Annual Report 2022

2022 Annual Report

Image from the series Blue © Heather Evans Smith, 2022 Me&Eve Grant Recipient & Review Santa Fe Alum

-Neil Kramer • 2022 Review Santa Fe Alum

This was my first portfolio review. Really life-changing.

Founded in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1994, the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization CENTER supports socially and environmentally engaged lens-based projects through education, public platforms, funding, and partnerships. Characterized by a community of gifted and committed photographers, CENTER has proven for the last 28 years that it can help photographers and lens-based artists grow into their full potential. Through our advancement of artists and their work, CENTER serves to deepen public understanding of lens-based media’s complex history and ongoing cultural significance. By establishing trans-disciplinary partnerships between artists and justice-driven communities, historians, cultural critics, students, and the art world, we honor our unique role in advancing projects that respect all people, open minds, and engage our shared humanity.

Director's Letter

Dear Members, Donors, and Friends:

I am pleased to present our Annual Report for 2022. Another year proved the benefits of being an agile organization with adaptability and resourcefulness. This year we have accomplished so much due to the tremendous efforts of the staff, board, program participants, members, and donors. Thank you to everyone who contributed, including those who donated to our annual fundraising campaign. We are truly grateful.

This year marks the highest income in our history. This is in part due to our new National Endowment for the Humanities supported program, The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement (read more on page 24). This is also partially due to our fiscally sponsored project Living With Conviction whose funding increased exponentially in 2023 (read more on page 13).

In receiving these grants we now have something we never had before – breathing room. Larger grants allowed us to not have to pack our calendar with programs and nearly impossible calendar of deadlines for small grants that don’t support the whole program. It has been a formula that caused a lot of burn out because as a staff of three, all in person programs are labor and time intensive. Freeing up time normally spent administering programs created an opportunity to realize our strategic aims such as expanding our fiscal sponsorship program and amplify those projects through our platforms. We can take more time for vision conversations and building community collaborations such as NM State University programs among other initiatives, and have more time for additional collaborations that are currently in the works for 2023.

This year we were able to launch The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement Scholar Lectures that have been a generative discussion series. We launched a new website with 6 interviews, 1 essay, 2 lectures, and more in the works for this important contribution to the field - thedemocraticlens.org.

In our second year, we received a Leonian Foundation grant that allowed us to provide Mentorship that prepared incoming photographers invited to attend the Review Santa Fe Photo Symposium. This year we returned to in-person portfolio reviews at the 21st annual Review Santa Fe, making way for nearly 750 portfolio reviews in two days. It was a joyful and worthwhile community gathering in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Thank you for joining us in our mission to support socially and environmentally engaged projects this year. We look forward to deepening the public understandings of lens-based media through our direct funding programs, fiscal sponsorships, scholar lectures, and inspirational community-building gatherings in the new year.

Sincerely,

Laura Wzorek Pressley Executive Director

Image from the series Born From the Limb © Maximilian Thuemler, 2022 Project Development Grant Recipient & Review Santa Fe Alum

It's (Review Santa Fe) like a well-oiled machine and has been for the last 20+ years.

-2022 Anonymous Review Santa Fe Reviewer

Watch the project video online: centerwinners.org

Image from the series Good Earth © Esha Chiocchio, 2022 CENTER Environmental Award Recipient & Review Santa Fe Alumni

Programs Map

© Brett Kallusky

© Rachel Portesi

© Bryan Steiff

© Ira Lombardia

Fiscal Sponsorship

fiscal sponsor with $130,000 provided 1

Living with Conviction: Sentenced

To Debt

For Life in Washington State by Attorney, Visual Storyteller, and CENTER Alumni Deborah Espinosa, leverages legal empowerment strategies, including multimedia storytelling and legal literacy trainings, to advocate for an end to onerous court-imposed debt.

Since July 1, 2022, the Living with Conviction justice-impacted legal empowerment team has helped their peers obtain waivers and/or reductions of about $300,000 in LFOs from Washington State superior courts -- all without the assistance of lawyers.

Please reach out to info@livingwithconviction.org to learn more about the additional ways to support this project.

