Focus Awards Archive by Year

Arnika Dawkins, Photo credit: Allen Cooley

Arnika Dawkins is the owner of her eponymous fine art photography gallery established in Atlanta in 2012. The gallerist shows work by talented emerging and mid-career artists with a specialization in showing fine art photography by African Americans and images of people from the African Diaspora. Her passion is connecting collectors to photography that is significant, inspiring, and provocative. As a fine art photographer and avid collector herself, she is a valuable resource to collectors and artists alike. She is passionate about the medium, having obtained a Master of Arts in Digital Photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Presented by: Deborah Willis

Deborah Willis, Ph.D, is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and has an affiliated appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Social & Cultural Analysis, Africana Studies, where she teaches courses on Photography & Imaging, iconicity, and cultural histories visualizing the black body, women, and gender. Her research examines photography’s multifaceted histories, visual culture, the photographic history of Slavery and Emancipation; contemporary women photographers and beauty. She received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. Willis is the author of Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present; and co-author of The Black Female Body A Photographic History; Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery; and Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs (both titles a NAACP Image Award Winner). Professor Willis’s curated exhibitions include: “In Pursuit of Beauty” at Express Newark; “Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits” at the International Center of Photography and “Reframing Beauty: Intimate Moments” at Indiana University. Since 2006 she has co-organized thematic conferences exploring imaging the black body in the West such as the conference titled Black Portraiture[s] which was held in Johannesburg in 2016. She has appeared and consulted on media projects including documentary films such as Through A Lens Darkly and Question Bridge: Black Males, a transmedia project, which received the ICP Infinity Award 2015, and American Photography, PBS Documentary.

Photo credit: Alice Proujansky

Robert Klein photo at AIPAD © Julienne Schaer

Robert Klein is the owner and director of the Robert Klein Gallery in Boston. The gallery, established in 1980, specializes in the market for fine photographs. Robert Klein was the president of the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) from 1995 – 2008 and a board member of AIPAD from 1985 – 1995. As president of AIPAD, Klein initiated long range plans to position AIPAD into the mainstream of the art market. The Robert Klein Gallery has had an international presence for over 40 years and services an international clientele. Klein received his MBA from Babson College. He attended Hobart College and received his BA from Wilkes University

Presented by: Stan Trecker

Stan Trecker will present the Focus Award to Robert Klein. In his career Stan Trecker served as President of the Art Institute of Boston and Montserrat College. He also served as Dean of the Art Institute of Boston upon its merger with Lesley University in 1998. Upon his retirement, after the completion of the new home of the Lesley College of Art and Design in Porter Square, Cambridge in 2017, Stan Trecker serves as Dean Emeritus at Lesley University.

Stan Trecker earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree in photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1978, after earning a Masters in Business Administration and a brief career in the financial services industry.  He was the Executive Director of the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) from 1980 to 1991, assuming that role following its founding by Chris Enos in 1977.  During that time, the PRC constructed its new home on the campus of Boston University.  He also served on the Founding Board of the Griffin Museum of Photography and was a  National Board member of the of the Society for Photographic Education.   Photo Credit: Lesley University

Photo©️Doug Menuez

After holding executive positions in new technologies marketing with Apple Computer throughout the 1980s, Gerard founded imaging think-tank Future Image Inc. in 1991. Future Image’s continuous information services (The Future Image Report), research studies, and consulting services made it the leading independent source of expertise on the convergence of imaging, information and telecommunications technology for executives, entrepreneurs and investors worldwide, with particular emphasis on digital cameras, Internet imaging, and mobile imaging.

Presented by: Ann Jastrab

Ann M. Jastrab is an independent curator, photography consultant, editor, and writer. She writes extensively about photographers and photography for the acclaimed website All About Photo where she is the Editor-in-Chief. She worked as the gallery director at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco for the past decade until their recent closure in 2017. She is currently working at the Scott Nichols Gallery in San Francisco.

