In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, Sasha and Dr. Sarah Kennel, the Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography at the VMFA, discuss in detail the acquisition process at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. They also delve into the collaborative efforts required to produce a large traveling exhibition, specifically A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845, which is coming to the VMFA in October 2024. This episode reveals many of the inner workings of museum operations and helps to demystify the various processes through which artwork is acquired and shown.

https://vmfa.museum | https://www.instagram.com/sarah_kennel/

Dr. Sarah Kennel joined VMFA in 2021 as the inaugural Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center for Works on Paper. A specialist in nineteenth and twentieth-century photography, Kennel has curated, published, and presented widely on topics ranging from nineteenth-century French photography and historic photographic processes to European modernism and understudied women photographers. She has written extensively on the relationship between painting and photography in nineteenth-century France and, more recently, Kennel has focused on photography in the American South.

This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, Sasha has an in-depth conversation with photographer Ahndraya Parlato about her book, "Who is Changed and Who is Dead," published by MACK. Ahndraya shares the life-altering events that inspired her to create this examination of motherhood, which is filled with both humor and grief. Sasha and Ahndraya discuss the book's use of text and image and how Ahndraya had to let go of preconceived notions of what a photo book should be. Ahndraya also gives us a wonderful sneak peek into her next body of work.

https://www.ahndrayaparlato.com/ | https://www.mackbooks.us/products/who-is-changed-and-who-is-dead-br-ahndraya-parlato?_pos=8&_sid=0db4ce9c9&_ss=r

Ahndraya Parlato has a BA from Bard College and an MFA from California College of the Arts. She has published three books, including: Who Is Changed and Who Is Dead, (Mack Books, 2021), A Spectacle and Nothing Strange, (Kehrer Verlag, 2016), East of the Sun, West of the Moon, (a collaboration with Gregory Halpern, Études Books, 2014). Additionally, Ahndraya has contributed texts to Double feature (St. Lucy Books, 2024), Photo No-Nos: Meditations on What Not to Shoot (Aperture, 2021), and The Photographer’s Playbook (Aperture, 2014). She has exhibited work at: Spazio Labo, in Bologna, Italy, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA, The Aperture Foundation, New York, NY, and The Swiss Institute, Milan, Italy. Ahndraya has been awarded residencies at Light Work and The Visual Studies Workshop, grants from Light Work, the New York Foundation for the Arts and is a 2024 Guggenheim Foundation Fellow. Her most recent project, TIME TO KILL is forthcoming from Mack Books. Ahndraya teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com

In the first-ever episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf recorded in front of an audience, Sasha and photographer Rahim Fortune gathered at picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom to discuss his new book, Hardtack, published by Loose Joints. Sasha and Rahim delve into the significance of collaboration, with Rahim emphasizing the various forms of collaboration involved at every stage of the book's creation. This includes the individuals Rahim photographed, the production team at picturehouse, and the editing process with Sarah Chaplin Espenon at Loose Joints.

https://www.rahimfortune.com | https://loosejoints.biz/collections/current-titles/products/hardtack

Rahim Fortune is a visual artist and educator from the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. He uses photography to ask fundamental questions about American identity. Focusing on the narratives of individual families and communities, he explores shifting geographies of migration and resettlement and the way that these histories are written on the landscapes of Texas and the American South. Fortune’s previous book, I Can’t Stand to See You Cry, was published by Loose Joints in 2021 and was the winner of the Rencontres d'Arles Louis Roederer Discovery Award 2022. His work has been featured in exhibitions worldwide and many permanent collections, including the High Museum in Atlanta, GA, LUMA Arles, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and The Boston Museum of Fine Art.

This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, Sasha talks with Christopher McCall, the Founding Director of Pier 24 Photography. They discuss the history of Pier 24, how he transformed the raw space to create a unique gallery experience, and the final exhibition, Turning the Page, which runs until the end of 2024. Additionally, they touch on his upcoming book, Photo Book Photo List, which will be published by Pier 24. This episode is packed with valuable life lessons, experiences, and wisdom from both Chris and Sasha, offering insights for artists at every stage of their careers.

https://pier24.org | https://www.instagram.com/thechrismccall

Christopher McCall is the Director of Pier 24 Photography in San Francisco, one of the largest exhibition spaces devoted to the medium. In 2002 McCall received an MFA in photography from California College of the Arts, studying under Jim Goldberg and Larry Sultan. After teaching for seven years, he joined Pier 24 Photography in 2009 as the founding director, assisting in the conceptualization of the organization’s mission and oper- ating principles. Since opening the doors of Pier 24 in 2010, McCall has overseen the presentation of thirteen exhibitions and spearheaded the creation of the Larry Sultan Visiting Artist Program, a collaboration with California College of the Arts.

