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Photography and Civic Engagement

Origins

1839-1900

We the People

1900-1950

Justice for All

1950-2000

Digital Democracy

2000-2022

Coming Soon

Democracy

Ongoing

Coming Soon

Instrumental Democracy

1839-2020

Origins

1839 - 1900

Instrumental
Democracy

1839 - 2020

We the People

1900 - 1950
© Will Wilson

Andy 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

Ongoing

Justice for All

1950-2000

Digital Democracy

2000 - 2022
OriginsWe the PeopleJustice for AllDigital DemocracyDemocracyInstrumental Democracy

Photography and
Civic Engagement

Coming Soon

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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.comThe TelegraphMultichannel NewsTaschen BooksAmerican Photographic ArtistsMagnum PhotosCarlton Publishing, and Blouin ArtInfo Media.

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Subscribe now and get the latest updates as we examine photography and lens-based media through interviews, lectures, and critical essays.

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.

Schedule Highlights