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October is CLICK! Photography Festival month! What is CLICK! Photography Festival?
The CLICK! Photography Festival celebrates the medium of photography and its cultural influence by engaging in the photography community with exceptional photo-based works and artists. The month-long festival every October brings together photography lovers, exhibitions and programming while fostering dialogue between photographers and community members, all in hopes of inspiring artistic excellence, supporting professional development and promoting community engagement.
Lindsay Metivier introduced me to CLICK! Photography Festival last year. What started as an assignment, turned into an exhibition opportunity. Last october, our darkroom photography class took a trip to the NC State Fair to shoot rolls of film for an assignment. After developing the film, Lindsay encouraged us to submit our work to be the Carousel Slideshow, an exhibition hosted by Peel Gallery as part of the CLICK! Photography Festival. I submitted two images, both were selected to be featured and it was the first time my work was showcased outside of a class setting. I loved sharing my work with the public and seeing how it contributed to the overall vision of the gallery.
Two months later, in January of 2024, I started working for Peel Gallery. I learned the process of working on the other side of gallery exhibitions. Contributing to bringing a gallery exhibition to life was just as rewarding. Listening to artists’ stories, experiencing different forms of art and engaging with people from around the world changed how I viewed and valued art.
Ten months later, it is once again CLICK! Photography Festival month and it is now my turn to curate the gallery exhibition. In one year, my first gallery exhibition turned into my first curation. I am ecstatic to curate a photography exhibition under the same umbrella that my photography was first exhibited. I can’t wait to provide the same opportunity to new photographers that I received one short year ago.
This is my full circle moment.
Interested in showcasing your photography work? Learn more about my upcoming exhibition or submit your work below:
Other Click! Photography Festival events happening in Carrboro:
- Oct. 8: iPhone Photography Workshop @ Peel Gallery
- Oct. 11: Opening Reception: Carousel Slideshow @ Peel Gallery
- Oct. 11: Opening Reception: Creative Summer: Photographs by Barbara Tyroler @ The ArtsCenter
- Oct. 12: Cyanotype Workshop @ Peel Gallery
- Oct. 17: Intro to DSLR @ Peel Gallery
- Oct. 19: Social Media Tools @ The ArtsCenter
- Oct. 19: Artist Reception: FRANK in Focus @ FRANK Gallery