Photoville, New York’s annual open-air photography show, returns to the city for its 12th straight edition this weekend. On view through June 18, the free event offers more than 80 exhibitions across all five boroughs. On view will be work from hundreds of photographers—some up-and-comers, others award-winning artists and professionals.
More than 50 of the exhibitions will take place inside a series of shipping containers—the kind you see stacked like Legos on cargo ships—which will be laid out in Brooklyn Bridge Park for the first time since the 2019 edition of the event. (COVID precautions kept them from being used in the previous three years.) It feels right to have them back; the steel structures have become a symbol of the scrappy event and its aims.
Which is not to say that they’re perfect. Many are cramped and reverberant; some are dim and dilapidated from years of use. In other words, they look nothing like the sterile white cubes in which we’re used to seeing art photography.
That’s a good thing. For Photoville’s organizers, accessibility, not institutional polish, has always been the goal. They want to bring as many pictures to the public as possible, and the shipping containers—weather-ready, open 24-7—provide a simple solution.
“It’s about the stories,” said Laura Roumanos, one of Photoville’s three co-founders, ahead of this year’s event. “We could spend all this money on white walls and beautiful, multimillion-dollar installations or whatever. But that doesn’t matter.”
“It’s about the photography,” she continued. “It’s about the story. That is what’s important.”
Roumanos, a veteran event producer, said she had tears in her eyes when the first storage containers were laid back in 2012, for Photoville’s first edition. “It represented so much to us,” she recalled. “We fought so hard to make people realize that it was a really great place to show work.”
Back then, the show was modest. Roumanos and her fellow founders—Sam Barzilay and Dave Shelley—had, somewhat miraculously, been lent 80,000 square feet in Brooklyn Bridge Park for their nascent event, but the rest required work. So they launched a Kickstarter campaign and secured corporate sponsorships to raise the roughly $250,000 needed to get the festival off the ground. It opened with 20-some shows in a handful of containers.
But in the 12 years since then, Photoville has consistently grown: more artists, more exhibitions, more containers, more visitors. More boroughs, too: in 2020, the Brooklyn-centric show ballooned to the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. (The year before, Photoville’s organizers held an L.A. edition of the event, but the pandemic halted the expansion almost as soon as it started.)
A shot of the storage containers at Photoville 2018. Photo: Jessica Bal. Courtesy of Photoville.
This month’s show represents just how far Photoville has come. Going on display is a record number of exhibitions featuring the work of a record number of artists. The budget for the event exceeds $500,000, and visitor numbers are expected to top last year’s high mark of 1 million.
Crucially, the organizers haven’t cut moral corners in the name of growth. Photoville pays its staffers (there are no volunteers) and gives exhibiting artists honorariums. This year, it will finance “65 to 70 percent” of shows, according to Roumanos. The rest will be covered by sponsors—a group that includes the New York Times, the Bronx Documentary Center, and Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, among many others.
Stephanie Mei-Ling, Portrait of Ronisha and her sons in embrace,, from her “Overpolicing Parents” series. Courtesy of the artist.
Inclusivity remains a major programming priority, even if the subject matter may alienate some. Many of the projects on view this year tackle big topics: gun control, gender identity, sex work, the environmental crisis.
A series of photographs by artist Stephanie Mei-Ling documents the impact of Child Protective Services investigations on families, while a body of work by Mackenzie Calle explores the historical exclusion of queer astronauts from the American space program. Jen White-Johnson’s “Autistic Joy” aims to give visibility to children of color in neurodiverse communities. “Guns, Love, Children, America” by Mel D. Cole depicts kids at an NRA convention wielding weapons like toys.
“We’re not just showing beautiful sculptures or paintings,” Roumanos said. “These are conversations.”
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Country music legend Randy Travis was officially inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame during a special ceremony on May 27 as part of the Cajun Country Jam’s Memorial Day Festival in Denham Springs, Louisiana, where Travis arrived on stage to receive his honor in front of the crowd.
Inductees for the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame come from artists and those involved in the music business who have contributed to music in the state of Louisiana and are selected for the LMHOF or Regional Halls in three categories: native artists (born in Louisiana), in-residence artists (live or lived in Louisiana) and contributing artists (contributed significantly to the Louisiana musical business or influence).
With lifetime sales above $25 million, Travis is one of the biggest multi-genre record sellers ever and a recent inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame class of 2016.
Travis’ honors include seven Grammy Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music statuettes, 10 American Music Awards, two People’s Choice Awards, seven Music City News Awards, eight Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association, and five Country Music Association honors.
Since his near-fatal stroke in 2013, with the help of physical therapy and his wife, Mary Davis, Travis continues to improve his motor function, including speaking, walking, and even singing.
With the assistance of author Ken Abraham, Randy Travis released his critically-acclaimed memoir, Forever and Ever, Amen.
In 2021 CMT named Travis the CMT Artist of a Lifetime, and in 2022, Travis released his award-winning documentary More Life.
