For the next three days, Lenscratch will be featuring events and photographers surrounding Flash Forward Festival Boston.  The Magenta Foundation is hosting another exciting celebration in Boston for their fourth annual international photography event. Photographers, educators, curators, photo editors, collectors, gallerists, allies and fans are congregating for another exciting four days of events, discussions, lectures and fabulous art from Canada the UK, the US, New England and all points beyond.

The festival opens May 1st and runs through May 4th at the Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel in Boston, but many events have already opened and are on display all over the city. The Flash Forward Festival is spearheaded by Maryann Camilleri of the Magenta Foundation, an organization that supports photographers from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom and  has an annual competition, Flash Forward, that showcases work being created by the very best emerging photographers from Canada, the USA and the UK.

The organization works to bring together like-minded creative professionals  and the events is always inspiring…and guess what, it’s FREE. Take advantage of this opportunity to absorb the amazing art and discover what is driving the photographic world today.

Outdoor Shipping Container exhibitions on The Rose Kennedy Greenway

May 1–29, 2014

 I am Walé Respect Me

This series is a personal reflection of women in general and the Wale  ritual specifically from Patrick Willocq. But it is first and foremost the result of a unique collaboration with five pygmy women, their respective clans, an ethnomusicologist, an artist and many artisans of the forest. Working together, our mutual experiences become richer giving birth to “I am Walé Respect Me.”

 Seekers

After a quick glance at the Seekers series, we are inclined to reject the blurry portraits as rejects. With the fully automatic cameras of our time, it should be possible to make sharp, well-exposed photos. But Brazilian artist Cale has created a series with such rigor that we necessarily have to surrender to his figurative language and enter the premises of his photographs.

Take Me There: Travel Photographs from Air Canada’s enRoute Magazine (2009–2014)

From the Bahamas to China and beyond, Air Canada’s enRoute takes readers on a global journey each month. Working with acclaimed Canadian and international travel photographers, the magazine offers a distinct perspective on the world. This exhibition highlights the narrative power of photography and the importance of visual storytelling in our everyday lives.

The Fence: A Photoville & Magenta Foundation Production

We are pleased to being back for year 2, The Fence. The Fence presents the work of 40 talented photographersfrom around the world to an audience of over 1.5 million visitors each summer. Please visit fence.photovillenyc.org for more information.

 

Off-Site Exhibitions Throughout Boston

April 25–May 10

Undergraduate Photography Now (Part 2)

A Celebration of New England’s Best Student Photographers

Curated by Jonathan Gitelson & Greer Muldowney

Opening reception April 25, 6–8 PM

Open Tuesday–Friday, 12–6 PM

530 Harrison Avenue

May 1–15

[Photo]gogues: New England (Part 2)

Location:  Macy’s at Downtown Crossing, inside the Lafayette City Center Hallway

450 Washington Street.

April 29–May 17

Fall Back, Spring Forward

Photography in New England

Opening reception May 1, 6–9 PM

Open Tuesday–Friday, 10 aM–5 PM

Saturday, 12–4 PM

Photographic Resource Center

832 Commonwealth Avenue

On-Site Events & Exhibitions @ Fairmont Battery Wharf

Flash Forward 2013 Group Show & WineFest

Featuring Emerging Photographers from Canada, the UK & the US

Opening night exhibition May 2, 7–10 pm

Fairmont Battery Wharf, Main Level

PROGRAMMING

FREE Daily Lectures & Panel Discussions at Two Battery Wharf

Day 1

The Mobile Revolution

Saturday May 3^rd, 2014

                                                                                                                         Session 1

12 noon-1:30pm

Title of talk: National Geographic: Innovations in Multi-Platform Visual Storytelling

Speaker Sadie Quarrier

 Presenting case studies of National Geographic’s latest experimentations and innovations as it overhauls the way it harnesses its visual storytelling legacy across multiple platforms.

Session 2

2 pm- 3:30pm

Title of talk
The New York Times Magazine

Editorial Photography and the Smart Phone Camera

 Speaker: Stacey Baker

A look at cellphone photography’s influence on photography at The New York Times Magazine.

Stacey Baker is an associate photo editor at The New York Times Magazine, which is recognized annually by publications such as Photo District News and American Photography.  She is also a former Director of Photography at More Magazine. 

 

Session 3

4-6pm Panel Discussion

Title of talk: The Long & Winding Road: What it takes to choose and sustain a long-term photography project

Panelists: Edie Bresler, Manjari Sharma, Michael Shackey

Moderator: Stella Kramer

This panel will introduce you to three accomplished photographers who have been working on long-term projects. Manjari Sharma, Edie Bresler and Michael Sharkey will show their work and talk about how their projects came about, how they were able to move them forward, and what they learned along the way.

Day 2: The Perils of Publishing

Sunday May 4^th,2014

Session 1

12 pm-1:30pm

Title of Talk : How I Learned to Love My Accountant and Fight with My Lawyer

Speaker Matthew Nash

Matthew Nash talks about his work as a performance artist and documentary filmmaker, delving into: the problems of photography as memory; the financial implications of DIY filmmaking; crowd-funding for better and worse; film festivals, lawyers and accountants; and learning to move on to the next project. His work explores the role of photography in how we preserve our memories and how best to tell stories we are afraid to share.

 Session 2

12 to 1:30 p.m.

Title of talk: Imagined Worlds and Personal Narrative

Speaker: Rachel Hulin

This talk will discuss the progression of the artist’s project Flying Henry from the nugget of an idea to a gallery show and a children’s book. Early sketches, storyboards and outtakes will be shared, as well as the meaning the work took for the artist as it progressed from a fine art project to an internet meme, to narrative pictures of a pint-sized superhero and back again.

 Session 3

4 to 6 p.m.

Title of talk: Publish Your [Photo] Book: Go Mainstream or Self-Publish

The world of fine-art photographic books is crowded and competitive. Our panelists will come together in conversation to explore through their own experiences and careers the growth of and future of book publishing; the pro’s and con’s of approaching traditional publishing houses vs. self-publishing; their success or failures with funding and crowd sourcing; the importance of social media and the internet in recognition and distribution; and many more urgent issues.

Panelists: Craig Cohen, Executive Publisher, powerHouse Books; Janette Beckman – photographer and author of Made in the UK: The Music of Attitude, 1977-1982′ PowerHouse Books 2005; and Robert Herman – author of The New Yorkers. Moderated by New York curator Elizabeth Avedon.