This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, substitute host, Michael Chovan-Dalton continues his Chico Review recordings, this time with photographer, Ben Brody. Ben joined Michael to talk about his two books, Attention Servicemember and 300m both published by Mass Books which was started by Ben and Peter van Agtmael. Ben and Michael talk about Ben’s experience as an Army photographer during the American war in Iraq and why he chose to be a civilian freelance photographer during the war in Afghanistan. Ben talks about how Attention Servicemember and 300m are part of his self-reckonining with his role in creating propaganda. They also talk about his work with The GroundTruth Project, an organization dedicated to local journalism in under covered communities. Note: Attention Servicemember was first published by Red Hook Editions.

https://www.photobrody.com - https://www.massbooks.co

Ben Brody is an independent photographer, educator, and picture editor working on long-form projects related to the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their aftermath. He is the Director of Photography for The GroundTruth Project and Report for America, and a co-founder of Mass Books.

His first book, Attention Servicemember, was shortlisted for the 2019 Aperture - Paris Photo First Book Award and is now in its second edition.

Ben holds an MFA from Hartford Art School's International Low-Residency Photography program. He resides in western Massachusetts.

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, Sasha and photographer and founder of Charcoal Books and Chico Review, Jesse Lenz, discuss his monographs, The Locusts and The Seraphim, published by Charcoal Press. Jesse talks about borrowing from the language of cinema as way to approach making and editing photography. Sasha and Jesse also talk about the Chico Review, how it came to be and the experience of spending 8 days with colleagues and attendees in a remote location in Montana.

https://www.jesselenz.com - https://charcoalpress.com/shop/the-seraphim - https://www.chicoreview.com

Jesse Lenz (1988, Montana) is a self-taught photographer and multidisciplinary artist. He is the author of The Locusts (Charcoal Press, 2020), and he is the founder and director of Charcoal Book Club and the Chico Review. As an illustrator he has created images for publications including TIME, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and many others. From 2011-2018 he also co-founded and published The Collective Quarterly and The Coyote Journal. He lives on a farm in rural Ohio.

This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, substitute host, Michael Chovan-Dalton and photographer, Raymond Meeks discuss his latest book, The Inhabitants published by MACK with an extended poem by George Weld. Ray and Michael talk about how this work, which traces the passages of refugee crossings inside Spain and France, profoundly affected Ray's approach to making work and how he views his role as a photographer. This episode picks up where Sasha and Ray left off back in episode 51.

http://www.raymondmeeks.com https://www.mackbooks.us/products/the-inhabitants-english-edition-br-raymond-meeks-george-weld

Raymond Meeks (Ohio, 1963) has been recognized for his books and pictures centered on memory and place, the way in which a landscape can shape an individual and, in the abstract, how a place possesses you in its absence. His books have been described as a field or vertical plane for examining interior co-existences, as life moves in circles and moments and events—often years apart—unravel and overlap, informing new meanings.

Raymond Meeks lives and works in the Hudson Valley (New York). His work is represented in numerous private and public collections. He is the sixth laureate of Immersion, a French-American photography commission sponsored by Fondation d’entreprise Hermès. Exhibitions from this commission are scheduled for New York (ICP September, 2023) and Paris (Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson September, 2024). The Inhabitants, a book made in collaboration with writer George Weld, was published in August 2023 by MACK.

Raymond Meeks is a 2020 recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in Photography and was awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2022.

This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, Sasha and photographer, Kelli Connell discuss her brand new book, Pictures for Charis, published by Aperture. Kelli talks about her fascination with and subsequent extensive research on Charis Wilson and the eleven year relationship she had with legendary photographer Edward Weston, and how what she learned guided her own exploration of portrait-making and landscape work while collaborating with her wife of fourteen years, Betsy Odom. Sasha and Kelli also discuss Kelli's renowned series, Double Life, which also explores the relationship between photographer and model as well as gender and identity.

https://www.kelliconnell.com https://aperture.org/books/kelli-connell-pictures-for-charis/ http://www.decodebooks.com/connell.html

Kelli Connell is an artist whose work investigates sexuality, gender, identity and photographer / sitter relationships. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, J Paul Getty Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, among others. Publications of her work include Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis (Aperture, March 2024), PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice (Aperture), Photo Art: The New World of Photography (Aperture), and the monograph Kelli Connell: Double Life (DECODE Books). Connell has received fellowships and residencies from The Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, PLAYA, Peaked Hill Trust, LATITUDE, Light Work, and The Center for Creative Photography. Connell is an editor at SKYLARK Editions and a professor at Columbia College Chicago.

This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com