The Society for Photographic Education
2027 National Conference March 11-14 Minneapolis, MN
Community in Contrast
“When despair prevails, we cannot create life-sustaining communities of resistance.” ― bell hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope
For over six decades, The Society for Photographic Education has provided a network of support for photographers, artists, educators, students, curators, critics, and historians. Not only are we practitioners and scholars, members of SPE have illustrated that we are a resilient and steadfast community that will weather adversity with strength and grace.
In a sustained climate of social, political, environmental, and technological uncertainty, The Society for Photographic Education’s 2027 National Conference supports a Community in Contrast to contemporary conditions of power. We foster a community that highlights diverse perspectives, recognizes our lived experience, and resists efficacy-driven models of education and art practice. As scholars, critical thinkers, image-makers, and viewers, we examine contemporary perspectives on community, addressing questions of belonging, solidarity, equity, and agency.
SPE invites our current and prospective members to submit proposals for SPE’s National Conference: Community in Contrast, taking place March 11-14th in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
We are seeking visual presentations, workshops, panels, and other forms of inquiry that explore our communities, both chosen and inherent, and how the diversity of our educational spaces can deepen scholarly research and active learning.
Community in Contrast is specifically interested in presentations and explorations in various formats, addressing but not limited to any of the following subcategories:
Art Administration, Art Education, Art History, Collaboration and Building Community Engagement, Change in the Classroom, Commercial Photography, Curatorial Studies, Documentary Photography, Experimental Practices, Editorial Photography, Identity and Representation Photographic Art, Photographic Scholarship Place-based Investigations Scientific Photography, Shaping the Future, Social Justice & Advocacy, Studio Art