Steven Sasson

Steven Sasson is an American electrical engineer and the inventor of the first self-contained (portable) digital camera. Samson is a 1972 (BS and 1973 (MS) graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in electrical engineering. He attended and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School. He worked for Eastman Kodak since shortly after his graduation from engineering school. He is currently on the board of the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY.

Presented by: Todd Gustavson

Todd Gustavson is Curator of Technology at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, where he is responsible for the cataloging, storage, and maintenance of more than 16,000 artifacts, one of the world’s largest collections of photographic and cinematic equipment. He is the author of the book Camera: A History of Photography from Daguerreotype to Digital, has curated or co-curated ten exhibitions for the museum, including the critically acclaimed traveling exhibition The Brownie at 100.Formerly a staff photographer at Chautauqua Institution in Upstate New York, Gustavson received his B.F.A. in Photography from Louisiana Tech University in 1980.

© Andrew French

The American Photography Archives Group (APAG) is 501(c)(3) non-profit that is a resource organization for individuals who own or manage a privately held photography archive. Collectively, the group has dealt with everything from archival supplies and copyright infringement to working with photo dealers. Mary Engel will accept the award for APAG.

APAG began when founder and president, Mary Engel, assumed responsibility for the archive of her mother, photographer and filmmaker Ruth Orkin. It was a difficult task, with much to learn about intellectual property rights, conservation and preservation, promotion, and the world of photography galleries and dealers. Mary has gained a wealth of knowledge and know-how, and when her father, photojournalist and filmmaker Morris Engel, passed away in 2005, she inherited his archive as well.

Over the years, Mary reached out to others who were in a similar situation and became an informal consultant. As her network of fledgling archive managers grew, so did the demands on her time. She realized that everyone could benefit from each other’s experience, so she started organizing meetings. At first the group was small enough to meet over dinner in a restaurant. Soon, however, more people joined, and a larger, quieter meeting space was needed. Mary arranged for the group to meet at ICP, and the organization has became more structured, holding meetings three or four times a year.

Presented by: Judith Thompson

Judith Thompson is the Director of the Harold Feinstein Photography Trust.  In that role she works to preserve and promote the legacy of her late husband,  Harold Feinstein who was awarded the Living Legend Award by the Griffin Museum in 2011. Like others who have inherited the estate of a well-known artist, she has been on a steep learning curve and credits APAG and Mary Engel for providing crucial support and guidance.  For nearly three decades prior to her current responsibilities she worked in the field of reconciliation and social healing running organizations and speaking worldwide. She has a Ph.D. in peace studies and was a former Peace Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard.

Photo by Jon Atherton, Yale

Paul Messier is a photograph conservator working at Yale and in private practice in Boston. He is the founder and Pritzker Director of the Lens Media Lab at Yale’s Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage.  Established in 2015, the focus of the LML is the creation, dissemination, and interpretation of large datasets derived from museum and reference collections of artist materials. Notable among these is the LML’s collection of historic photographic papers which is the largest of its kind in the world and was assembled by Paul over the course of decades.  Paul’s Boston-based private conservation practice was founded in 1994. The practice serves collectors, galleries, auctions houses as well as public institutions included leading museums, libraries, and archives worldwide.  This practice has served as a training platform for numerous pre- and post-graduate interns all of whom have filled photograph conservation positions within prestigious cultural intuitions, including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives.  Paul has published widely, holds two patents covering innovative techniques for the characterization of cultural materials, served elected terms to the Board of Directors of the American Institute for Conservation, and recently completed a multiyear Mellon-funded initiative to establish a department of photograph conservation at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Presented by: Melissa Banta

Melissa Banta is Projects Curator at the Weissman Preservation Center, Harvard Library, where she works to preserve, exhibit, and publish photograph collections throughout Harvard’s museums, libraries, and archives. Ms. Banta was formerly Director of the Photographic Archives at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard. She also serves as consulting curator at Baker Library, Harvard Business School and at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Her exhibitions and publications include From Site to Sight: Anthropology, Photography, and the Power of Imagery; A Timely Encounter: Nineteenth-Century Photographs of Japan; The Invention of Photography and Its Impact on Learning; A Curious and Ingenious Art: Reflections on Daguerreotypes at Harvard; and At the Intersection of Science and Art: Edwin H. Land and the Polaroid Collection, The Formative Years.

