Origins
1839 - 1900Instrumental
Democracy
1839 - 2020
We the People
1900 - 1950Andy Everson, citizen of the K’Omoks Nation, holds an image of his grandmother who played Princess Naida in Edward S. Curtis’s film, “In the Land of the Headhunters.” CIPX Seattle Art Museum, 2016 from the series Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange (CIPX)
Democracy
OngoingJustice for All
1950-2000Digital Democracy
2000 - 2022



Photography and
Civic Engagement
Coming Soon
Moderator
Holly Stuart Hughes is an independent editor, writer, and grant consultant. The former editor-in-chief of PDN (Photo District News), she has organized panels and lectured on artists’ rights and the business of photography around the U.S., and served as a portfolio reviewer at several photo festivals.
A graduate of Yale, she has written on photography and media for Time.com, The Telegraph, Multichannel News, Taschen Books, American Photographic Artists, Magnum Photos, Carlton Publishing, and Blouin ArtInfo Media.
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The programs will include free and open-to-the-public programs and content in 2022-23. Subscribe and stay tuned for more content as we unfold this discussion series.
View and download CENTER’s 2022 Program Guide featuring images and segments from interviews with Will Wilson and Shawn Michelle Smith.
The Democratic Lens lecture series will include six sections, each with a corresponding humanities theme, historical era, and selection of contributing scholars. In alignment with NEH Special Initiative’s “A More Perfect Union” theme, scholars will present photographs that connect audiences to the diverse cultures, landscapes, histories, and individuals who collectively shaped the nation. The Democratic Lens will prioritize underrepresented histories to emphasize the diversity of the citizenry. We will present accounts that illustrate the challenges our country has endured and the stories of how Americans have worked together to overcome them.