Society for Photographic Education
conference going on NOW
Keynote Speaker: Kip FulbeckFeatured Speakers: Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie and Veronica Passalacqua
Featured Speaker: Dawoud Bey
Learn More about the SPE 2010 Conference
This is a tremendous time for diversity. The United States has seen her first president of color sworn into office, and Iceland has just elected the world’s first openly gay prime minister. Yet ask a photography student for the names of five photographers of diverse backgrounds and they will probably fumble. Just as in political life, the demographics of diversity are also shifting in the photographic arts, but this diversity is slow to make its way into galleries, textbooks, and the awareness of those in the industry.
SPE’s 47th National Conference in Philadelphia, “Facing Diversity: Leveling the Playing Field in the Photographic Arts,” will examine how photographers of diverse backgrounds participate in the art world today and how these artists are being received. The conference will look at inclusivity, diversity within diversity, and the various perspectives on the changing cultural dynamics of this country. It strives to bring together curious minds in celebration of the achievements by artists of all backgrounds.
For photographic educators, artists and scholars, the conference programming will:
• Discuss what diversity means within the framework of photography
• Examine how artists have expressed themselves on the topics of race, culture, ethnicity, religion, class, gender, sexual preference, and age
• Identify how these issues are being discussed in the art world and in the classroom today
• Investigate the vocabulary required to discuss diversity in the arts today
Hannah Frieser Miriam Romais 2010 Conference Co-Chairs
About the 2010 Conference: The Philadelphia conference marks a unique partnership between SPE and EnFoco to better address issues of diversity within the field of photography. En Foco is a non-profit photography organization dedicated to nurturing and supporting photographers of diverse cultures, primarily those of Latino, African and Asian heritage, and Native Peoples of the Americas and Pacific. www.enfoco.org
About the CityPhiladelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, is the ideal setting for the theme of this conference. The city received its name from its original planner, the Quaker pacifist William Penn, who saw his tract of land as a place where people from every background could live together in harmony. Philadelphia is known for its historic landmarks and cultural riches, ranging from the Philadelphia Museum of Art atop the "Rocky steps" to the Blockson Afro-American collection at Temple University.
The conference hotel, the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, is located in walkable Center City, which offers a wealth of art galleries, theatres, outdoor murals, historic streets, and transit connections. A city of neighborhoods, Philadelphia has distinctive Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and gay communities near the SPE venue, and you'll see a mix of all ages populating the streets. Don't miss the many small ethnic BYO restaurants, affordable and deliciously diverse, and the famous Reading Terminal Market right next door.Get more info. about Philadelphia at www.gophila.com and www.philadelphiausa.travel.
A Diversity of Local ActivitiesHere are ten activities in order of proximity to the Marriott. Bring the family, stay extra days!
1. Four-plus-milers for runners: Start at Filbert Street side of hotel. Two good routes, especially early morning: (1) take Arch Street west to Parkway, angle down the Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (optional route up Rocky Steps), bear right around the museum, then northwest out Kelly Drive along the river past Boathouse Row - or - (2) west on Arch to 24th, turn north one block to Race, turn west onto the Schuylkill River Trail. http://www.schuylkillrivertrail.com/
2. Reading Terminal Market - 12th & Arch, next door to SPE. Worth a browse for the sights and smells even if you are not going to shop or eat. http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/
3. Philadelphia International Flower Show - PA Convention Center, 12th & Arch, next door to SPE. Always an amazing event. To avoid the worst crowds, go during dinnertime, or the instant the doors open in the morning. The floral arrangement contest area is entertaining. (Young children would be bored.)http://www.theflowershow.com/home/index.html
4. Visit the PSFS Building (Loews Hotel across Market) and Walk the Skinny Streets. After admiring the Art Deco lobby and mezzanine of the nation's first International Style skyscraper, walk south on 12th Street. Once past Locust, poke around the tucked-away historic streets like Quince, Jessup, Fawn, Camac, Iseminger, Panama and more. http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/PSFS_Building.html
5. Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Constitution Center and all that, a six-plus block walk east or take any bus down Market or Chestnut.http://www.nps.gov/inde/index.htm Tours, including Scavenger Hunt: http://constitutioncenter.org/
6. Franklin Institute, 20th & the Parkway - terrific science museum - something for everyone, including iMax and Planetarium. Perpetual motion machine in lobby fascinates kids and adults. Located a few blocks from SPE - walk down Arch Street west to Parkway, bear right. http://www2.fi.edu/
7. The Mutter Musuem, 19 S. 22nd - long walk from SPE, or take any bus west on Walnut to 22nd, walk north on 22nd. Full of gross medical oddities kids love. The Mutter Musuem calendars have featured many famous photographers. If you wish to photograph, contact them 2 weeks in advance. http://www.collphyphil.org/mutter.asp
8. Eastern State Penitentiary, partially restored historic prison, popular site for art installations. Tours every day, ages 7 and up. Bus: #48 from 12th and Arch to 22nd & Fairmount. http://www.easternstate.org/
9. The Philadelphia Zoo - America's first zoo. The 38 bus goes out there from 15th & JFK. Highlights: Naked mole rats, new Primate House with baby orangutan, new tiger territory, Carnivore Kingdom with giant river otters. http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/
10. Please Touch Museum, 4231 N. Concourse Drive- Since 1976 this has been the children's museum of Philadelphia. Now its home is grand Memorial Hall, built in 1876 for the nation's Centennial. The 38 bus goes out there from 15th & JFK. Ask about the Whispering Bench, located outside. http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/Back to top.
Conference Costs
Download the Conference Flyer for conference costs.
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