Photography is good for you
Reflections from our PhotoMidwest Festival opening
And just like that, it’s over.
Many artists read this newsletter, so I know you can relate: You spend days and months laboring over a creative project, dreaming about it at night, struggling with problem-solving, and riding the highs and lows as you bring it to fruition. And then, suddenly and without warning, it’s over. You release that thing into the wild and see how people respond. You hope it resonates. You worry. It’s dizzying. But it feels good.
I gave an interview on WORT 89.9 FM, one of our great community radio stations here in Madison, reflecting on why photography matters. I always say this and believe it: Photography is good for you. It helps us see the world and notice things we might otherwise overlook. And everyone can do it! It was a fun conversation and an opportunity to talk about what motivates me: a driving passion for promoting the art and culture of imagemaking. Please listen when you have time.
I’m buzzing today after kicking off the 2024 PhotoMidwest Festival, and the past two days have been a blur. They have also been a ton of fun and an essential reminder of why we all do this: photography is a genuine pleasure and a uniquely valuable creative activity. On reflection, it’s also a meaningful connection between people. If you’re lucky, photography can bring new friendships into your world. That’s been my experience. Photography changed my life, and I am forever grateful for it.
Getting offline and looking at pictures in person felt good, as did meeting and talking to people who love this medium as much as I do. It was a terrific time: a gathering of creative people and a celebration filled with images, ideas, laughter, and conversation. We had an excellent turnout at Friday night's opening reception — the Arts + Literature Laboratory team estimates that over 250 people attended! Madison loves photography.
Saturday was equally amazing and packed with inspiring photography talks by Kelli Connell, R. J. Kern, and Kris Graves. Thanks again to these artists for traveling to Madison to share their work with us. We are all richer for it.
We’re building a photography program at the ArtLitLab, and it will take us time to gain momentum. This collaboration with PhotoMidwest was a lovely start, and Jolynne, Molly, Jim, and I are eager to build on its success. Congratulations to Ralph, Robin, Asher, and the PhotoMidwest team for staging another successful biennial exhibition. The show is on view through November 9; please stop by to see it when you can. Finally, I want to thank Isthmus, our local alternative newspaper, for generously sponsoring the festival. We appreciate you!
Organizing photography events is a unique rush. It's so much work, but it's deeply gratifying. I am officially hooked. I love bringing people together around our shared passion for pictures and plan to do more of it here in Madison.
I’m assembling a mailing list for Midwest photography news — you can subscribe here. There is more where this came from. Stay tuned!
Save the date! GRAIN: Analog Renaissance on October 17.
Most people don’t know that I studied film in college. I fell in love with movies before I got seriously into photography, and I have dreamed about working for a film festival for years. This fall, I’m teaming up with an old film school buddy, James Kreul, to curate a documentary film series at ArtLitLab. It’s exciting.
We’re showing three films focused on photography in October, November, and December. Our first screening will be Alex Contell and Tommaso Sacconi’s 2021 film, Grain: Analog Renaissance, on Thursday, October 17, at ArtLitLab in downtown Madison. Film photography fans are going to love this. Please mark your calendars. We hope you can join us.
Okay, that’s all for now. Take care, friends — More soon!
Congrats! And congrats on the ArtLitLab program. Sounds amazing!
Congratulations! Looks like a great event.