Santa Fe Bound
I am currently taking care of last minute details as I prepare to depart for Santa Fe, New Mexico. I am travelling there to participate in the Review Santa Fe photography symposium.
Review Santa Fe is one of the premier juried portfolio review events in the world, bringing together a select group of photographers with influential leaders from museums, galleries, publications, and cultural institutions. Participants engage in one-on-one portfolio reviews and also present their work at the public Portfolio Walk, offering opportunities for professional advancement and community engagement.
Participation is by invitation only and goes through a rigorous selections process, so it is an honour to be selected. This marks the first time that I will present and pitch my project, The Condor & The Bull, to industry professionals for publication. My intention for the project is to publish a photobook and secure gallery exhibitions to accompany the completed book. Here is the link to my listing for the event: Michael Bednar: The Condor & The Bull
Postcards of project to share at the photo symposium.
The process is long and arduous and requires great commitment. It is a highly competitive industry and landing a publishing deal is challenging. Finding the right publisher at the right time who will be interested in your work means presenting it to wide array of editors, publishers, and curators. Many of whom will not connect to your work or your artistic vision. It takes resilience to handle numerous rejections and embrace criticism as a means of growth, ensuring that self-doubt does not take root.
Selecting and editing images to be printed for Review Santa Fe.
Over the past few months, I've been focus on preparing all the materials needed to present this project at Review Santa Fe. It's been quite a logistical challenge to manage everything from here in Peru.
I have large photographic prints being made in Vancouver at the moment. John Goldsmith at PrintMaker Studio has been meticulously printing my images and is about to deliver them to a friend, who will travel with them to California where I will meet him to receive the prints.
Printing of images being done by John Goldsmith at PrintMaker Studio.
Then I will travel by bus (after a healthy fiesta with friends) from California to New Mexico. I have created marketing materials from the project including postcards and booklets to share with interested industry professionals. These are all being delivred to New Mexico and will hopefully be waiting for me when I arrive.
I also had a special bag made by a friend here in Peru, to house the prints and booklets. The bags are known as chuspas here in the Andes, and are made for carrying coca leaves. This one is significantly larger. I couldn’t be happier with it.
My new chuspa to house the prints.
I am so thankful to everyone who has helped me put this all together. Having friends I can depend on has been so crucial, and I am very grateful. I can’t say the same for some of the “professionals” I have hired to help with certain items and tasks, but that is another story.
I feel a mix of excitement and nervousness as I prepare to take this leap. The moment has arrived. I must graciously embrace both criticism and praise as I move forward. It brings to mind a quote I will leave you with:
“If you live off a man’s compliments, you’ll die from his criticism.” Cornelius Lindsey
I look forward to sharing the results with you soon.
With gratitude,
MB
