I am honored that the above print is included in the Selects 2024 exhibition which will open next month at the Atlanta Photography Group gallery.
The exhibition was curated by Aline Smithson who is a photographer, educator and founder of Lenscratch.
The Atlanta Photography Group describes Selects 2024 as an open-themed showcase that celebrates the diverse world of fine art photography, encompassing a wide range of subjects, cultures, and the global landscape. In the selection process, Smithson considered how the images worked in conversation with one another. She worked through 634 images submitted by 125 artists to choose 50 for Aline Smithson Selects 2024.
All work in this exhibition will be considered for the APG/Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Purchase Award, a $3,000 prize which is made possible through a generous grant from Edwin Robinson and Julin Maloof, in honor of Gloria and Ted Maloof. Lisa Volpe, Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will make the decision for the museum purchase award.
The Opening Reception will be a hybrid event on September 28, 2024 6:00-9pm ET, with Ms. Smithson and Ms. Volpe in attendance, and featuring a juror/artist talk beginning at 7:00pm ET.
The Image
This is the first time I have exhibited this image which I photographed this past March in Chicago.
I first traveled to Chicago to photograph in 1987. In the past 37 years I have photographed in Chicago more than any other city outside of Southern California. On my trip to Chicago this year, I encountered a noticeable population of recent migrants from South and Central America, something I had never seen there before on such a big scale.
I learned that since 2022, ~38,000 mostly South American immigrants have arrived in Chicago, from our southern border. The people I saw all had new winter wardrobes, and many were asking for money or selling candy. I usually don’t interact with people I photograph on the street, but in this case, I knew it would be wrong to assume their situation and I needed to know the truth. The people were reluctant to speak at first, but luckily my limited Spanish knowledge was enough to gain some trust. They said they had arrived from Venezuela and Ecuador three months before. I saw resiliency in the eyes of the kids, while the parents seemed completely unprepared for their new environment.
Photojournalists have documented the situation at the US/Mexico Border in great depth, but I think the story of the migrant population assimilating into our communities across the US is even more important and also needs to be told. Hopefully this image, along with more of my images, will help spark further conversation on these people and their situation.
The Print:
The exhibition print has an image size of 24” x 16” which is the largest sized exhibition print I have produced so far in an edition (I have produced some larger prints for commercial clients). This print is on a sheet of 26” x 18” Hahnemȕhle Photo Rag Ultrasmooth paper, framed with a window matt to an external size of approximately 31” x 27”. The print has an edition of 9 for this image size.
The print was made, and framed by, by Digital Arts Studio in Atlanta who I have been using to produce all my large print editions. Owner Barry Glustoff is fantastic to work with and his lab is one of the top certified printers of Canson and Hahnemȕhle papers in the world.
