Well, I can’t very well have the microphone of this blog and not use it to promote my Fotoweek show for one quick post. My venture, Ten Miles Square, has partnered with the venerable Pink Line Project to present Fixation at Fight Club, opening this very night.

Miss Dairy Queen (Lukki and Evil Hate Monkey backstage at the Birchmere) by John Ulaszek

We chose four pieces each from nine emerging photography talents in the D.C. area to tell us a story about subculture in our nation’s capital. It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t hold the show in a subculture of its own, so come join us at Fight Club, an underground skate club in Blagden Alley that’s been around longer than most of D.C.’s fleeting population. The skaters will be showing off for us in the bowl, while The Jones play live in the gallery, followed by DJ Anish. Scion, Duplex Diner, and On the Fly (which will have their cart on site for the hungry) have sponsored us to make sure the art, music, and beer flow all night.

Fixation features Chris Chen, Tracy Clayton, Max Cook, Steve Goldenberg, Brian Knight, Anthony Smallwood, John Ulaszek and Joshua Yospyn. Get a sneak peek at the show in today’s Washington Post.

Fixation
Opening Reception: Friday, November 14
8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.
$10 suggested donation

Fight Club
1250 9th Street NW, near Mt. Vernon Metro
Enter through Blagden Alley (N Street between 9th and 10th, follow the signs)

For something a little different, make sure you add the FRAMEWORK discussion panel to your Fotoweek checklist.  If you are an artist, chances are you’ve considered publishing a body of work, but just aren’t sure how to go about it.  Here’s your chance to learn more about this process and some of the options available to you, and gather some tips from professionals in the field.

Transformer Gallery is partnering with Anacostia’s Honfleur Gallery to present a diverse group of photographers via a facilitated panel discussion.  Topics will range from processes and challenges of self-publishing books of photographic work, and participants will share their experiences as both photographers and editors.  An audience question and answer segment will follow.  Participating artists include:  Melissa Catanese, Chan Chao, Lely Constantinople, Ed Panar, and Max Hirshfeld. 

Transformer Gallery’s Panel #8
Underexposed:  Self-Publishing Your Photo Book

November 22, 2008, 2 p.m.

Presented free of charge at The Honfleur Gallery
1241 Good Hope Road, SE
Washington, D.C.  20020

For more information, contact Marissa Long at marissa@transformergallery.org or 202.483.1102, or visit Transformer’s web site.

One of the biggest, most coordinated exhibitions in the Fotoweek festival is Night Gallery DC, the organization of outdoor photographic projections. Eight venues will use high definition projection technology to show multi-story high photographs on the side of their buildings, creating a “nocturnal urban gallery.” Passers-by will be treated to images by photographic greats to current art students, from Pulitzer Prize winners to our Fotoweek contest entrants. Theo Adamstein, FotoWeek DC founder and board president, says “This is a powerful and unique project where architecture, photography and light combine to create a new medium.” If you were in D.C. to see the impressive Lighting to Unite projections on the National Cathedral by Swiss lighting artist Gerry Hofstetter last May, it’s going to be a little like that, except, dare we say, way, way more awesome.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian kicks off the project by displaying portraits of American Indian leaders and images from Native American history, visually juxtaposed to the U.S. Capitol, on 4th Street and Independence Ave NW, Nov 13-15.

Fotoweek Central will project images the first weekend of the festival (Nov 14-15) on the facade of 3338 M Street NW. If you entered the Fotoweek contest, this is the one you should be sure to see, as your work will be featured.

Smithsonian’s Photography Initiative takes over the other side of the street, where the other half of Fotoweek Central is located (3333 M Street), for the entire week of the festival, with work from their new online project, click! photography changes everything.

The Newseum at 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW will show, naturally, Pulitzer Prize winning photos on its already impressive 74-foot tall First Amendment facade. Nov 14-16.

Impressive and humbling portraits of Holocaust survivors light up the walls at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Nov 14-16.

The next generation of photographers are featured at the Corcoran College of Art + Design. 500 17th Street, NW (images on their New York Avenue exterior), Nov 14-15.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum mixes it up a little by showing their projections inside in their spectacular, new(ish) Kogod Courtyard. It’s a great time to visit the new space if you haven’t taken it in yet, and enjoy some contemporary landscape photography. Eighth and F Streeets NW, Nov 18-19 (5 to 7 p.m.) and Nov 20 (5 to 8 p.m.).

Finally, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History pulls out the finish with one of the biggest celebrations — as it coincides with their grand reopening in their newly designed building. Get that patriotic feeling through images from their stash of historical treasures. Madison Ave between 12th and 14th Streets NW, Nov 20-22.

