Update from the Director: March 2021

Update from the Director…

March 2021, a full year has passed since I curated Behind the Lens 2020: Women in Photography as part of our annual series of exhibitions featuring women photographers. The exhibition was hung for an opening on March 19th 2020, but much to my disappointment, never opened to the public…  COVID-19 had arrived.     

As we waited to see what 2020 would become we launched Behind the Lens Plus, a free open call for an online exhibition series to continue our planned celebration of Women’s History Month. My goal was to expand the scope and diversity of the project beyond what was possible in the gallery… providing an opportunity for photographers everywhere to participate. With the help of Grace Marie DeWitt, who curated the published collections, the project has been a bright spot in an otherwise dark year.   

Due to the challenges of 2020, the volume of work entered and the original concept for Behind the Lens Plus we only presented a very small selection of the projects submitted. For the 2021 version of Behind the Lens we will be revisiting all the work submitted for Behind the Lens Plus. In keeping with the project’s goals of accessibility, inclusion, and as a nod to its original online format, we will be installing Behind the Lens Plus in the gallery in a mostly virtual way through the use of projections and iPads displaying the previously published collections, supporting content and a wider selection of images entered.

One year on, after presenting exhibitions virtually, we are now bringing the project together in the gallery, giving a virtual exhibition a physical form… to revisit the work submitted, the issues raised and the questions asked. As we continue to transition back to in-person events and get ready to open the 2021 version of Behind the Lens, Grace will be releasing the 5th collection of Behind the Lens Plus online. 

We hope you have found your way through this year of living remotely and connecting virtually. As we begin living life in person once again, we hope that you will join us in this small but hopeful look at what we have gained––this gathering of photographs from virtual space, that will now occupy a physical place.

 

David DeMelim 
Managing Director 
RI Center for Photographic Arts
david@riphotocenter.org

Grace Marie DeWitt
Behind the Lens 2020: Women in Photography Exhibiting Artist
Behind the Lens Plus Curator

 

Currently in the Gallery:

Our Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition, a look at images of Hope, Joy and Wonder as imagined by our members and juried by Mary Dondero is in the gallery through March 12th. We encourage you to make an appointment to see the work in person. Appointments can be made via email  to gallery@riphotocenter.org or call 401-400-2542.  The gallery is open Thursday – Saturday Noon – 6:00pm, appointments are not required but masks are.

The gallery is open by appointment with a limited capacity to accommodate drop in visitors.  Appointments are available on short notice on Thursdays – Saturdays, Noon – 6:00pm, other days and times available with advance notice, masks are required.
Email requests to gallery@riphotocenter.org

 

Call for Entries:

A New Leaf: Call for Entries with Elin Spring, Suzanne Révy

We are accepting entries for A New Leaf  an exhibition opening on May 20th. This Call for photography is open to all styles and photographic processes and will be juried by Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy, editors of What Will You Remember? publishing views, reviews, interviews and listings focussing on contemporary photography.

Coming Soon: 

A Call for Entries to explore ideas related to community for an exhibition in September with Juror Jan Howard, Houghton P. Metcalf Jr. Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the RISD Museum.  

Orchis: A photograph of a dead flower becomes a live ballet.
Coming in April, an artist talk with A. Cemal Ekin, Keeper of Light at keptlight.com
This Zoom presentation and artist talk follows his Orchis project from inspiration to presentation and includes a screening of a video of the ballet, Orchis as performed by the Festival Ballet Company.   

Photography Without a Lens…  Juried last year by Ann Jastrup.  Originally planned for June 2020 and presented online, this exhibition has been rescheduled for a gallery presentation in June 2021… if you had work accepted, reminders will be emailed in the coming weeks.

 

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