©Image Threads, Cuba 2018

In the past few years, the term artist collective has become common, especially in larger cities where hubs of creativity form. At first, I did not know the purpose of a collective – they had been mentioned to me often but I had no idea what a collective was or why one would want to be in a collective. In many ways, I saw art as a solitary activity. Through my research and conversations with these collectives, I have come to learn that art can be a solitary activity, but it doesn’t have to be. When an artist meets with others for the purpose of creating together, that is when creativity truly flourishes.

Image Threads Collective is like no other collective I have encountered. At it’s heart, this collective values education and thrives in guiding others to find their passion – whether that be creating photobooks or diving into long term projects. While continuing to host various workshops, and create mentorship opportunities for artists, this collective still finds the time to incorporate new ideas to their programming. Image Threads takes photographic education to new heights while staying true to the medium.

©Image Threads, New York City 2019

“Collective” is a word that has gained traction amongst creatives as a way to identify themselves as a group. Artist collectives can vary depending on the groups’ goals, leadership, and motives – because of this broad definition, a collective can play a part in many art initiatives. A collective may focus on exhibiting work, or function as an organization that leads workshops and classes. A collective may include artists who want to create art together without the broader goals of exposure. In many ways, an artist collective is simply a group of creatives who wish to work together to achieve their goals – whatever they may be.

©Image Threads, Los Angeles 2018

The seed for Image Threads was planted in the days following the graduation of the University of Hartford Photography MFA Class of 2016. We were excited to be done, but also craving to share what we had learned about making photobooks in the last two years, especially with those who were not very familiar with the genre and had limited access to photographic education.

Image Threads’ activities developed organically. We began organizing workshops in locations where we would travel for exhibitions or personal projects, and then develop relationships with some of those communities over time.

Our most extensive work has been done in Cuba, where we ran our first workshop in 2017, and most recent one in November of this year. We also founded a photobook library in Havana in partnership with Fototeca de Cuba, which now comprises nearly 300 titles.

Other past locations include Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, Iceland, Canada, and the United States, and our next event – a photo-zine workshop for teenagers – will take place in Valletta, as part of the 2024 Malta Biennale public programming.

Over the years, our most fruitful partnership has been with the Penumbra Foundation in New York City. With their support, we began offering in-person and online photobook-related courses in 2018, and in 2020 launched Photobook LTP, a year-long online program which will welcome its 5th cohort in 2024.

Our most recent and exciting endeavor is the Mentorship Program, where volunteer photobook artists guide photographers in developing their photobook project through a series of one-on-one online meetings over a course of several months. The mentorships are free and applications are open to anyone, based anywhere in the world.

Follow Image Threads on Instagram: @imagethreads

©Image Threads, New York City 2018

©Image Threads, Canada 2019

Kassandra Eller: I would love to begin by discussing how this collective came to be. I see in your statement that Image Threads was formed from the University of Hartford’s 2016 class. How did the graduates make the transition to a collective? What was the journey like?

Image Threads: We didn’t start with an idea of forming a collective, but rather with a realization that we have similar interests and aspirations, and a desire “to keep the band together”. After some time, it became clear that it would be helpful to give a name and some structure to what we were doing, and a collective seemed the most appropriate form.

©Image Threads, Cuba 2023

©Image Threads, Ukraine 2017

KE: Your collective seems to have a focus on educating and informing others, which is quite unique compared to other collectives. What made you decide to put your energy towards workshops and programming?

IT: One thing that we took away from our grad school experience was that we were learning just as much during the critiques of our peers as we were during our own, so creating opportunities to share and discuss work in a group setting seemed like the most natural way to continue our own education. We also felt very grateful for what we had an opportunity to have learned in school, and wanted to give back to the larger photographic community in some way.

©Image Threads, Moscow 2018

©Image Threads, Ukraine 2017

KE: In your biography you state that Image Threads was formed in 2016. Since then how has your collective grown? What are some of the things you learned?

IT: Our new activities usually emerge at the intersection of our interests and opportunities that come our way. One of the first workshops we ran as a group was in Cuba, where we were also invited to exhibit our Hartford graduation show as part of Noviembre Fotografico, Havana’s annual photography festival. Others were organized in conjunction with pursuing long-term photographic projects in certain locations, solo exhibitions, or even family vacation.

Probably the most important lesson, that we keep learning over and over, is that sustained support over time is essential to artists who don’t have easy access to resources and community. That is why we try to return to the same locations for our workshops, organize longer-term courses, and create structures for past participants to interact with each other.

©Image Threads, Iceland 2019

KE: What words of inspiration do you have for artists interested in starting a collective of their own?

IT: As with any activity related to the arts, only do it if you cannot NOT do it.

©Image Threads, Cuba 2018

KE: What is next for Image Threads? Are there any new ideas or goals you want to implement in the next few years?

IT: LTP, the year-long online photobook program, is what is taking up most of our energies right now. While it is outside institutional art education, it still has some limitations because of its structure. We have been collaborating with Penumbra Foundation to offer photobook-related courses that help supplement the program, but eventually we would like to offer a more expansive photobook learning experience within the program itself.

Our other dream is to expand the free mentorship program going forward. Currently, we have only a few active mentorships running at a time, but there is no shortage of photographers around the world interested in the program and there are plenty of potential volunteer mentors, but as career artists with other commitments, we do not have enough administrative resources at the moment to support that expansion.

©Image Threads, Georgia 2019