Some success stories and gearing up for Critical Mass 2012!

©Bryan David Griffith

 We love it when success stories cross our desk - the point of our programming is exposure for emerging photographers - and it is fun to hear about results:

Opening last weekend is an exhibit for Bryan David Griffith at Galerie BMG in Woodstock. 'In a Big World Wandering', Bryan combines old-school, large format equipment and 19thc platinum palladium printing process to create contemplative images that read as a metaphor for the experience of being human in a complicated and sometimes isolating world. Bryan has submitted work to Critical Mass and attended our Reviews, meeting Bernard and Judi Gerson in 2011. Galerie BMG is also representing Angela Bacon-Kidwell and Tami Bone, also connections through Photolucida.

We want to get an appreciative shout-out to Scott Jones, who runs Camerawork Gallery here in Portland. Scott has been giving shows to many people he has met through Photolucida for years. Currently up in Camerawork Gallery is Albert Normandin's 'In a Golden Land', images from Burma. Scott met Albert through Photolucida, and many other photographers as well that he has given shows to: Doug Landreth, Rachel Wolf, Maureen Delaney, Andrea Galuzzo, Edis Jurcys, Caren Alpert, Robbie Kaye, and Wendy Sacks. Thanks, Scott for the work you do!

Critical Mass 2012 opens June 1 (soon!) and we are gearing up for that. We are really really excited about some partnerships we have this year. First, we are working with amazing publisher KERER VERLAG on our book award in a co-publishing endeavor. Second, we have two solo show awards this year, one offered by our friends at Blue Sky here in Portland, and now also Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado. We have a new flight pattern for the exhibit this time, with the TOP 50 Solo Show traveling to the Southeastern region of the United States, landing at Jennifer Schwartz Gallery in Atlanta, and Southeast Museum of Photography in Daytona Beach next summer. And...we are excited that the famous and infamous W.M. Hunt will be the curator for the exhibition - fun!

Have seen some great new success stories in the last week, which will be up on our website shortly, but wanted to put forth a nice one from Susan Worsham - just in:

©Susan Worsham, Wild Plums

On the day after my inclusion in the Critical Mass Top 50, I received an email from an art researcher at Random House Books, asking to use an image for a vintage international book cover.  Now one of the photographs from my submitted series "By The Grace Of God" is the cover of William Faulkner's 'Requiem For A Nun', and I can only hope that it's on some teenager's summer reading list this year. I was also featured in Oxford American Magazine's "100 Under 100: New Superstars of Southern Art".  One of the people who nominated me had just reviewed my work through Critical Mass. 

Right afterwards I was featured on NPR's blog where they singled out 5 photographers from Oxford American's list for their Visual South Series. Aline Smithson did a heartfelt write up about reviewing my work on her blog Lenscratch, and I would have to say... that was my favorite to see. I want to thank all 200 of the reviewers for taking the time to be apart of this wonderful opportunity. 

Nice, huh? We hope you might be gearing up for Critical Mass, too!