R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press
Kate Oman and Heather Grimes, both employees of the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center, discuss possible scenarios presented by Paul Rose’s “The Gathering” at the exhibit “The U.P. Through my Lens.” A gallery reception held Thurst night at the Bonifas welcomed the show, which will remain on display — free for the public to attend — until Feb. 22.

ESCANABA — Following Thursday night’s gallery reception for the exhibit “The U.P. Through Lens,” 160 photographic works are on display at the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center. A competition that sought entries celebrating the Upper Peninsula welcomed submissions from 59 photographers, each of whom were allowed to contribute up to three pieces.

The exhibit will continue to occupy both floors of the main gallery until Feb. 22 and is free for the public to view.

During that time, any visitor to the gallery may vote for their favorite work. At the end of the show, the people’s choice winner will be announced. That artist will receive a Bonifas membership, which is good for one year from a date of the recipient’s choosing and gives discounts on classes and entries, among other benefits.

Gallery Director Kate Oman and Special Events Coordinator Heather Grimes both said they were impressed with the overall quality of the non-juried submissions.

“There’s some pretty fantastic pieces in here,” said Grimes.

The famous sights and scenery of the U.P. — including local Delta County landscapes and landmarks like the Peninsula Point Lighthouse on Stonington and Fayette Historic State Park, both of which have distinctive structures and beaches — adorn the Bonifas gallery walls alongside shots of wildlife, people and pets in addition to more abstract and macroscopic views like those of rocks, leaves or ice. Some are for sale, priced by the artists, with 30% of proceeds going to the Bonifas.

Even before the reception, the label next to one piece bore a red dot — meaning it had already been sold. Claimed works will remain on display throughout the show.

Now that the art is on the walls, Oman said that she was very pleased with the outcome and excited for everyone else to see the show.

“Last time we had this show, we only had 44 pieces,” said Oman. “But that was right after COVID, and the theme was ‘New Normal.’ So this one is ‘My U.P.,’ so everyone’s really proud of that.”

Ford River-based artist Amy Gilner judged the competition, selecting first, second and third place prize winners. The winning photographers receive monetary awards sponsored by fellow photographer Doug Hagley, who has participated in past exhibits at the Bonifas.

In the adjacent studio gallery, another display will be open for the same window of time. Two fiber artists, Roni Israel-Weaver and Katherine Sirvio, won the Bonifas Invitational Award and were invited to supply pieces to fill the studio gallery from Jan. 11 to Feb. 22. Woodwork from Sirvio and needle-felted art by Israel-Weaver has been arranged.

All gallery exhibits at the Bonifas may be seen for no admission charge. The art center’s regular opening hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. It is located at 700 1st Ave. S. in Escanaba.

An exhibition by Belin will feature at Photo London from 15 to 19 May this year.

Photography fair Photo London declared Valérie Belin their Master of Photography for 2024. The annual award goes to a living artist who has made an exceptional contribution to photography.

‘For me, this award represents the recognition of 30 years’ work and will be an opportunity to show the Photo London audience the vitality of contemporary photography by women,’ she said.

Valérie Belin, Carol (2016). From the series ‘All Star’. Copyright Valérie Belin. Courtesy Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris and Brussels.

Born in 1964, Belin’s practice bridges art and photography. She constructs her images by, for instance, assembling elaborate tableaux, and digitally altering images.

In 2015, Belin presented a solo exhibition at Centre Pompidou in Paris and became the first woman to win the Prix Pictet.

Valérie Belin, Lady Stripes (2017). From the series ‘Painted Ladies’. Copyright Valérie Belin. Courtesy Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris and Brussels.

A solo exhibition by Belin titled Silent Stories will feature at the ninth edition of Photo London, which takes place from 15 to 19 May this year.

At this point in our own development Valérie’s brilliant playful mix of art and photography makes her the ideal Master of Photography,’ said Photo London founders Michael Benson and Fariba Farshad. —[O]

This week, as we commence another new year, we asked readers their thoughts on their hopes for 2024.

“Oh, my hope for 2024 is long life and financial prosperity, and to get closer to my God, to be happier in my life and live positively. I hope the world can be more positive and happier, with peace and love for all.”

Donna Hargrect,

West Farms

“My hope for 2024 is that everything is better than last year [when] things haven’t been good. You can’t lose faith because things happen, good and bad. We have to be prepared for whatever comes. I hope my daughter can find an apartment and be independent, and I wish the best to everyone. I hope everybody hits Lotto; I don’t want to see these people in the street.”