Learn more online: visitcenter.org/living-with-conviction/

I am so grateful to CENTER for this ongoing sponsorship. Because of CENTER, my dream came true.

- Deborah Espinosa

Image from the series Living with Conviction © Deborah Espinosa

When asked about the most valuable part of the 2022 Review Santa Fe Photo Symposium, Alumni responded:

-2022 Anonymous Review Santa Fe Reviewer

-2022 Anonymous Review Santa Fe Alum

The top-notch work I saw. Much better overall than most other reviews I've attended.

It was incredible... I'm grateful I was able to meet with such high-quality reviewers who truly showed up and were fully engaged in our interactions

Image from the series The Color of White © Tom Turner, 2022 Review Santa Fe Alum

Project Labs: Mentorship

In 2021, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation made this program available to the Review Santa Fe (RSF) Photographers by fully establishing the Project Lab Mentorship Program.

The 2022 Project Labs, hosted in conjunction with the 21st RSF Photo Symposium, is a professional development series that offers guidance on best practices and community impact through platforms tailored to each participant — providing Mentorship with CENTER Alumni and access to career advancement Seminars + Workshops discussing grant writing, editing, sequencing, and portfolio review preparation.

Mentors:

CENTER Alumni

Mentees: Review Santa Fe Photographers 14 27

CENTER is committed to supporting artists and their professional development, industry networking, and taking their practice to the next level. Having facetime with esteemed reviewers, connecting with peers worldwide, and sharing your work with diverse audiences can be a daunting experience.

The expanded Project Lab Mentorship program in 2022 offered one-on-one sessions with seasoned RSF Alumni to help invited photographers evolve their practice in providing expert advice on portfolio preparation, working with curators, public speaking, grant writing, editing, and other key components in preparation for the RSF portfolio reviews. Also in 2022, the Mentees and Mentors were invited to share their work within Art Photo Index, a visual index of important art and documentary photographers around the world, to further connect with each other online.

2022 Project Lab Mentorship duration to ensure support pre and post-RSF: August 1, 2022 - March 2, 2023

2022 MENTORS: Evan Anderman, Tony Chirinos, Rose-Lynn Fisher, Meggan Gould, Dorie Hagler, Erik Hagen, Eric Kunsman, Chris Mortenson, Allison Stewart, Jamey Stillings, Ada Trillo, Jay Tyrrell, and Santiago Vanegas, amongst other Alumni.

Project Labs: Seminars + Workshops

CENTER hosted 2 two-day seminars online to supplement the Project Labs: Seminar Program. Each seminar included an optional second-day workshop and group portfolio critique where participants discussed their projects and received feedback from the presenters in an intimate setting online.

CENTER’s Review Santa Fe photographers attended the Seminars at no extra cost thanks to the program supporters - The Leonian Foundation.

AUG. 19 + 20 • PREPARING FOR PORTFOLIO REVIEWS with MARY ANNE REDDING • Curator, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts

The seminar offered advice on preparing your work for meetings with curators, editors, publishers, and other industry professionals. Attendees discussed the importance of tailoring their body of work to different types of opportunities, from gallery and museum exhibitions to print publications and books.

OCT. 5 + 6 • EDITING FOR IMPACT with AMBER TERRANOVA • Photo Director, Educator, & Visual Producer

Attendees discussed honing a statement of purpose, editing and sequencing strategies, and effective presentations for image professionals. Learn how to tailor material for specific audiences and the do’s and don’ts of submitting your work to awards, grants, and publications.

Project Presentations

CENTER highlights excellence and innovative contributions to the field each year with the annual Awards and Project Grants. The selected lens-based artists receive financial support, publication and exhibition, and opportunities to present and share their work with CENTER's online community amongst other career advancement programs.

