Tarleton teams with Baylor to host photography conference

STEPHENVILLE (October 13, 2017) — Tarleton State and Baylor universities sponsor a series of lectures in Waco this weekend on the art of photography as part of the 2017 Society for Photographic Education’s South Central Regional Conference.

The free, public lectures kick off at 4:30 p.m. Friday on the Baylor campus.

This year’s theme is called THIS, THAT or The OTHER: Considering the Emerging Trends and Vernacular in Photography.

“We expect around 175 people to come to the conference, including students, who will serve as volunteers,” said Tarleton’s Chris Ireland, conference chair and associate professor of art and digital media at Tarleton. “We are partnering with Baylor because I felt like Waco has the facilities to hold a conference of this size, and was willing to work with us to schedule it.”

The first free, public lecture features photographers Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Jones Theater in the Hooper-Schaeffer Fine Arts Center at Baylor University.

A husband and wife duo, their efforts focus on the relationship between humans and the environment. Their work is located in prestigious museum collections, and their book The Architect’s Brother was named one of the 10 best in photography by the New York Times.

Charlotte Cotton presents the second free public lecture from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, also at the Jones Theater.

Cotton is a curator, writer and creative consultant who has explored photographic culture for more than 20 years. She has served as curator of photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum, head of programming at The Photographers’ Gallery in London, curator and head of the Wallis Annenberg Department of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and curator-in-residence at the International Center of Photography in New York.

Her book, The Photograph as Contemporary Art, is published in 10 languages and has been a key text in charting the rise of photography as an undisputed art form in the 21st century. Along with the conference, an exhibition featuring student and faculty work will be on display at Cultivate 7TWELVE, 712 Austin Ave., in downtown Waco. A reception is planned from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday.

For more information, contact Ireland at ireland@tarleton.edu.