MIAD, UWM Host Society for Photographic Education Midwest Chapter Conference Oct. 23-26
The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and the Peck School of the Arts at UW-Milwaukee will co-host the conference.
MILWAUKEE _ The Society for Photographic Education Midwest Chapter Conference, “Communities, Collaborations & Collectives,” brings more than 300 attendees, artists and a slate of free public exhibitions and artist talks to Milwaukee from Wednesday, Oct. 23, to Saturday, Oct. 26. The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and the Peck School of the Arts at UW-Milwaukee will co-host the conference, which is based at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel and includes exhibitions and activities across Milwaukee. Additional sponsors include UWM Union Art Gallery, Focus Photography Club and Artists Now!
“MIAD is excited to help build community within our school, the city and the region alongside UWM,” said MIAD Professor of New Studio Practice Jon Horvath. “Visitors to the SPE conference and its related programming will very quickly recognize that the strategies and concerns of our photography community are extensive and mirror the conversations being had in society at large. There are photographic artists of great stature making profound work in the Midwest, and SPE offers just a small glimpse at that group of makers.”
“It is truly an honor to bring the Society for Photographic Education to our city, as the leading forum for fostering the understanding of photography in all its forms,” said Peck School of the Arts Associate Professor of Art & Design and SPE Midwest Chapter Treasurer Joseph Mougel. “The conference not only positions Milwaukee’s fine art scene within the larger community of contemporary photographic practitioners but gives us the pleasure of highlighting local and regional talent alongside notable international artists. Evening lectures at UWM and MIAD are free and open to the public, as are associated exhibitions at each instiution and throughout the city.”
The chapter will present UWM Professor Emeritus Steven D. Foster with its honored educator award for his commitment to the Peck School of the Arts and to the broader Milwaukee photography community on Saturday, Oct. 26.
The full conference itinerary is online.
Free SPE events at MIAD and UWM include:
October 23, 7:30 p.m. UWM Arts Center Lecture Hall, 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Artists Now! Lecture with SPE juror and featured artist Alejandro Cartagena
Alejandro Cartagena lives and works in Monterrey, Mexico. His projects employ landscape and portraiture to examine social, urban and environmental issues in America. Cartagena’s work has been exhibited internationally and is in public and private collections in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy and the United States, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, the Portland Museum of Art and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Reception: SPE Midwest Juried Exhibition/Strange Fire Collective Exhibitions
The Strange Fire artist collective, formed in 2015 by Jess T. Dugan, Rafael Soldi, Zora J. Murff and Hamidah Glasgow, is a group of interdisciplinary artists, curators and writers focused on work that engages with current social and political forces.
October 25, 6 p.m. MIAD Raw Space, fourth floor, 273 E. Erie St.
MIAD Creativity Series: Strange Fire Collective presentation
The Strange Fire artist collective founders address three topics – policing bodies, political action and access to power – through the works and words of artists, curators and writers from unique and diverse perspectives. Lecture will be presented by four founding members of Strange Fire Collective.
October 26, 5 p.m. Union Art Gallery, UWM Union first floor, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Photographic Reflections: Documenting Community opening & artist talk
Photographic Reflections explores representations of diverse communities throughout the United States and Mexico by internationally renowned photographers Darcy Padilla, Alejandro Cartagena and Justine Kurland.
Oct. 26, 5 p.m. UWM Arts Center Gallery, 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd., second floor
Borders and Boundaries Exhibition Reception
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Focus Photography club presents a curated exhibition that takes a look at the invisible and sometimes visible line that marks boundaries of communities and the people who live their lives within these borders. Featured Artists: Alejandro Cartagena, Larry Chatman, Dave Jordano, Barbara Miner, & Johanna Warwick.
October 26, 7:30 p.m. UWM Union Ballroom, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Artist’s Talk with Darcy Padilla
Padilla is a documentary photographer focusing on long-term research about struggle and its trans-generational effects. She is a member of Agence VU’ in Paris and the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
About MIAD
As an accredited, nonprofit college, MIAD provides a transformative Bachelor of Fine Arts education that prepares students of diverse backgrounds for fulfilling and financially rewarding careers. MIAD fosters innovative and entrepreneurial thinking that benefits our students and our corporate and nonprofit partners. MIAD also brings robust career pathways and college-readiness experiences to high school youth and provides cultural experiences and programming to the Greater Milwaukee community. miad.edu
About UWM
Recognized as one of the nation’s 131 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to 26,000 students from 91 countries on a budget of $689 million. Its 15 schools and colleges include Wisconsin’s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2020 “Best Midwestern” university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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