Portfolio Reviews
Photography Portfolio Review at MOCA
10 a.m.-noon & 1-3 p.m.
$50 for professionals; $25 for amateurs/students
Portfolio Reviews
This one-day event connects photographers with potential mentors and industry professionals. Photographers (professional and student) will engage in one-on-one meetings with industry professionals for a focused review of the photographer’s portfolio of work. Each review session will last for 15 minutes per reviewer and each photographer can expect their total review to last an hour. MOCA Jacksonville’s Portfolio Review will be held at the museum, located at 333 N. Laura St., Jacksonville, FL 32202.
Reviewers:
Marcelle Polednik, <www.mocajacksonville.org/event/photography-portfolio-review#m-polednik> director of The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville
Paul Karabinis, <www.mocajacksonville.org/event/photography-portfolio-review#p-karabinis> assistant professor of photography, The University of North Florida & Co-curator of Shared Vision: The Sondra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla collection of Photography exhibition at MOCA starting Sept. 17
How to Register
Registration for the 2011 Portfolio Review is now open. Download the 2011 Portfolio Review Registration form. <www.mocajacksonville.org/file_download/400>
Review registration will be limited to 16 photographers and will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Once registrations are filled, we will begin a waiting list
If an opportunity to register opens up, we will contact the first person on the waiting list. If accepted within 24 hours, we will then send you a payment link. If we do not receive a response within 24 hours, we will then offer the spot to the second person on the list.
If you experience any problems with the registration process, please contact us at info[at]mocajacksonville.org. <mailto:info@mocajacksonville.org?subject=RE:%20Registration%20for%20Photography%20Portfolio%20Review>
Cancellation/Refund Policy:
Cancellations are allowed up until September 14 minus a 20% administrative processing fee. For refunds, contact Lauren Spencer at lspencer[at]mocajacksonville.org. <mailto:lspencer@mocajacksonville.org?subject=RE:%20Cancellations/Refund%20Photography%20Portfolio%20Review> no later than 5:00 p.m. on September 14. After this deadline, registrations are non-refundable.
FAQs
What are the in-person Portfolio Reviews?
Photographers (professional and student) engage in one-on-one meetings with industry professionals for a focused review of the photographer’s portfolio of work. Each review session lasts for 15 minutes. One-on-one portfolio reviews provide an opportunity for photographers to network and meet potential clients or industry mentors while also receiving career-advancing guidance and critique. The reviews aim to assist photographers in their professional and artistic growth, from student or novice to professional level.
What does it consist of?
During the review, the reviewers will look at your photography from a creative, constructive perspective and discuss your ideas and images. The review is tailored to your specific needs and questions so that you can focus on any part of your professional practice, including:
· Approaching galleries for representation, the do’s and don’ts;
· Editioning and the importance of this process in the art market;
· Looking at book dummies;
· Suggestions for approaching publishers and how to do so;
· Advice on developing existing projects;
· Advice on how to structure your images;
· Guidance on editing a series of work to its full potential.
Why do you need a portfolio review?
Portfolio reviews are a productive way to gain professional feedback on your work and to enrich your technical, aesthetic and conceptual skills by:
1. Answering questions you have about your work on both a visual and conceptual level;
2. Providing answers to your questions about the photography market;
3. Advising you on ways to enhance your professional career;
4. Providing suggestions on who to approach in the photographic field for exhibitions, editorial and book publishing & how to do so;
5. Providing constructive criticism and suggesting other resources to enhance your work.
What types of photography will be reviewed?
The reviewers will be reviewing only printed photography.
How can you benefit from this?
We save a lot of you time, research and money, by giving you professional advice that you can put into practice straight away.
Having an experienced professional soundboard on which to bounce your ideas.
By utilizing this service you can focus your energies on your work, confident that you have a sound footing on which to base your future endeavors.
Giving you a framework with which to guide you forward.
Presenting possible solutions to current hurdles in the photographic field including the do’s and don’ts in the field.
Gain knowledge on how to edit, assemble and present the best of your work in a concise portfolio
Benefit from a frank discussion on your photographic style
Learn how to communicate your vision clearly to curators, buyers and editors.
How to Prepare for the Review
It is generally recommended that photographers present an easy to handle portfolio containing 10-12 tightly edited prints from a cohesive body of work, preferably in its final presentation size. The review tables are fairly small so photographers working in a larger scale might want to consider bringing smaller sample prints and a few large pieces rolled up.
Check out the references below for some great advice about how to prepare for portfolio reviews:
1. Here is a comprehensive article by Mary Virginia Swanson <www.griffinmuseum.org/portfolio_review.htm> about preparing for portfolio reviews, put out by the Griffin Museum. <www.griffinmuseum.org>
2. Here’s a Portfolio Review Guide <photonola.org/photonola2007/FAQ.pdf> put together by the wonderful photolucida folks, which offers tips from fellow photographers on how to make the most of your review experience.
3. Here is a Mary Virginia Swanson interview <www.griffinmuseum.org/downloads/Focus%20Reviews%2006.pdf> about portfolio reviews.
About the Reviewers:
Paul Karabinis, UNF assistant professor of photography
Paul Karabinis is Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville. From 1982 until 2007 he served as Director of UNF’s University Gallery. He has organized numerous exhibitions and authored several catalogs including: Gathering Light: Photographs from the Collection of Joe and Jennifer Duke, University of North Florida; Telling Stories: Contemporary Tableau Photography, Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art; and History/Mystery: The Photographs of Jerry N. Uelsmann 1957-1993, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida. Gainesville. In 2005, a chapter in Maggie Taylor: Landscape of Dreams (Adobe Press) was devoted to his commentary on Taylor’s digital collages. Karabinis also wrote the introduction to Jerry Uelsmann: Other Realities, a monograph published by Bullfinch Press in 2005. In 2006 he wrote the catalog essay and image commentaries for Sheltering Eye: Selections from the Prentice and Paul Sack Photography Collection, an exhibition organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville. Karabinis served as co-curator of Shared Vision: The Sondra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla Collection of Photography that will premiere at MOCA Jacksonville in September of 2011.
Marcelle Polednik, director of MOCA
Marcelle Polednik, Ph.D., is Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, a cultural resource of the University of North Florida. In taking the helm in February 2011, she is responsible for shaping this up and coming organization and expanding its programmatic, financial and institutional framework to new heights. Before MOCA, Dr. Polednik had served as chief curator of the Monterey Museum of Art (MMA) in Monterey, Calif., and prior to that as assistant curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The native of Poland holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, is a published scholar, curated more than a dozen modern and contemporary art exhibitions, and written scholarly works and major grants, many with an emphasis on contemporary photography. Her thesis, “History in the Making: Sigmar Polke and Photography,” focused on the conceptual, material and aesthetic impact of photography on Polke’s career and his diverse projects.
