My Sweet Midwest

Big news! We're hosting a photography festival in Madison.

Philip Heying

Personal project update!

I don’t promote myself here often, but I’m excited about today’s announcement and hope you don’t mind the hype machine. Thanks in advance for reading.

For the most part, my photography work exists online. Long ago, I learned that the internet was ideal for photography because it looks great on a backlit screen and travels globally at light speed. I’ve been doing the FlakPhoto thing for nearly twenty years, and almost everything I’ve made is digital. The Web is wonderful, but photography is a physical experience, and there is something uniquely special about gathering in person to look at and talk about images together. It’s almost a novelty, which is why it’s more precious than ever.

Ten years ago, I got the itch to stage a photography exhibition in my hometown, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. I’d been blogging about photography for a decade at that point, and the irony wasn’t lost on me: it had taken me ten years to stage a print show while most traditional arts orgs were still figuring out how photography worked online. You can read about the FlakPhoto Midwest Print Show in this story Dylan Brogan penned for our local paper, the Isthmus, in 2014.

I’m not exactly an art star, but you get the idea.

I have long dreamed about programming a photography festival in Madison. I’m excited to announce that we’re taking some small steps to make that dream a reality. I’m thrilled to partner with my friends at PhotoMidwest and the Arts + Literature Laboratory to present a months-long celebration of photography this fall.

I’ll write more about this in the coming weeks. For now, I want you to save the date and plan a visit to Madison from September 27-29, 2024. We’re organizing a photography weekend, and I hope you’ll join us.

---

Photographer, publisher, curator, and artist Kris Graves.

The centerpiece of our exhibition program will be PhotoMidwest’s 13th Biennial Exhibition. My buddy Kris Graves will jury the show this year, and I can’t wait to see his selections. Kris has been a friend of FlakPhoto for a long time and is a constant inspiration as an artist, curator, and book publisher. You can follow him here.

In addition to jurying the exhibition, Kris will teach a photography workshop and give a keynote lecture on Saturday, September 28, 2024.

The PhotoMidwest Biennial Exhibition celebrates the work of Midwest photographers living in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Kris is eager to see the breadth and depth of talent in this part of the country. If you live in one of these states, I hope you'll consider participating. The submission deadline is July 1, 2024, so you have time. Questions? Email me!

---

Rashod Taylor

In addition to the Biennial Exhibition, I’m curating two photography shows focused on Midwest photographers at the Arts + Literature Laboratory. I’m also programming a variety of photography talks and a documentary film series in collaboration with my friends at PhotoMidwest and ArtLitLab. I’ll send periodic updates as we firm up these events over the summer.

I started doing FlakPhoto all those years ago because I didn’t have a photography community where I lived. Fortunately, I found my people online. After all these years, I’ve learned the American Midwest is rich with artistic vision and creative talent. We’re looking forward to sharing some of these imagemakers with you this year.

I want to hear from you. Are you a photographer in the American Midwest? Comment or reply to this email and tell me about yourself and your photography. Please share a link to your website so we can see your work. Thank you!

---

One more thing…

The title of this post is an homage to one of my favorite songs by The Fruit Bats, an excellent band that started in the Midwest. Please give it a spin. It’s a goodie.

Okay, that’s all for now. Stay tuned; my new interview series kicks off next week!

---