Course Description

In this workshop Mary Virginia Swanson will provide a broad overview of today’s markets for photography, including the fine print collecting arena, and placement of work in the editorial and commercial licensing markets. Through comprehensive lectures and visual examples, Swanson will discuss the path to finding your audience from concept to execution, presentation and marketing decisions, and sharing your work in exhibition or publication formats. Sponsorship and funding will be addressed, as well as the realities of being published and self-publishing photography books today. Each student will also have a private meeting with Swanson focusing on their specific projects. Students should bring their work in print form and a broader selection of work in smaller proof prints or edited digital files.

Level: Intermediate and Advanced; applicants should be committed to success with their photographs and be working towards fine craftsmanship.

 

Biography

Mary Virginia Swanson is an educator, author and entrepreneur in the field of photography, and a respected advisor to artists and arts organizations.  Her career includes exhibiting, collecting, and licensing photography organizations.  Unique in our field, her broad background includes exhibiting, collecting, licensing and marketing photographs and affords her a range of perspectives on making and marketing art.  Ms. Swanson counts among her consulting clients a range of internationally respected artists and institutions.

Swanson co-authored with Darius Himes the acclaimed Publish Your Photography Book: Revised & Updated (2014) and continues to stay current on the growing market for photobooks, reflecting both the relative ease of self-publishing and the rise of the collectible photographic artists book. Swanson received the Focus Award for Lifetime Achievement in Photography from the Griffin Museum in Boston in 2013 and was named 2015 Honored Educator by the Society for Photographic Education.  Swanson frequently serves as a judge on contemporary photobook competitions, a portfolio reviewer at industry events, and lectures at academic institutions on professional practices.