On October 25 - 28 for the annual Project Presentations each of the eight artists shared an intimate view of their projects covering some of today’s most critical issues –mental health, systemic racism, climate change, depleting resources, and current teaching practices, among other topics – followed by a discussion with moderator HOLLY STUART HUGHES, Independent Editor, Writer, and Grant Consultant. 462 international attendees connected online through Zoom from 36 different countries

DAN FENSTERMACHER

DAVID WALTER BANKS

LUIS CORZO MAXIMILIAN THUEMLER

ESHA CHIOCCHIO

HEATHER EVANS SMITH

ARISTA SLATER-SANDOVAL UCHE OKPA-IROHA

In the broader family, talking about the kidnapping was taboo. When I started working on the project, a lot of members of my family were like: 'Why are you talking about it? Let it go.' They didn't understand I wanted to talk about larger issues.

-Luis Corzo

Image from the series Pasaco, 1996 © Luis Corzo, 2022 CENTER Social Award Recipient & Review Santa Fe Alum

Review Santa Fe: Portfolio Reviews

photographers reviewers 60 35

View work from the 2022 Review Santa Fe Alumni online: reviewsantafelisting.org View the full list of participating reviewers online: visitcenter.org/reviewers/

Review Santa Fe

Portfolio Walk + Book Fair

Nov. 18 • Returning in-person, and for one night only, the Santa Fe community had the extraordinary opportunity to network with the invited lens-based professionals at the Portfolio Walk + Book Fair. Welcoming the public to view the broad range of invited contemporary photography projects and books encompassing today’s social, environmental, and political issues, contemporary art projects, and more, this lively, free, and open-to-the-public event took place at the Santa Fe Farmer's Market Pavilion.

This year attendees took home prints along with the latest book releases and unique zines from the following publishers in attendance: photo-eye Bookstore, SKYLARK, HurleyMedia, Blurb, Grenade in a Jar, and Radius Books.

2022 Portfolio Walk + Book Fair © Peter Ogilvie & © Whitney Wernick

I was very happy to be part of the community of RSF once again and to show my work to as many reviewers as possible. It's always great to engage with different people responding to one's work. RSF is a friendly and supportive environment to get your work out into the world.

-Muriel Hasbun • 2022, 2021, 2018, & 2017 Review Santa Fe Alum

Image from the series A Poor Sort of Memory © Tracy Chandler, 2022 Review Santa Fe Alum

In 2021 the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded CENTER the necessary funding to implement a new discussion series, The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement in 2022 - 23. With the generous support of the NEH, CENTER has produced a series of lectures, interviews, and discussions exploring the historical relationship between photography and civic engagement. We honor our role among the selected projects across the country focusing on the history of America’s democracy.

Among the many tools for civic engagement, photography stands out as one of the most impact technologies for amplifying American communities diverse and complex voices. Photography is a powerful communication medium, and it has evolved to be an essential device for influencing the history, culture, and future of the national narrative.

The discussion series portrays photography's role in propelling civic actions by sharing powerful images and stories about mobilized communities who actively work together to create a more just society.

Visit the website for the latest additions to this series: thedemocraticlens.org

Enoch Kelly Haney, citizen of Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Artist, former State Senator, and Principal Chief of Seminole Nation (2016), Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange [CIPX], Photo/Synthesis © Will Wilson • Featured in the "Troubling NDN Pictures: Challenging the Historic Representation of Indigenous People" Interview with Will Wilson

The Scholars

View each scholars available content online at thedemocraticlens.org

ERINA DUGANNE • Professor of Art History, Texas State University HOLLY STUART HUGHES • Editor, Writer, & Grant Consultant SHAWN MICHELLE SMITH • Professor of Visual & Critical Studies, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

KYMBERLY PINDER, PH.D. • Scholar, Curator, & Stavros Niarchos Foundation Dean, Yale School of Art, Yale University

DYANNA TAYLOR • Director, Cinematographer, & Director of Photography LAURA WEXLER • Charles H. Farnam Professor of American Studies, & Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, & Acting CoChair, Public Humanities Program, Yale University WILL WILSON • Photographer & Program Head of Photography, Santa Fe Community College ANNE WILKES TUCKER • Curator Emerita, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

Scholar Lectures

Held both online and in-person on November 20, The Democratic Lens Scholar Lectures brought together 110 attendees from over 16 different countries. With the generous support of the NEH, the lectures reached wider audiences for free.

