Society for Photographic Education Announces a Conference on Visual Literacy and Social Justice

CLEVELAND: Advanced registration for the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) 56th Annual Conference, The Myths of Photography and the American Dream, ends February 15.

Connect with 1,500 photographers, artists, educators, scholars, and museum professionals from around the world for cutting-edge programming including presentations by Matt Black, Jess T. Dugan, Matt Eich, Nicole R. Fleetwood, Lauri Lyons, Zora Murff, Louie Palu, Greta Pratt, Ruddy Roye, Paul Shambroom, Barbara Tannenbaum, Wendel White, and many more!

Explore an exhibits fair featuring the latest equipment, processes, publications, and photography/media schools. Participate in career enhancing educational seminars, one-on-one portfolio critiques, media festival, exhibitions, print raffle, silent auction, and dance party.

At SPE's 56th Annual Conference, The Myths of Photography and the American Dream (March 7 -10, 2019), difficult questions will be raised about the gap between the principle of liberty and justice for all in the United States, and how photographers, scholars, and activists have expressed or contested the idea of the American Dream throughout the 20th and 21st centuries

What are the 21st century myths surrounding photography and the American Dream? What is the function of these myths—whom do they serve and why? What is the role of race and class in the American Dream? What can photographs do in the 21st century beyond occupying the space of art? What are our responsibilities in representing, interpreting, and sharing the visual language of photography? We will gather in Cleveland—home to some of the world's largest community conversations about how to make our communities more resilient and just—to answer questions concerning The Myths of Photography and the American Dream.

Since its founding in the early 1960s, SPE has held important conversations about the education of photographers and scholarship in visual literacy. SPE continues to boldly expand, and share understandings of how photography matters in the world with a broad audience through conferences, events, and programs—local, global, and mobile.