With his induction, Travis joins a group of inductees that includes Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Louis Armstrong, and many others.
‘I’m really pleased with how many colours I was able to capture with my camera, filters, and long exposures. Rho Ophiuchi in Scorpius looks really good with its pink, yellow, and blue colours, along with the Zeta Ophiuchi Nebula (the pinkish nebula to the lower left of the image came out well too). On the lower right of the image, there’s some nice airglow, which adds to the beauty and uniqueness of the sky that night.’
Photograph: Brendan Larsen
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May was another busy month for members of the Photography Club of Citrus Hills. Workshops, meetings and two field trips kept members’ interest.
Jak Twiggs and Bob Feldberg gave a daylong workshop on how to post process images in Photoshop and Lightroom for members wanting to be ready to enter their work into contests. Written instructions, along with the planning of the workshop had been meticulously thought out by Jack and Bob. The day was a huge success and there have been many requests for a follow on workshop. We have been assured of more to come.
Here is a quick summary of some of the unique exhibits on display in the northern Adirondacks right now. They would be great for a family “rainy day” outing or a good reason for a road trip when the black flies are too fierce to be outdoors. The descriptions are brief, but there are many hidden gems among these various offerings and they are well worth seeing.
BluSeed Studios, in Saranac Lake, is featuring the work of artist Dave Fadden. Indigenous Reflection is a powerful exhibit of mostly figurative paintings, in a unique contemporary mosaic style, that do reflect upon and address past and present issues impacting Native Americans. The Gallery is open 2-6 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and by appointment. Sponsored by the Adirondack Diversity Institute, there will be a closing reception and artist conversation on June 25, from 5 – 7 pm. BluSeedStudios.org, 518-891-3799, admin@bluseedstudios.org
Jewelry by Toos Roozen-Evans
The two co-op galleries in Saranac Lake, the Adirondack Artists Guild and NorthWind Fine Arts are full of new work by their member artists, but each also has a featured artist of the month, with exhibits through the end of June. Galleries are usually open for receptions on the First Fridays of each month. Shawn Halperin, at NorthWind is showing a new collection of carvings, paintings, jewelry and mixed media pieces. The gallery is open daily, 10-4, closed Wed. NorthWindFineArtsGallery.com, 518-354-5041. The Adirondack Artists Guild featured artist is Toos Roozen-Evans, who will be exhibiting a unique collection of heat-patina copper bowls and sterling silver, turquoise, and lapis jewelry. Guild hours are Mon-Sat, 11-5 and Sun 11-3. AdirondackArtistsGuild.com, 518-891-2615.
At the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, there is a very interesting show titled Cache: Works on Paper by Diane Fine and Mario LaPlante. Both are printmakers, but also incorporate drawing, painting, digital imaging and collage techniques. Gallery hours are Tues-Sat, 2-5 pm. The exhibit opened in May, but there is a reception June 2, from 5 -7 pm. The show closes June 17. LakePlacidArts.org, 518-523-2512.
The Windows Gallery in the Tahawus Center, Ausable Forks, is hosting a fantastic display of watercolor paintings by Larry Vanderburgh. Through Seven Lenses includes 7 collections of paintings grouped by subject matter. There are paintings of landscapes, buildings, railroad locomotives, old ships and even some abstract pieces, all rendered in great detail, many focusing on the little elements and textures that are often overlooked. Hours are limited to Sat, 1-2:30 pm, but visitors are encouraged to call 646-734-0703 and arrange for an appointment, possibly with the artist. TahawusCenter.org
The Downtown Artist Cellar in Malone just had the reception for a new 4-artist exhibit. “A Collective” is showcasing the photography, painting and pastes of regional artists Jeanne Danforth, Diane Leifheit, Noreen Sadue, and Eleanor Sweeney, as well as other DAC member artists. DAC is open Tues-Sat, 1-5 pm and by appointment. DowntownArtistCellar.com, 518-651-5172
This exhibit has not opened yet, but if heading to Malone, a visit is encouraged. The Foothills Art Society is hosting an exhibit of works by Gail Bessette in their North Star Gallery on Pearl St. Gail Bessette is a graduate of St. Lawrence and Clarkson Universities and began her career in the Adirondack region as a landscape painter. She later expanded her creations to more abstract content in various mediums including encaustics and oil mixed with cold was. The exhibit opens June 9 (harpist Martha Gallagher will be performing as well) and the artist will be at the reception on June 30 It continues through July 21. For more information: FoothillsaArtsSociety.com, 518-903-1980.
Heading to the southern end of Franklin County, Tupper Arts will have an opening reception for artist and teacher Wendy Cross on June 1 from 5-6pm. It sounds like her exhibit will feature land and seascapes primarily in mixed media on wood. Gallery hours are Wed-Sat, 11-5 and Sun 11-4. TupperArts.org, 518-359-5042.
To discover more information about all the wonderful artists, exhibits, classes, and performances in our area, check out the Adirondack Arts and Entertainment online calendar, AdirondackAandE.com and sign up for their email announcements.