Vivian Resto,

West Farms

“My hopes for 2024 include the most important things in life: world peace and time with my loved ones. Better health as it relates to wellness and sustained recovery. An abundance of opportunity to create a life for myself that I can be proud of. This would only be possible if I can continue to reciprocate the grace I have been blessed with. I hope to dig deeper into my identity as poet, community member, leader and father and I hope to help others become their best selves too.”

Felix Guzman,

Crown Heights, Brooklyn

“I wish for good health for my friends and family, and happiness, and less drama in the world. I hope people can get their heads on straight and for people to recognize the corruption throughout our government, and then get up off their asses, and do something about it.”

Grace Lovag,

Allerton

(currently running for NY State Assembly in A.D. 80)

“I hope that people can give each other grace, and to make room for one another. That can literally mean moving out of the way as you board a subway train or bus and smiling instead of scowling at a rambunctious child. It is also trying to think the best of others, assuming that someone is under stress or is hurting, rather than acting out of malice.”

Mary O’Shaughnessy,

Wakefield

Editor’s Note: We asked Lovag what corruption she was referring to and she said the U.S. government and U.S. President Joe Biden, his son, Hunter Biden, and the “Democratic cabal,” as well as the “Democrats’ handling of immigrants.”

Working on long-form projects is something I talk about a lot in this column. Last time, I wrote about an ongoing black-and-white project on trees in the urban environment. This time, I wanted to examine another project – it’s based on my travels, although I don’t consider it a travel photography project. I even have a working title: In Between.

I’m fortunate to travel the world talking about the art and craft of photography on cruise ships, which gives me a level of access that is the stuff of dreams. Calling the project ‘In Between’ alludes to the nature of that travel. I’m neither crew nor a fully fledged guest, and never in one place for long – more often than not, only a few hours, followed by long days at sea. So the work is evolving to be more autobiographical, more about my impressions and my sense of place than about informative destination imagery.

Travelling in this capacity, I slipstream into some kind of parallel universe between the various ‘worlds’ I inhabit. And this, in turn, informs my picture-making. The short stops in ports can be restrictive and riddled with frustration, however, I’ve come to embrace and even feed off the enforced boundaries. In Between is a travelog of sorts, a snapshot of the world, seen as fleeting encounters with various countries, cultures and characters. It’s not the slick, commercial-type vistas that inspire me, but rather the quiet little corners and the people I briefly encounter.

This pair of images, taken in Barbados, speaks to the essence of my fleeting encounter with the tropical island. Working with diptychs allows me to pair images and create resonance and alternative meanings. These two images are harmonized by their color, and work well together. 

Having a working title and some sort of creative framework to work within help the project evolve. Maybe it could culminate in a small book, exhibition or zine. 

• Other articles in the Art of Seeing series

Read more:
• The 50 best photographers ever
• 100 best photography quotes from famous photographers
• The best coffee-table books on photography

“One of Them” is all about you. More community than column, this space is where we’ll be speaking to friends and idols, history-makers of the past and present, and those who inspire us, challenge us, and dare us to ask for more from this world. It is where we can be together. Read more here.

When people experience panic attacks, therapists often suggest focusing on the small details around them: light radiating through bedroom curtains, the ripples of waves across a pond, our beloved’s face when they first wake up in the morning. As a society facing multiple, overlapping crises, it can often feel as though we’re experiencing some kind of collective panic attack — and are thus turning toward what the activist adrienne maree brown calls “the miraculous mundane.” Rather than lofty goals, brown seeks to direct our focus to daily life as a site of possibility and collective transformation. This is the soil from which the artist Golden’s work grows.

Born and raised in Hampton, Virginia with roots in Pocomoke City, Maryland, their work combines photography, performance art, and poetry to explore queer imagination and Black love in the United States. Using their family’s archives as a guide — whether overflowing wedding albums or images made by their uncle Edison, who is also a photographer — Golden weaves together and resurrects long suppressed histories.

When we speak on the second day of 2024, Golden tells me that their creative practice is guided by the scholar Christina Sharpe’s concept of “wake work,” which they describe as the desire to create something new “amidst the sea of anti-Blackness that makes America and the world possible.” In this way, the mundane — documenting the intimacies of Black family life — becomes sacred ground upon which to gather the memories and dreams that white supremacy has stolen.

This year, as a recent recipient of the Queer|Art Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists, Golden will complete the installation for their debut solo exhibition, I’m Never Alone. They are also working on their second book of poetry, REPRISE, which will be published with Haymarket Books in 2024. Below, we discuss the familial relationships that make their work possible, the revelatory power of self-portraiture, and ongoing solidarity between Black and Palestinian communities.