Conference Dates: 20–21 October 2017
Deadline to submit proposal: 15 May 2017, 11:59 PM PCT

Conference and Submission Details

Two days of photographic workshops, presentations & discussions, featuring the works of Christopher Russell, Rafael Soldi, Nicole Jean Hill and Alexis Pike. Richard Misrach is our keynote speaker for SPE-NW 2017.

SPENW welcomes proposals from photographers, artists, writers, educators, curators, historians, and professionals fromother fields for the 2017 northwest regional conference: Illuminate and Provoke. In his introductory essay for the anthology of Orion essays “The Future of Nature” the poet, Barry Lopez, sublimely intertwines writing of his observations of birds of western Oregon with the disorders facing human-life; before guiding the reader towards the attributes of courage, justice, and reverence as necessary virtues as we work towards a civil society. In doing so, he situates writing as a social as well as an artistic act and suggests that, like birds, writers “represent a visible, coherent trajectory through a confusing wood. They illuminate and provoke.” Photographers also illuminate and provoke, and this conference topic challenges photographers, writers, social scientists, and photo-historians to consider how your work is a social as well as an artistic act.

On Friday, the conference will begin at 1pm and will start with a choice of three-hour in-depth workshops. On Saturday, individual and shorter presentations will take place alongside opportunities for portfolio reviews. The keynote speaker is Richard Misrach and featured artists include Nicole Jean Hill, Alexis Pike, Christopher Russell, and Rafael Soldi. Topics are not limited to the theme and may include image-making, history, contemporary theory and criticism, multidisciplinary approaches, new technologies, effects of media and culture, educational issues, funding, professional practices, and presentations of work in photography, film, video, performance, and installation.

Eligibility

This call for proposals is open to SPE members and non-members.

Presentation Formats

• Workshops (3 hours) – Participants may propose teaching & learning workshops, extensive hands-on demonstration and/or making activities, and/or opportunities for a group of people to explore guided-readings in order to have discussions in greater depth. 
• Dialogic (15 min) – Presentations where photographers/artists with complementary or, sometimes contrasting subject matter will be selected and grouped together in a carefully curated 45 - 90 minute block.  Imagemaker (45 min) – Presentation on your own artistic work; proposals may be considered for a Dialogic Presentation.
• Lecture (45 min) – Presentation on historical topic, theory, or another artist’s/artists' work.
• Panel Discussion (90 min) – Active discussion among panelists (max: 3), moderator, and audience to discuss a chosen topic.
• Teaching & Learning (45 min) – Presentations, workshops, demos that address educational issues, including teaching resources and strategies (syllabi, videos, assignments, readings, class prep/setup, and PowerPoint presentations); curricula to serve diverse artists and changing student populations; and professional exchange.

Submit proposals to spenw.proposals@gmail.com Include in one PDF package no larger than 20 MB:

• Presentation Title
• Presenter Name(s) A 80-120 word biography of each presenter or panel member
• Up-to 500 word description of your proposal
• Equipment or space-needs (particularly for workshop proposals) Up-to 10 jpeg images (embedded in the PDF package)

Any questions? Contact the Conference Chair: Julia Bradshaw Julia.bradshaw@oregonstate.edu