For over twenty years, Silver Eye has supported vital new voices in contemporary photography through Fellowship, our annual international juried photography competition. Taking the Fellowship 23 competition as a point of departure, this original exhibition reflects the myriad ways photography shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Working in different creative modes, Fellowship Award winner Samantha Box and Keystone Award honorable mention Karen Lue both use photography to examine, construct, and affirm multiple identities. Box's tableaux present cultural and personal symbols in a photographic space of her making, while Lue contemplates her own movement through her grandmother's apartment in China. Keystone Award winner Dominick McDuffie and Keystone Award honorable mention Terrell Halsey each pursue individual approaches to documenting place in the context of community and belonging. McDuffie’s practice is rooted in documenting Black spaces in Pittsburgh and the people within them, while Halsey utilizes multiple genres to represent the experiences of communities in his home city of Philadelphia.

While this exhibition speaks to photography as a powerful medium for affirmation, it also confronts how visual culture perpetuates harm and racial injustice. Fellowship Award honorable mention André Ramos-Woodard uses reappropriation to challenge the racist history of cartooning and center contemporary Black experience. With a background in journalism, Fellowship Award honorable mention Trent Bozeman’s collaborative social practice brings attention to the continuing racial divide in Elaine, which in 1919 was the site of the deadliest racial confrontation in Arkansas history.

This exhibition reflects Silver Eye’s mission to showcase contemporary photography that addresses artistic and social concerns, often in dialogue with the past. Silver Eye is delighted to support these Fellowship 23 artists at a pivotal point in their creative practice and present their innovative work in dialogue together for the first time.

Join us for the opening reception of Fellowship 23 and a conversation with exhibiting artists on May 11th. Doors open to explore the exhibition and grab a drink at 6 p.m, and the conversation begins at 6:30 p.m.

Fellowship 23 Conversations
Register at silvereye.org for a series of informal online conversations with Fellowship 23 artists! We will explore each artist’s unique approach to contemporary photography and themes within the exhibition.

Image: Samantha Box, Transplant Family Portrait, 2020
May 11th - July 28th, 2023
Gallery Hours: Tues-Fri: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.