© Jerry Atnip

Elizabeth Avedon is an independent curator and writer, photography book and exhibition designer. She is a sought after consultant for photographers; editing, sequencing, and advising towards their exhibition, book, and portfolio projects. She is the former Director of Photo-Eye Gallery, Santa Fe; Creative Director for The Gere Foundation; and received numerous awards and recognition for her exhibition design and publishing projects, including the fashion retrospective book and exhibition, “Avedon: 1949–1979” for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, among others; and “Richard Avedon: In the American West” for the Amon Carter Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and The Art Institute of Chicago; and exhibition designs for the Estate of Diane Arbus, the Menil Collection,Texas and the Leica Gallery, New York.

In conjunction with Random House, she co-published the series “Elizabeth Alvedon Editions/Vintage Contemporary Artists”, working with distinguished art critics such as Donald Kuspit and Peter Schjeldahl, and contemporary artists Francesco Clemente, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Rauschenberg and others.

Presented by: Sean Perry

Sean Perry is a fine-art photographer based in Austin, Texas and New York City. His photographs and books center on architecture, space and light – the ambiance felt within built and temporary environments. Perry currently serves as Associate Professor of Photography at Austin Community College where he founded a mentoring program and lecture series titled, The Picture Review.

Beuford Smith photo by Cydnii Jones Cesaire Agency

Beuford Smith was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. A self-taught photographer, he began freelancing in the late 1970s. His clients include Black Star, AT&T, Emory University, Merrill Lynch, Avon, and GE. Smith is the founder of Cesaire Photo Agency and a founder and chief photo editor of the Black Photographers Annual (1973-1981). He has taught photography at Cooper Union, Hunter College, and the Brooklyn Museum. Smith served as staff photographer for Emmanuel Baptist Church from 1995-2007.

Smith is a former President (1997-2003) and member (1965-2005)and now president emeritus of Kamoinge, Inc. Smith spearheaded the group’s effort to achieve 501(c)3 status and facilitated collecting photos for Kamoinge’s book, The Sweet Breath of Life edited by Frank Stewart. Smith served on the curatorial committee for the Committed to the Image exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 2001. He served on NYFA’s photography panel in 2002. He is also a former Advisory Board member of En Foco, Inc. (2005-2012).

Smith received a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in 1990 and 2000, a LightWork Artist-in Residence Fellowship in 1999 and an Aaron Siskind Foundation Fellowship in 1998 among other awards.

Smith has collected over 360 photographs in the past 30 years and he is organizing his archives and editing his photographs for a book.

Keith DeLellis Gallery represents a selection of Beuford Smith’s photographs.

Presented by: Bill Gaskins

From a professional base in photography and arts writing, an academic foundation in fine art, the history of photography, American Studies and the perspective of a citizen of the United States, the work of Bill Gaskins explores questions about photography and the portrait in the 21st century. A critical entry point for the viewer is his fascination with the myths of photography and American culture and representations of African American people. His approach to photography as both producer and critical spectator has garnered attention through commissions, artist residencies, grants, public lectures, solo and group exhibitions, exhibition catalogs and books.

As a professor of art, Bill Gaskins has taught at The Ohio State University, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Missouri, the College of Art, Media & Technology and the College of Art and Design Theory and History at Parsons School of Design, and the graduate program in Media Studies in The New School for Public Engagement. Presently he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art with a faculty appointment in the American Studies Program at Cornell University.

