PhotoSpiva 2023 Juror
Jennifer Thoreson
Jennifer B. Thoreson is a multidisciplinary artist, teacher, lecturer, and mother of two boys who lives and works in Albuquerque, NM. She holds an MFA from the University of New Mexico. Her work is heavily metaphorical, and delves into the nuances of human relationships, human fragility, and the ephemeral, temporary nature of human life. Through her exploration of questions surrounding faith and religious practices, she critically conceptualizes different themes to produce images rich in allegory, engaging with her viewers as they question and explore the themes for themselves. The complexity of her work is rooted in her practice. She carefully orchestrates each image by manipulating symbolic materials, constructing site specific installations and sculptures, and meticulously staging every scene to imbue each element, from the smallest to the largest, with meaning and significance. The elements and spaces she fabricates and captures in her images play as important a role in her art as the finished photographs themselves.
Jennifer’s work has gained an international audience through inclusion in museum and gallery exhibitions, spanning the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Russia, Australia, France, Switzerland, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom. Her work is held in museum collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including at the Houston Center for Photography, the Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL, and the Musee de l’Elysee, Lausanne, Switzerland. In addition, her work has been published worldwide in well-known publications, including Black and White Magazine, Diffusion Magazine, and Installation Magazine. In 2011, a monograph of her work, entitled Medic, was published. Awards include Photo Star Award (Kaunas, Lithuania); International Center of Photography (ICP) Leadership Medallion; Photolucida Book Prize, Residency at the Santa Fe Art Institute, and the Howard Franks Memorial Grant.
Learn more about Jennifer at https://www.jenniferthoreson.com/
HOW DO I ENTER?
Begin entering on October 31, 2022
You’ll be Able to Enter Online
Deadline is Jan 1, 2023
ENTRY FEE
A $40 fee is required to enter five (5) photos. You must enter 5 photos and no less. If you wish to submit more than five images, each additional entry is $10
WHAT DO I NEED TO ENTER?
The images need to be JPEG formatted and in RGB color mode. You aren’t required to give us a specifically sized image, but a good guideline is to make either the width or the height about 1600 pixels and maintain the aspect ratio.
AWARDS
Place | Value
1ST | $1,000
2ND | $750
3RD | $500
Merit Award (3) | $150
Honorable Mention (3) | $100
ELIGIBILITY
PhotoSpiva is open to any amateur or professional photographer in the United States or its territories. Submitted images must be the photographer’s own work, and it is the sole responsibility of the photographer to obtain written releases from any recognizable person(s) depicted. Two-dimensional work derived from any photographic process — traditional, digital, or photo-based mixed media — is eligible as long as the work is original and has never been exhibited at George A. Spiva Center for the Arts. Three–dimensional work is not eligible for this competition and exhibition.
2023 Competition Results
Juror: Jennifer Thoreson
Alex and Zoe
Photography
East
Archival Inkjet Print
1st Place Award
Emily Fisher | Bedford, NY
Penrhyn
Photography
Haar
Archival Inkjet Print
Through the Other Side
Archival inkjet print
Ice Fisherman, North Salem, NY
Photography
Great Serpent Mound, OH
photography
I Am That I Am
photography
2nd Place Award
Tom Stoffregen | Saint Paul, MN
Great Mound, Anderson, IN
photography
Divine Faith Temple
photography
Earthworks, Shawnee Lookout, OH
photography
Trinity Fellowship Church
photography
Avilla Post Office
digital photography
3rd Place Award
Curtis Almeter | Baxter Springs, KS
Bernie’s
digital photography
Centraal Station, Amsterdam
Lambda print
Merit Award
Juliane Backmann | Los Angeles, CA
Guadalajara Crossing
Lambda print
Merit Award
Shirley Harryman | Kansas City, MO
In Lake Como
Photography
Awakening
Archival print
The Baptism
Archival digital print
Merit Award
Michael Potts | Phoenix, AZ
Peaceful
Archival print
Purification 2
Archival digital print
Saturday Afternoon
Archival print
Along Came a Spider
Analog photography
American Honey
Analog photography
Honorable Mention
Jeren Kent | Los Angeles, CA
Delicates
Analog film
Midnight Mass
Analog photography
Water Levels Rising/Zhang Huan’s Legacy
Analog film
Rosenwald School, Charleston, Arkansas
Medium-format color film photography
Honorable Mention
Sabine Schmidt | Fayetteville, AR
Sidewalk, Joplin, Missouri
medium-format color film photography
DaQu’an
120mm film
Jake
120mm film
Honorable Mention
Collin Yung | Bolivar, MO
Joey
Digital photography
Zatrick
120mm film
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