PHOTOGRAPHY & RESTITUTION: THE

CIVIL

POTENTIAL OF THE IMAGE with Laura Wexler - From its inception, photography has helped Americans not only to see their families anew, but to imagine newly the communities to which those families belonged. This talk will present an array of past and present struggles over the social image unleashed by the photographic age.

WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: EMPATHY AS A PERSPECTIVE

with Anne Wilkes Tucker

As the war grinds on in Ukraine, what can we learn from conflict photographs made almost two centuries ago? Because wars are everchanging and ever-constant, this lecture will discuss the recurring patterns that are the points of departure for recent searing photographs.

-

The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement discussion series is made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the interviews, essays, lectures, programs, reports, and website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Images featured within The Democratic Lens website and content: (left) 1963 © Warren K. Leffler, (middle) 1942 © Dorothea Lange, (right) 1942 © Gordon Parks

NET ASSETS

Donor Restricted Funds

Ameritrade/Teaching Award Funds ...... $74,814.82 SF Community Foundation/SF Fellows ...... $59,392.96 Fiscal Sponsorship Funds ............................ $31,417.53 Unrestricted Assets .................................... $102,732.42 TOTAL

Leadership Board of Directors

EVAN ANDERMAN, PH.D. • Board President & Photographer // Colorado

REID CALLANAN • Director, Santa Fe Workshops // New Mexico

STUART COHEN • Photographer & Author // New Mexico

BEVERLY MARTIN • Educator & Designer // New Mexico

PETER OGILVIE • Photographer // New Mexico

ROLAND PABST • Photographer & Engineer // New Mexico

KYMBERLY PINDER, PH.D. • Curator, & Dean, Yale School of Art // New Mexico & Massachusetts

DYANNA TAYLOR • Cinematographer // New Mexico

WILL WILSON • Photographer & Program Head of Photography, Santa Fe Community College // New Mexico

Meet the CENTER Team

DEBORAH ESPINOSA Director of Engagement // Washington

WHITNEY WERNICK Programs Manager // Texas

LAURA WZOREK PRESSLEY Executive Director // New Mexico

$5,000 and Over

Evan Anderman, Ph.D., The Guadalupe Fund, The Gumbo Foundation, Legal Foundation of Washington, The National Endowment for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The New Mexico Humanities Council, NM Arts, The Phillip & Edith Leonian Foundation, Santa Fe Arts & Culture Department

$2,000 - $4,999

Gay Block, Stuart Cohen, Herb Ritts Foundation, Joanna T. Hurley, Beverly Martin, Marilyn Maxwell, Ben Schulein

$1,000 - $1,999

David Birbaum, JoAnn Carney, Beverly Martin, Peter Ogilvie, David Rossetti, Mary Sloane, Dyanna Taylor, Jay Tyrrell, Will Wilson

$300 - $999

Esha Chiocchio, Tony Chirinos, Dee Ann McIntyre, Evan Siegel, Jamey Stillings, Autumn & Marty Wernick, George & Karen Wzorek

$100 - $299

Anonymous, Paul Barnes, Susan Bell, Nathan Benn, Laurie Brown, Peter Brown, Saro Calewarts, Kristin Davidson, Virgil DiBiase, Deborah Espinosa, Jon Edwards, Joseph Fammartino, Carole Garland, Brett Kallusky, Kevin Keane, Arif Khan, Michael Kirchoff, Nina Kling, Chikara Komura, Malcolm Lazin, Mitsuharu Maeda, Cameron Martin, Elliott McDowell, Nicholas Merrick, Jean Miele, Maren Monson & Jeff Grainger, Annette Osnos, Mary Anne Redding, Jo Ann Rosen, Ward Russell, William Siegel, Suzette de Turenne, Jerry Takigawa, Marcia Torobin, Irene Tramontano, Mary Turner, Robin & Bonnie Wernick, Kiliii Yuyan, David Wzorek

Sponsors

CENTER would like to thank those who make our programs possible: The Gumbo Foundation, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, the City of Santa Fe Arts & Culture Department, New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the New Mexico Humanities Council, the Turchin Center for Visual Arts, form & concept, Modern Postcard, and the 1% Lodgers Tax.

Image from the series The Missing Forest © Tyler Green, 2022 Review Santa Fe Alum