Teju Cole

Author and Photography Critic of the New York Times Magazine, and column “On Photography.”

Presented by: Amitava Kumar

Author and educator

Karen Haas

The Lane Curator of Photographs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Presented by: Arno Minkkinen

Photographer and Educator

Barbara Norfleet

Renowned documentary photographer, retired senior lecturer in Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard, and retired curator of the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard.

Presented by: Susan Meiselas

Documentary Photographer

Brian Storm

MediaStorm is an award winning film production and interactive design studio whose work gives voice and meaning to the most pressing issues of our time. MediaStorm has led a paradigm shift in digital storytelling.

Presented by: Ed Kashi

Ed Kashi will present the award to Brian Storm of Media Storm.

Kat Kiernan

Kat Kiernan is the Editor-in-Chief of Don’t Take Pictures, a print and online photography publication.

Presented by: Debbie Hagan

Debbie Hagan will present the award to Kat Kiernan

Karen Sinsheimer- Photo Kimberly Kavish

Karen Sinsheimer was the Curator of Photography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Presented by: Lisa Volpe

Lisa Volpe will present the Award for Karen Sinsheimer

Larissa Leclair

Larissa Leclair founder of Indie Photobook Library.
The Indie Photobook Library is a U.S. based archive that collects and showcases self-published and indie published photobooks, and facilitates discourse on trends in contemporary publishing and scholarly research now and in the future.

Presented by: Dr. Laura Wexler

Dr. Laura Wexler will present the award to Larissa Leclair

Elin Spring

Dr. Elin Spring is the author of “What Makes It Great?” photography exhibit reviews, “Meet The Artist” interviews, “Who Said It?” photography quote quizzes and various book reviews.

Presented by: Rania Matar

Rania Matar will present to Elin Spring.

Rebecca Senf

Dr. Rebecca Senf is the Norton Family Curator of Photography, a joint appointment at the Center for Creative Photography and the Phoenix Art Museum.

Presented by: Barbara Bosworth

Barbara Bosworth will present the award to Dr. Rebecca Senf

Jim Dow

Jim Dow is an educator and photographer. He lives in Boston and teaches at Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts

Presented by: Eric Almquist

Eric Almquist will present the award to Jim Dow.

Pictured left to right are:Betsy Boyle, Nichole Shea, Tom Blake, Danny Pucci, Jake Sadow, Monica Shin, Bahadir Kavlakli, and Justin Goodstein-Aue

Boston Public Library Digital Projects for Digital Commonwealth the BPL has been digitizing photo archives, books, maps, manuscripts, prints, and other library materials so that they may be accessible online. The goal of this project is to grow and support Digital Commonwealth, a consolidated statewide digital library system.

Presented by: Bob Cullum

Bob Cullum will present the award to Boston Public Library Digital Projects for Digital Commonwealth

James Estrin, David Gonzales and Matthew McCann.

Lens Blog New York Times a blog featuring photography, video and visual journalism from Times photographers, other news organizations and around the Web. Its co-editors are James Estrin and David Gonzales. The producer of Lens is Matthew McCann.

Presented by: Maggie Steber

Maggie Steber will present the award to Lens Blog New York Times .

Phillip Prodger

Phillip Prodger, is an art historian, writer, curator and head of the photography department at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts

Presented by: Jared Bowen

Jared Bowen will present the award to Phillip Prodger

Shane Lavalette

Shane Lavalette, Founding Publisher and Editor of Lavalette and the Director of Light Work in Syracuse, NY

Presented by: Susan Worsham

Susan Worsham will present the award to Shane Lavalette

Mary Virginia Swanson

Mary Virginia Swanson, is an author, educator and advisor to artists and arts organizations whose career includes exhibiting, collecting and licensing photography.

Presented by: Susan Kae Grant

Susan kae Grant will present the award to Mary Virginia Swanson

Keith Jenkins

Keith Jenkins became the Supervising Senior Producer for Multimedia at NPR after a 13 year distinguished career at the Washington Post and Washington Post Magazine.

