Perkins Center for the Arts’ annual photography exhibition will be held at its Moorestown location from Wednesday, Jan. 10, through Friday, Feb. 23.
Artists can submit a maximum of three works that support the theme of “Photography 43” – point of view – and were created in the past three years. Work must be submitted on Perkins’ website under the exhibitions tab or by using a link on its Facebook page.
All entries must be framed and wired on the back, and Perkins recommends following professional standards, with glass or framing wire only. Works printed on canvas will also be accepted. The following will not: two pieces of glass or plexiglass joined by clips, plastic frames with cord that serves as a hanging mechanism (like poster frames) and alligator clips.
Entries must be delivered for the exhibit’s juror on Friday, Jan. 5, from 10 am to 2 p.m., or Saturday, Jan. 6, from noon to 4 p.m.
“The reason I chose that theme was to give every photographer participating an opportunity to give their point of view of course, and not have a theme that is obvious,” explained Sharon Kiefer, Perkins’ curator of exhibitions. “This is a theme that can be interpreted by each photographer individually, so we should get some really good entries for this.”
Perkins values the arts as essential to the social and emotional well-being of individuals and their communities and the arts as a safe platform for personal expression, according to its website, and for “Photography 43,” Kiefer’s thinking is that anything goes.
“It could be a point of view from an insect on the sidewalk or someone’s political view …” she said. “I mean it could be a lot of very broad subject matter covered in this exhibition. Photography is a medium that can be interpreted in many ways and can be very, very creative, depending on the photographer, so sometimes a piece of photography will be submitted, and you may not even realize that it’s a piece of photography. It may look like a painting.
“Or there may be some interpretation that uses the medium in a way that has never been used before, say with color or with black and white or with the subject matter …” Kiefer added. “The sky’s the limit in terms of how creative the photographers can be.”
This year’s juror is artist Liz Wuillermin, who’s recognized for her work in editorial, public relations, portraiture and corporate photography, according to her website. An artist’s reception will be held at the gallery on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 5 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Prizes will total $650.
“It’s really interesting to actually get to speak with the artists at the reception and hear the back story about each piece, because you may take it for face value, but really, to them, it’s much more meaningful,” Kiefer observed.
“What I usually look forward to is the number of artists that are given opportunities to enter through the open-call aspect of the show and how many actually do enter,” she added. “And the beautiful work that the juror gets to curate the exhibition from.”
For more information on “Photography 43,” visit Perkins’ website or its social media pages.
