NEWS
At massive ‘FENCE’ exhibit, organizers plan bigger for next year
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At massive ‘FENCE’ exhibit, organizers plan bigger for next year
The massive 800-foot photography exhibit at Nathan Benderson Park hopes to attract and include more local and regional artists
SARASOTA — Calling all Suncoast photographers: The largest outdoor traveling photography exhibit in North America needs five of your most powerful images for an 800-foot fence beside the rambling lakeside paths of Nathan Benderson Park.
Although “The FENCE” exhibit is on display at the 600-acre Sarasota lakeside park until the end of January, organizers are already planning for next year.
“We’re looking for images that really seize you, shake you awake, or interrupt your day-to-day lives,” said Barbara Strauss, a Sarasota-based promoter who helped spearhead the project locally. “Something that acts as a sort of ‘get out of jail’ card for your mind.”
From next week until early March, photographers from the Tampa Bay area and Naples can submit a series of storytelling photos to fence.photoville.com. In late April, judges from Vanity Fair, National Geographic and the Washington Post will announce the winners.
The artwork now on display at Nathan Benderson Park features 205 massive photographs, reflecting the visions of 41 photographers from around the world. Each image has been blown up to 30″ high and printed on tough, white vinyl mesh.
The themes are sometimes lighthearted, but many are gritty and profound.
For Kathy Swan and her daughter Jackie, 28, who were among a handful of locals to visit Nathan Benderson Park on Saturday, the most powerful series was Griselda San Martin’s “The Wall,” which featured striking images of families interacting through the border fence along the San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico border.
“You hear immigration issues all the time, but to actually see that it’s more than just a border wall, that there are families trying to love each other every day through a fence. That’s heartbreaking,” said Swan, 64.
Noticeably absent from the exhibit were local artists and, aside from New York-based Dina Litovsky’s “Where the Amish Vacation,” a day-in-the life in Pinecraft, a tiny community in Sarasota, there were few local themes.
Strauss hopes to change that.
With the success of this year’s exhibit, as well as the addition of a regional component next year, Strauss hopes “The FENCE” will grow to incorporate more local flavors.
Although several local artists applied last year, none of them made the traveling exhibit, which was featured in Atlanta, Brooklyn, Santa Fe, Durham, Denver and Calgary, Canada. Each exhibition is on public view for a minimum of three months in areas with significant pedestrian traffic.
According to the Photoville website, the call for entries will open Jan. 15, but interested photographers can sign up now for the exhibit’s mailing list. There is no limit to the number of submissions, however, each series has to fit a thematic category.
“There are so many talented local photographers that are capturing so many important stories,” Strauss said. “With more time to encourage locals to apply, we can potentially showcase those talents here or in cities across North America, and that’s a big deal.”