Presented by: David Binder

David Binder will present the award to Keith Jenkins.

Rixon Reed

Rixon Reed founded photo-eye a blend of Galleries, Auctions, Visual Server, Magazine and Newsletter, and a new venture called the Artist Photo Index.

Presented by: Crista Dix

Crista Dix will present the award to Rixon Reed.

Aline Smithson

Aline Smithson, began her career as a fashion editor and is now a widely published and exhibited photographer, educator and blogger.

Presented by: Caleb Cole

Caleb Cole will present the award to Aline Smithson.

Stephen Jareckie

Stephen Jareckie, is currently the Photographic Advisor for the Fitchburg Art Museum and Curator of Photography Emeritus for the Worcester Art Museum.

Presented by: Kristina Durocher

Kristina Durocher will present the award to Stephen Jareckie.

Eelco Wolf

Eelco Wolf, was in charge of Worldwide Marketing Communications for the Polaroid’s Corporation as well as Executive Director of Magnum Photos Worldwide, currently a member of the Photography Collection Committee of the Harvard Art Museums.

Presented by: Henry Horenstein

Henry Horenstein will present the award to Eelco Wolf.

Susan Mosser

Susan Mosser, is Special Services VP of the New England Camera Club Council.

Presented by: Barbara Rozavsky

Barbara Rozavsky will present the award to Ms. Mosser.

Eileen Gittins

Eileen Gittins, is Founder, President, and CEO of Blurb.

Presented by: Joyce Tenneson

Joyce Tenneson will present the award to Ms. Gittins.

Dr. Alison Norström

Dr. Alison Nordström, is Curator of Photographs and Director of Exhibitions at George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film.

Presented by: W.M. Hunt

W.M. Hunt will present the award to Dr. Nordström.

Harold Feinstein

We are honoring Harold Feinstein for his sixty year career as a photographer.

Presented by: Jim Fitts

Jim Fitts will present the award to Harold Feinstein.

 

Alan Taylor

Web developer Alan Taylor created the photo blog The Big Picture for The Boston Globe/Boston.com.

Presented by: Finbarr O’Reilly

Chief Photographer, West & Central Africa, Reuters O’Reilly will present the award to Taylor.

David Bram

Based in Albuquerque, NM, Bram is editor, curator, and founder of the popular and influential Fraction Magazine, now in its sixteenth issue.

Presented by: Mary Virginia Swanson

Marketing Consultant, Swanson makes it her goal to help photographers find the strengths in their work and identify appreciative audiences for their prints, exhibitions, editorial, and licensing placement. She will present the award to David Bram.

James K. Colton

Colton is currently the photography editor for Sports Illustrated.

Presented by: Steve Fine

Director of Photography at Sports Illustrated for the past 14 years, Fine will present the award to Mr. Colton

Steve Hoffman (inset) Jim Toya-Brown

Photographers worldwide rely on Modern Postcard, a San Diego commercial printing company. Founded by Steve Hoffman and nurtured by Jim Toya-Brown, Modern Postcard provides small runs of high quality postcards at an affordable price. Modern Postcard is at the forefront of the postcard industry.

Presented by: Howard Bernstein

Howard Bernstein is the CEO of Bernstein & Andriulli, NY, and publisher of Spread Artculture magazine

Russell Hart

Hart is executive editor of American Photo magazine and editor of American Photo On Campus. In addition to editing and authoring numerous magazine stories and posts on the American Photo blog, State of the Art , Hart oversees many of its technical reviews and organizes the “Editor’s Choice” issue.

Presented by: Henry Horenstein

Henry Horenstein will present the award to Russell Hart.

