I'm thrilled to be part of the upcoming
Portfolio Reviews that take place in Boston, Oct. 21st. Your work will be reviewed by a team of 3 reviewers working together to give you varied perspectives. The due date to submit is has been extended to October 1st. Reviewers participating include the extraordinary Paula Tognarelli, Beuford Smith, Sean Perry, David Carol, Bill Gaskins, Mary Engel, Jessica Roscio, Tone Pepe, Jim Fitts, Brian Wilson, Karen Haas, Edie Bresler, Elin Spring, Sybylla Smith, Erin Becker, Christine Collins, Glen Scheffer, Joshua Farr, Suzanne Revy, the extra special Meg Birnbaum, Erin Carey, Yorgos Efthymiadis, Rania Matar, Emily Belz, Steven Duede, Neal Rantoul, Bill Gaskins, Frances Jakubek, Kat Kiernan, Susan Nalband, Barbara Hitchcock and Lou Jones.
Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography, writes:
"I thought I would take some time to explain the reviews coming up on October 21st at Boston University. It seems people are confused. Although we did the reviews last year in the manner we are going to do again this year, it is not the typical way to do reviews. And this year we put another added layer on them by making them juried."
"Why did we do that? We wanted to make reviews as best as they can be for reviewees and reviewers. We wanted the best experience for you. And the reviewers. I do reviews all over the country and I think the model has to change. So we came up with a new model that we felt worked. The photographers that participated agreed and the reviewers agreed with them.
We also wanted to up your game. We wanted to have you take the time to put your best foot forward. Organize your photographs, sequence them in a way that is polished and thought out and finesse your statement in advance through a jury process. It is not a gimmick to get more money from you as your 25 dollar entry fee pays for a seat at the portfolio walk no matter what.
How the reviews work is that in every review you do you will share your work with 3 reviewers at the same time. Scary? Maybe, but don't you want to move out of your comfort zone?
A typical review team would have a gallerist, a photographer and a photo educator on it. For example, last year I was on a team with Edie Bresler and Steven J. Duede. We each saw your work from different perspectives. The photographer in review got more from this team than I could have given in a half hour's time alone. The panel taught me somethings I had not thought about as well.
After the reviews Elin Spring, Julie Williams-Krishnan and myself chose one image from each reviewee and put an exhibit together that was up for a month and a half in one of the Griffin Galleries and we had a reception for it as well.
So in order to jury this portfolio review we need people to submit a body of work to the submission portal in advance of the reviews. The due date has been extended to October 1st so that gives you time to get ready. By Oct 7th we will let everyone know the results. This is asking the jury a lot but I want you all feeling good about the reviews this year. I will be on the jury to make sure that the results are not driven by aesthetic preferences alone.
This week I will describe the reviewers for you on the website. There are reviewers participating that you may not have access to again like Elizabeth Avedon, Sean Perry, David Carol, Beuford Smith, Bill Gaskins, and Mary Engel.
And we need your help spreading the word about the Reviews and the Festival in general that runs through October starting Oct 6th with First Friday in SoWa Boston. The reviews are at BU to give more room for everyone and central to the T. Thank you for your time reading this. The Griffin Museum's intent is always to bring photography opportunities that enrich and at the same time build community."
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