CENTER 2021 Annual Report by CENTERSantaFe

2021 Annual Report

The two days event with established reviewers in the photography community was nothing short of magical. The reviewers

were passionate, dedicated, and offered constructive critiques.

- Farras Abdelnour, 2021 Review Santa Fe Alum

page 3

Mission CENTER supports socially and environmentally engaged lens–based projects through education, public platforms, funding, and partnerships. For over 25 years, CENTER has advanced lens-based artists while deepening public appreciation of photography’s history and ongoing cultural significance.

Numbers 5

Awards provided

Grants provided

139

Photographers served (Winners, Mentorship, Sponsorship)

475

Program Attendees

$17,500

Direct Financial Support to Photographers

Table of Contents 4

Director’s Letter

7-8

Community Impact

11-14

Virtual Presentations

15-16

Project Lab: Mentorship, Training, & Seminars

CENTER Board & Staff

CENTER Donors

2021 Annual Report Dear Members, Donors, and Friends: I am pleased to present our Annual Report for 2021. Another year proved the benefits of being a small and agile organization with adaptability and a deep well of creative potential. The changing environment allowed us to manifest latent ideas and made way for new program directions. The work that has been accomplished is due to the tremendous efforts of the staff, board, program participants, members, and donors. Thank you to everyone who made this year’s goals a reality and to those who donated to the Charidy campaign. We are truly grateful for your invaluable support. In the Spring of 2021, we revisited our awards categories to align with our new socially and environmentally engaged mission. The Choice Awards, formerly the Curator’s, Editor’s, and Director’s Choice, are now the Personal, Social, and Environmental Awards. In the Calls for Entry, we aimed to be more inclusive of the New Mexico photographers, curators, and audience members, and focused the guidelines for one grant to be open only to New Mexicans. Additionally, two of the jurors for the awards were New Mexico curators. Last year, we received a gift toward increasing the Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award endowment. We extend our sincere thanks to this donor whose contributions allow us to honor a photographic educator each year. We were very pleased to honor an educator this challenging year for teachers and counted him among our distinguished presenters at the Review Santa Fe Symposium. New this year, we received a Leonian Foundation grant that allowed us to scale up a new Mentorship program that prepared incoming photographers for Review Santa Fe portfolio reviews. Also, new in 2021, a herculean effort allowed us to launch online portfolio reviews at the 20th annual Review Santa Fe, making way for nearly 900 portfolio reviews in two days. Although many reviewers and photographers missed meeting in person, the online format was very successful and one that we are considering carrying into the future. In 2021, CENTER is grateful to have received government grant support from the New Mexico Council for the Humanities, the City of Santa Fe Arts & Culture department, and New Mexico Arts. We applied to a new grant, the National Endowment for the Humanities, for a series called The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement. In August, we learned we received this grant, the largest in the organization’s history. This discussion series includes scholarly essays, interviews, and lectures and will be kicking off in 2022. Along with our Awards & Grants and Review Santa Fe, the lecture series offers a third pillar to our public programs. We look forward to deepening the public understandings of lens-based media through our new and longstanding programs in the new year. We will continue to amplify the work of lens-based artists, storytellers, and educators through honoring our role in advancing projects that respect all people, open minds, and engage our shared humanity. Sincerely, Laura Wzorek Pressley | Executive Director

You are the organization that has done the most for my practice.

- Ada Tillo, 2020 Me&EVE Award Recipient and 2021 Review Santa Fe Alum

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Photographic Community Impact

$17,500 funds provided

900

475

portfolio reviews

program attendees

Marketing Reach New grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts allowed us to utilize new platforms. Website users on VisitCenter.org: Facebook: 11,967 50,515 Twitter: 6,210

New users to Photography2020.org:

Instagram: 5,943

3,300

Fiscal Sponsorships & Commissioned Projects 2 projects // $32,700 provided Tony Chirinos, “Farewell” Deborah Espinosa, “Living with Conviction”

2021 Annual Report Annual Awards & Grants 105

$17.5k

Awards

CENTER Award - Personal: Lizzy Cross

in financial support

opportunities & recipients

CENTER Award - Social: Peter Merts

Two with funding $10,000

CENTER Awards - Environmental: Ella Morton Excellence in Multimedia Award: Ana Cristina Vallejo Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award: Peter Brown // $5,000 me&EVE Award: Leah Dyjak // $5,000

Grants 2

grants provided $7,500 in financial support

Project Development Grant: Guanyu Xu // $5,000 Project Launch Grant: Jane Whitmore // $2,500

Wow! This(is) the most amazing and strengthening experience. I can’t thank you enough for hosting this virtual conference.