Rosalind Smith

Rosalind (Roz) Smith, a native of Newton, is a features writer for Shutterbug, Photographers Forum, View Camera, Black and White and Camera Arts. She has also written feature articles for the Robb Report, Photo District News, and the Boston Globe. She has written articles on scores of photographers including Richard Avedon, James Nachtwey, Ron Haviv, John Isaac, Jill Enfield and Duane Michals.

Presented by: John Isaac

Photographer, John Isaac will present the award to Roz Smith.

Rob Haggart

Haggart is the former director of photography for Men’s Journal and Outside magazines. He has received photo editing recognition from Graphis, American Photography, Society of Publication Designers, Communication Arts, American Society of Magazine Editors and Photo District News, and was chosen as part of the creative team of the year by Ad Week. He currently freelances as a photography director and runs APhotoEditor.com, a blog on photography.

Presented by: Jill Enfield

Jill Enfield, a fine art photographer, author and educator will present the award to Rob Haggart.

Eliane Laffont

Eliane Laffont has been a leading creative and entrepreneurial force in the world of photojournalism. In 1968, she opened the first U.S. office of Gamma Press Images in collaboration with her husband, Jean-Pierre. In 1973, they co-founded Sygma Photo News Agency, where Laffont served as general manager, then president of North American operations, for nearly three decades (with a two-year hiatus at LOOK magazine). Under Laffont’s leadership, Sygma blossomed into the world’s largest photo news agency with more than 500 photographers in 50 countries. In 1999, Sygma was acquired by Bill Gates’ Corbis Images and Laffont was appointed U.S. operations general manager and later was promoted to global vice president of editorial content of Corbis-Sygma. In 2001, Laffont joined Hachette Filipacchi Media as editorial director, supervising the photographic production of the group in the U.S. and developing the photo division around three sectors: photojournalism, photo illustration and photo reportage.

Presented by: Jean François LeRoy

LeRoy is the founder of Visa pour L’image Festival in Perpignan, France.

Nikon Crew

Nikon is a world leader in digital imaging, precision optics, and photo imaging technology

Presented by: Rick Friedman

Rick Friedman, photographer, presents award to Nikon

Henry Horenstein

Henry Horenstein, Photographer, Author and Educator

Presented by:

Award-winning hosts of Car Talk on National Public Radio

Jen Beckman

Jen Bekman is the Founder and Owner, Jen Bekman Gallery, New York

Presented by: Omar Wasow

Cyber guru

Deborah Willis photo © Jennifer Samuels

Debora Willis is the Chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU, Curator, Author, Educator, Historian, and Photographer

Presented by: Anna Maria Horsford

Anna Maria Horsford is an American actress, known for her performances in television comedies. Horsford is best known for her roles as Thelma Frye on the NBC sitcom Amen, and as Dee Baxter on the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros.

Holly Stuart Hughes courtesy of PDN

Holly Stuart Hughes accepts award as the editor of Photo District News and PDNOnline.com, the monthly trade magazine and website for professional photographers.

Presented by: Henry Horenstein

Photographer presents the award to PDN.

Clifford Ackley

Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Curator of Prints and Drawings and Chair of the Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the MFA, Boston

Presented by: Susan Paine

President of the Board of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Sara Terry

Founder, The Aftermath Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping photojournalists document the aftermath of conflict.

Presented by: Sherman Teichman

Director, Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University will present award to Sara.

Kathy Ryan

Photo Editor, The New York Times Magazine.

Presented by:

Gregory Crewdson presents the award to Kathy Ryan. He is an American photographer. He photographs tableaux of American homes and neighborhoods.

Barbara Hitchcock

Cultural Affairs Director, Polaroid Corporation and Curator, Polaroid Collection

Presented by: David Levinthal

Photographer presents award to Barbara Hitchcock

 

Brian Clamp

Owner, ClampArt, New York

Presented by: William (W.M.) Hunt

Photography collector, curator and consultant

Anne Wilkes Tucker

Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Presented by: Leonard Nimoy

Photographer presents award to Anne Wilkes Tucker.