Curating a Photography Exhibition
It’s often said that holding a even a small physical print of a photo is very different to viewing the same photo online. And printing images large enough to show on a wall or exhibition space is another level again. For anyone else viewing your photos too it’s a different visual experience, maybe even more so now that we view almost all media on screens.
Every year (with the exception of 2020), Camera Of The Month Club holds a themed exhibition of work from it’s members. This year the theme is ‘The Personal is Political’ and I’ve been curating the show alongside the club founder Erica Reade and fellow director Taranita Costales.
It’s fascinating to see how everyone has interpreted the theme in their images, from the more personal to the more political. Images relate to issues such as gentrification, pollution and native lands rights, as well as social distancing and racial equality protests. I love the strength of feeling from the photographers too, many who are deeply passionate about their chosen subjects and the impact they see happening around them.
We gave feedback to the photographers on their submitted images and artists statements. We chose the strongest images that both worked together in terms of visuals and narrative, and that supported the overall theme. In some cases the connection and narrative is more subtle than others and the artists statements become an essential part of the show.
The venue we chose is the Brooklyn Art Cave in Bushwick, and it turned out to be pretty ideal. Most prints (excluding mats and frames) were 14”x11” and we were able to include images from 10 different photographers. Sadly funds only allowed for a single night of the exhibition, and it went ahead on December 9. I don’t know the numbers of how many people came, but it was a good night with plenty of visitors calling in. Those I spoke to were mainly glad to be able to start visiting art installations in person again, something they’d missed under Covid restrictions.
It’s a lot of work to put together a show and a shame we couldn’t have had the work on display for longer, but I’m pleased we did it and it’s been fascinating to be part of the curation process.