- Nina Hamberg, 2021 Review Santa Fe Alum

Left Page: © Meridel Rubenstein, 2021 Project Launch Grant Honorable Mention Recipient |Image from the series Eden in Iraq

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Virtual Presentations CENTER highlights excellence and innovative contributions to the field each year with the annual Awards and Project Grants. The selected photographers receive financial support and professional development opportunities. Each artist shares an intimate view of their project, followed by a moderated discussion with moderator. Moderator: Holly Stuart Hughes, Independent Editor, Writer and Grant Consultant; Former Editor-in-Chief, PDN Holly Stuart Hughes is an independent editor, writer and grant consultant. The former editor-in-chief of PDN (Photo District News). A graduate of Yale, she has written on photography and media for Time. com, The Telegraph, Multichannel News, Taschen Books, American Photographic Artists, Magnum Photos, Carlton Publishing, and Blouin ArtInfo Media.

296

International attendees

Part 1: The Interior & the Intimate- click here to watch the video Part 2: Visions of Place- click here to watch the video

2021 Annual Report The Interior & the Intimate

Four visual artists exploring interior spaces and the representation of inner lives will share samples of their award and grant-winning projects honored in this year’s CENTER Awards and Grants.

Presenters (from left to right): Lizzy Cross, CENTER Personal Award; Arista Slater-Sandoval, Project Launch Grant Honorable Mention; Guanyu Xu, Project Development Grant; Ana Cristina Vallejo, Excellence in Multimedia Award; Peter Brown, Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award

Visions of Place

Photographers honored in this year’s CENTER awards will discuss their inventive use of landscapes and rarely seen places in projects exploring ecology, personal and collective history, and artistic self-expression. The photographers will discuss their varied techniques and their goals for their award-winning projects.

Presenters (from left to right): Ella Morton, CENTER Environmental Award; Jane Whitmore, Project Launch Grant; Leah Dyjak, me&EVE Grant; Peter Merts, CENTER Social Award; Meridel Rubenstein, Project Launch Grant Honorable Mention

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Outreach & Advocacy: Putting Images to Use Photographers passionately committed to social concerns will explain their strategies for using their visual storytelling as tools for advocacy, education, and empowerment. They will discuss how collaborations with subjects and community partners help to amplify underrepresented stories, reach new audiences, and deliver calls to action. Participants include Deborah Espinosa, CENTER Fiscal recipient, Peter Merts, CENTER Social Award recipient, and Meridel Rubenstein, CENTER Project Launch Grant Honorable Mention recipient in conversation with Holly Stuart Hughes, Independent Editor, Writer, and Grant Consultant

2021 Annual Report Critical Business Practices for Photographers in Publishing & Editorial CENTER and the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) present a panel discussing the most important business practices for navigating the evershifting landscape of publishing and editorial industries. . Panelists include Alyssa Coppelman, Deputy Art Director at Harper’s Magazine and Art Researcher for the Oxford American Magazine, Whitney Johnson, VP of Visuals & Immersive Experiences at National Geographic, and Thomas Maddrey, General Counsel and Head of National Content & Education for ASMP in conversation with Moderator Holly Stuart Hughes, Independent Editor, Writer, and Grant consultant.

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Project Lab: Mentorship, Training, & Seminars In 2020, CENTER initiated a new Mentorship Program for first-year Review Santa Fe attendees, with its success thanks to the help of CENTER alumni who took on the task of a trial program. In 2021, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation made this program available to the Review Santa Fe 100 Photographers by fully establishing the Project Lab Mentorship Program.

Mentors: CENTER Alumni

Mentees: Review Santa Fe Photographers

The Project Lab Mentorship program paired eleven mentors (CENTER alumni) with twenty-six emerging photographers. The proposed mentorship program contributes to our larger mission of supporting lens-based artists in providing advanced skills for their career advancement. By building from the relationships, and a supportive framework, selected alumni will mentor emerging photographers and provide expert advice on portfolio preparation, working with curators, public speaking, grant writing, editing, and other key components to support a photographic practice.

Project Lab: Training Project Lab participants attended training workshops to make the program a success. Mentors received advice on facilitating remote mentorship, offering constructive feedback, and general tips for success in their training. The mentee training focused on helping participants identify their goals, tailor their questions to their mentor’s expertise, and get the most from the program.

2021 Annual Report Project Lab: Seminars CENTER hosted two seminars online to supplement the Project Lab mentorship program. Each seminar included an optional second-day portfolio critique where participants discussed their projects and received feedback from the presenters in a small group. CENTER’s Review Santa Fe photographers and Project Lab participants could attend the seminars and the associated secondday add-on portfolio critique sessions at no cost.

