The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement

FAIN: GG-280534-21

CENTER (Santa Fe, NM 87505-0352)
Matthew Contos (Project Director: January 2021 to September 2021)
Laura E. Wzorek Pressley (Project Director: September 2021 to present)

Implementation of a lecture series examining the historical and contemporary role of photography in civic participation.

The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement is a lecture series examining the historical and contemporary role of photography in civic participation and its contribution to the national narrative. The program includes six scholar lectures, one panel discussion, six commissioned essays, nine podcasts and a printed program guide.

Associated Products

Review Santa Fe Photo Symposium program guide (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Review Santa Fe Photo Symposium program guide
Author: Laura Wzorek Pressley
Abstract: A 45-page magazine-style program guide includes information and websites for registration to "The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement" lectures happening concurrent to the 21-year-old Review Santa Fe Photo Symposium. This program guide was distributed to 15,000 targeted audience members, comprised of former participants, donors, and educators from the organization. In addition to introducing the scholarly lecture series supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the program guide includes two interviews with scholars Shawn Michelle Smith, "Race, Citizenship, and Self Image in 19th Century American Photography, " and Will Wilson's interview "Troubling NDN Pictures: Historic Representation of Indigenous People."
Date Range: March 2022-June 2022
Location: Distributed across the United States and available online
Primary URL: https://issuu.com/centersantafe/docs/issuu_version_2022
Primary URL Description: This platform ISSUU includes several of CENTER's former program guides and provides accessibility through easy download and viewing of guide offering variable font sizes and page magnification. In accordance with previous online guides, this 2022 guide is expected to receive upwards of 2,000+ readers at approximately 10 minutes average per view.
Secondary URL: https://visitcenter.org/rsf-overview/
Secondary URL Description: The program guide is also included on several pages of the organization's main website, VisitCenter.org, as seen here on the Review Santa Fe Photo Symposium page.

CENTER 2023 Program Guide (Catalog)
Title: CENTER 2023 Program Guide
Author: Dr. Leigh Raiford
Author: Laura Wzorek Pressley
Abstract: Interview with Dr. Leigh Raiford and writer Holly Hughes. From the interview "In the 1960s, there’s an emerging disillusionment with the government, and the truthfulness of institutions. What’s interesting to me about SNCC’s shift from the early 1960s to the late 1960s, and about the Black Panther Party’s use of photography in the late 1960s, is that the Panthers already approached photography with a sense that images are manipulated, that there’s always a frame to the storytelling. For SNCC, it had been very much a social-documentary impulse: If we just give people the information, they’ll be guided to do the right thing. By the latter part of the 1960s, the Black Panther Party, SNCC’s Julius Lester, and others are very clear: Images alone aren’t going to move people if they don’t fundamentally believe in Black humanity. That begs the question: What else can photography help us understand?"
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://issuu.com/centersantafe/docs/2023_program_guide
Primary URL Description: This was a printed 52-page program guide that also has a digital version at this URL. The platform allows for downloads, larger fonts and viewing options.
Secondary URL: https://visitcenter2023.org/reviewsantafeoverview
Secondary URL Description: The secondary URL is on the CENTER main website VisitCenter.org.
Catalog Type: Other
Publisher: Laura Wzorek Pressley

The Democratic Lens website (Web Resource)
Title: The Democratic Lens website
Author: CENTER
Abstract: The Democratic Lens discussion series includes six sections, each with a corresponding humanities theme, historical era, and selection of contributing scholars. In alignment with the NEH Special Initiative’s “A More Perfect Union” theme, scholars 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. With interviews, essays, and lectures featuring scholars representing key voices in the field, we will present accounts that illustrate the challenges our country has endured and the stories of how Americans have worked together to overcome them. The website provides a repository of scholarly interviews, scholar biographies, lectures, resources, and links to register to upcoming programs. It is produced by CENTER and updated quarterly with new information.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://thedemocraticlens.org/
Primary URL Description: The Democratic Lens website is an accessible multi-page website with simple navigation including INTERVIEWS, ESSAYS, LECTURES, SCHOLAR BIOS, ABOUT and a link to return to CENTER. The lecture page includes links to the previous lectures. The interviews include links to References & Related Readings.
Secondary URL: https://visitcenter2023.org/
Secondary URL Description: The Democratic Lens lectures and links to the website are featured on the CENTER main website VisitCenter2023.org from the home page.

---