing what it felt like, or what the experience inspired. There is a difference in how the camera records a moment in time separate from the lived experience. Fitting more of life into each image is my goal.”
The exhibition will be paired with “Proximity of Mortality” by Stephen Starkman in the Focus Gallery.
Proximity of Mortality: Stephen Starkman
A book becomes an exhibition… This unique installation will feature Proximity of Mortality, a book project affirming Stephen’s journey. The book will be presented on the walls of the gallery, installed following Stephen’s narrative and pacing while including the carefully crafted layouts created by book designer, Matthew Papa. Proximity of Mortality was conceived from the very beginning as a book and not as a series of photographs to be exhibited. Copies of the book will be available for viewing and also available for home delivery.
Print Share:
Our next Print Share & Peer Review session is scheduled for August 9th.
These peer review sessions are open to interested in sharing and commenting on work with fellow members and enthusiasts. Bring your prints to this monthly event which is generally scheduled for the Second Wednesday of each month and starts at 6:30pm. Check the events section on our website for more information and updates.
Individual Portfolio/Project Reviews:
Individual feedback opportunities are available on an ongoing basis in four different formats for 2023. These review sessions can be used to preview new work, share ideas and explore future directions or projects in development. Appointments can be scheduled online for Zoom or in person sessions at www.riphotocenter.org/portfolio-reviews-and-consultations
Registration is open for our annual 20 minute individual Member review sessions.
We are also offering 45 minute one on one sessions open to the public via zoom or in person at the Gallery
New for 2022 we will also be offering “Lunch with the Director” for those interested in a more immersive conversations about your work and your goals. Lunch is included with these two hour more casual sessions. Questions can be directed to gallery@riphotocenter.org
Currently Available Online:
All of our exhibitions are available on the RICPA website, past exhibitions can be found here https://www.riphotocenter.org/category/exhibits/past
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