Breaking Through - Editing for Impact Seminar: With Photo Director of HuffPost, Christy Havranek, and University of Colorado photography professor Stacy J. Platt. Attendees received advice on submitting work to awards, grants, and publications. This seminar focused on utilizing a statement of purpose, editing and sequencing strategies, and compelling presentations to boost visibility and capture the attention of image professionals.

Photo Director of HuffPost, Christy Havranek

Preparing for Portfolio Reviews: with Curator, and CENTER Advisory Council Member Mary Anne Redding The seminar offered advice on preparing for meetings with curators, editors, publishers, and other industry professionals. Attendees discussed the importance of tailoring their work to different types of opportunities, from gallery and museum exhibitions to print publications and books.

University of Colorado photography professor Stacy J. Platt.

Curator, and CENTER Advisory Council Member, Mary Anne Redding

The caliber of reviewers was very high and the intimacy of the reviews on Zoom was conducive to focused conversations. I received a lot of valuable feedback and advice. I would

highly recommend (and have already recommended) these reviews to other photographers.

- Tema Stauffer | 2021 Review Santa Fe Alum

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Board of Directors 2021 Evan Anderman, Ph.D. Board President & Photographer // Colorado Reid Callanan Director, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops // New Mexico Stuart Cohen Photographer & Author // New Mexico Beverly Martin Educator & Designer // New Mexico Peter Ogilvie Photographer // New Mexico Kymberly Pinder, Ph.D. Dean, Yale School of Art // Connecticut Dyanna Taylor Cinematographer // New Mexico Will Wilson Photographer & Program Head of Photography at the Santa Fe Community College // New Mexico

Meet the CENTER Team Matthew Contos JC Gonzo Whitney Wernick Laura Wzorek Pressley

Independent Contractor (administrative) // Belgium Communications Manager // New Mexico Social Media Manager // Texas Executive Director // New Mexico

2021 Annual Report Thank you to Our Donors $5,000 and over Evan Anderman, Ph.D., Stuart Cohen, The Guadalupe Fund, The Gumbo Foundation, Hillman Family Foundation, Legal Foundation of Washington, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The New Mexico Humanities Council, NM Arts, The Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, and the Santa Fe Arts & Culture Department. $2,500 and over Joanna T. Hurley, Steven Katzman, Bernard Morton Levine, Benjamin and Alessandra Schulein, Washington State Bar. $1,000-$2,499 Reid Callanan, Beverly Martin, Thomas Naidich, Dave Rosetti, Evan Siegal, David andKatherine Skinner, Mary Sloane, Dyanna Taylor, Jay Tyrrell. $500-$999 Bill Drake and JoAnn Carney, Tony Chirinos, Tara Cronin, Jack Kotz, Joan Morgenstern, Harold M. & Mary B. Morris Foundation, George Nobechi, James Pomerantz, Sirous Partovi, Patti Rose, Jamey Stillings, Patti Wetzel, George & Karen Wzorek. $100- $499 Anonymous, Rebecca Abrams, Nathan Benn, Alan Pearlman & Gail Bass, Tami Bone, Devra Breslow, Peter Brown, Kate Bubacz, Saro Calewarts, Matthew & Julie ChaseDaniel, John D. Chaney, David Chickey, Suzette de Turenne, Virgil DiBiase, Roy & Carol Duty, Jordan Eddy, Natasha Egan, Joseph J Fammartino, Marissa Fassano, Stephen Frailey, Ellen M Friedlander, Roger Gullickson, Susan H Bell, Gano Haine, Soomin Ham, Carl Henry, Ann Jastrab, Pamela and Larry Jewett, Toby Jurovics, Kevin Keane, Amy Kellner, Deborah Klochko, Chikara Komura, Bree Lamb, Archy LaSalle, Lazin, Carrie Levy, Cameron Martin, Elliott McDowell, Nicholas G. and Shaun Gilmore Merrick, Joanna Mitler, Christopher, Mortenson, S. Nelson Golas, Peter Ogilvie, Yousef Panahpour, Sadie Quarrier, Mary Anne Redding, Charlotte Reed, Rixon Reed, Anne Rosen, Michae Rubin, Ward Russell, Laura Sackett, Vania Salgar, Amy Silverman, Allison Stewart, Ann Thomas, Marcia Torobin, Mary M Turner, Katherine Ware, Sandra Chen Weinstein, Nina Welch Kling, Nicole Werbeck, Robin & Bonnie Wernick, Autumn & Marty Wernick, Wendel White, Jane Whitmore, Denise Wolff.

PO BOX 8372, SANTA FE, NM, 87504 | 505.933.9146 | VISITCENTER.ORG CENTER, A 501C3 ORGANIZATION, SUPPORTS SOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY ENGAGED LENS-BASED PROJECTS THROUGH EDUCATION, PUBLIC PLATFORMS, FUNDING, AND PARTNERSHIPS.