Focus Awards

The Focus Awards recognize individuals making critical contributions to the promotion, curation and presentation of photography. The award is not meant for photographers for their art making, but for individuals such as photography educators, historians, gallerists, writers, curators, inventors, conservators and administrators who have elevated the medium of photography.

Focus awardees can be a combination of local, national and international photography trendsetters and innovators. The Focus Awards recognize the hard work, dedication and enthusiasm of a select group of enthusiastic, forward thinking individuals and organizations dedicated to the art and business of photography.

In our fourteenth year, this year’s award celebrates individuals instrumental in building greater awareness of the photographic arts in the general public. We will present The Lifetime Achievement Award to Robert Klein. Arnika Dawkins will receive the Rising Star Award.

Starting on Friday Evening on November 13, 2020 at 7 PM EST, we celebrate the Focus Awards by honoring photography gallerist Robert Klein with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Stan Trecker, Dean Emeritus of Lesley University, will present the award to Robert Klein. We will also award the Rising Star Award to Arnika Dawkins, owner and director of the Arnika Dawkins Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Deborah Willis will present the award to Arnika Dawkins. Dr. Willis is an esteemed photographer, educator, author, curator, and a MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellow. Her accomplishments are many and can be best understood by reviewing her full bio.

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.

Arnika Dawkins is the owner of her eponymous fine art photography gallery established in Atlanta in 2012. The gallery 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.

After both of the award recipients accept their Focus Awards, Robert Klein will talk a little about the evolution of the photo market.  He will give an overview of where the photo market was in 1978 when he first became involved up to the present day impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. After, we will open up opportunity for the audience to ask questions and have dialogue.

Due to concerns surrounding COVID -19 the Focus Awards will take place on the Zoom platform.

The Focus Awards are free to all with a reservation for tickets. Reserve your tickets below.
You will receive your Zoom invitation through your reservation. Add your number of tickets and then choose “Get Tickets.”

For a four event program package of the other weekend programs we offer a combo price of $40.  See ticket below.

The Focus Awards and auction are free to all. The auction requires registration on the Invaluable auction site in order to bid on the auction items.