All projections run 5 to 10 p.m., except in the Kogod Courtyard as noted. The projections are made possible by each of the venues listed above, the Herring Media Group, and East Banc, Inc.

While you’re over registering for all the FW events, head over to our gala site and purchase your tickets for the big event. The gala is the culmination of the week of festivities — it’s a chance to hobnob with powerhouses in the photography industry, meet the jurors of the contest and tons of photography enthusiasts, and for the contest finalists, you’ll get to find out where exactly your photograph placed in each category. Prizes will be handed out, which means some people will be going home with shopping sprees, photography supplies, and more.

The gala will be held at that bastion of photography, the National Geographic Society, located at 1600 M Street NW in D.C., on November 22 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $85 each and can be purchased online via PayPal or by sending a check to the address on the web site.

Put on your cutest cocktail dress or your best jacket and prepare to toast (oh yes, there will be drinks!) the night away to the amazing level of talent in the region. Get more information about parking, etc, at our online invitation.

One of the best parts about the Fotoweek DC festival is that nearly everything is FREE. Free exhibits, free opening receptions, free lectures, free workshops and more. However, we do need to keep track of how many people are coming and going, in order to make FW even more special next year.

To do that, we ask you to register (for free, of course) online here. It takes about 15 seconds (we ask some optional information about demographics) and you’ll immediately receive a confirmation email. Print out that email and take it with you to our headquarters at 3338 M Street once we get closer to the festival, where they will give you a badge to take around with you to events, as well as a full event schedule of everything going on that week. While you’re there, you can check out all the spectacular exhibits and displays we’ll have at headquarters.

You can register online any time between now and the end of the festival.

A special event in the FotoWeek repertoire is the Portfolio Review held at the Corcoran College of Art + Design on the first day of the festival. Pick your preferred slot and spend that time with a photography powerhouse, getting tips and critiques on your work, not to mention valuable advice about how to market your work.

One nice feature of this event is the wide range of reviewers we’ll have. You can meet with a gallery owner or curator, magazine editors, professors, career commercial or fine art photographers, or even stock agents. Amateurs, students and pros can all sign up for a slot.

We hit up a couple of the reviewers to find out what they were looking forward to during the sessions. Owner of one of D.C’s most photography-centric galleries, Randall Scott told us:

Portfolio reviews are a great indicator of what is happening out in the world, photographically. So many people to see, so many ideas, that it’s hard for a dealer to see new work with only so many hours in the day. Sometimes, you get very surprised during these reviews. Such is the fun. No matter what you look at, be it mind shattering, or mind numbing, will teach you something. It’s about the dialogue created in the one on one. I expect to give praise in the same way I expect to say things people might not want to hear. But, this is a review, if a reviewer candy coats work that is not even marginal, it does not serve anyone. Still, there is always something to say that leads the artist in a positive direction.

It’s true: a real portfolio review can be brutal. But then, what’s the point otherwise? Tough words can reveal issues with your work you’ve been trying to work out, but couldn’t identify. We all get the “forest for the trees” problem with our own projects, and having an outside, fresh opinion can be just the kick in the pants you need to start moving forward again with a clear eye for where you’re going.

Remember, too, that these reviewers are professionals in the industry. This isn’t just for you — these guys may have their eyes out for that new vision that’s missing in their own gallery portfolio or magazine roll call. Sure, the possibility of getting a new opportunity through this event may be slim, but just going out there and making a new contact is always an asset to your career.

We asked George Hemphill, hard-working FotoWeek board member and owner of the eponymous gallery, which represents the likes of William Christenberry, what he thought about the reviews.

Like most of us I want to have an exchange of ideas with passionate individuals. Unforgivable is the photographer who does not know why he or she has taken a photograph and worst is the photographer who has not learned anything from making a picture. In an art scene that at times resembles the least of the fashion world, attitude is a bore. That said, sometimes the photograph is more revealing than the photographer. I can not ignore the good luck of having a photographer show me his or her work.

These folks are waiting for you. Head over to our registration page and pick out some reviewers you’d like to work with. Collect a broad range of your work, or a new project you’re completing, and get ready for some frank discussion about your talents. These slots are going to fill up fast, so get your name in ASAP. You’ll have the rest of the week to view photography all over the city and absorb the advice you were given. After your one-on-one with your well connected reviewer, take what you’ve learned and introduce yourself to the artists and curators at the shows around town. Consider FotoWeekDC to be your ultimate networking opportunity, and get your name out there!