Willow Soaking in Trough by Erika Rado

Call for Entries

Photo-Op, 14th Annual Artist List Results

Jowhara Alsaud
Andrea Bakacs
Mary Ellen Bartley
Katie Baum
Magda Biernat
Colin Blakely
Tim Carpenter
Onejoon Che
Thomas Holton
Stephanie Kirk
Brian Knappenberger
Alex Leme
James Luckett
Kevin Miyazaki
Liz Obert
Colleen Plumb
Shawn Records
Tom Reese
Andy Reynolds
Rebecca Sittler
Lacey Terrell
Ian Whitmore

14th Annual Photographic Competition Exhibition, Photo-Op

The Photographic Center Northwest's 14th Annual Photographic Competition Exhibition, Photo-Op, will be chosen by Ms. Jen Bekman. Selected entries will be exhibited at the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle from July 13 - September 4, 2009. First, second, and third prize winners will take home $1000, $500, $250 and a $75 Gift Certificate of Blurb Scrip for each winner. PCNW The competition is open to all photographers, all photographic processes, and all themes. The juror is looking for work that represents a larger, cohesive body of work and will be selecting a short series from each photographer chosen. The entry fee is $47 for a minimum of five jpegs & artist statement file. Additional jpegs will be accepted if accompanied by a seven dollar per jpeg fee, up to ten jpegs total. Entry fees are non-refundable. All entries must be received by Friday, May 15, 2009 at 9:00 pm. Mail to PCNW, Photo-OP contest, 900 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122.

PCNW gratefully acknowledges Blurb ($1000 & Scrip Certificates), Glazer's Camera ($500) and Panda Lab ($250) for award sponsorship.

Juror: Ms. Jen Bekman

Jen Bekman owns an eponymous a gallery, writes a blog called Personism and is the founder of the international photo competition, Hey, Hot Shot!. Her latest endeavor is 20x200, a place to buy editioned prints and photos at ridiculously affordable prices. Jen Bekman Projects, the gallery, its exhibitions and Jen herself have been featured in dozens of publications including The New York Times, Harper's, Art in America, Foam, Businessweek, Dwell, Der Spiegel and Le Monde. Jen has been a guest lecturer at The School of Visual Arts and the Photographic Resource Center @ Boston University and has served as a reviewer for Center's Review Santa Fe, Houston's Fotofest, The New York Foundation for the Arts and Photo España's Descubrimientos PHE. She frequently lectures and participates on panels about art, technology, media and marketing. 2008 appearances include South by Southwest, The New York Photo Festival and O'Reilly Media's Web2Open conference. She was named an Innovator of the Year by American Photo in 2006 and was recently honored with the Rising Star Award at Griffin Museum of Photography's annual Focus Awards. Her writing has appeared in GOOD Magazine and photo-eye Booklist.

How To Enter

- Submissions accepted via CD only. Must be readable on a PC. Jpegs only.
- Images must be no larger than 720 pixels (or 10 inches) at 72 dpi in the longest dimension, and saved as jpegs.
- Each jpeg must be titled in this order: The photographer's name, correlating letter to match the entry form, the title of the image
(for example: JohnDoe _A_Untitled.jpg)
- An artist statement MUST be submitted with the entry in a PDF or word document file no longer than one page (do not send a hard copy of the statement-it won't be used)
- The CD and CD case must be labeled with the photographer's name.
- Materials will not be returned.
- A list of accepted artists will be posted on our website in early June 2009.
- Images submitted may not have been previously exhibited at the Photographic Center Northwest Gallery.

Download Entry Form (pdf)
If you have trouble reading the entry form, you may need to download a current version of Acrobat Reader from Adobe.

Submission of Accepted Work
Plexiglas, rather than glass, should be used for all pieces requiring shipping. A wire or some other hanging device must be on the back of the piece. Although PCNW staff will handle your work delicately, we will not be responsible for the damage of any work. All works selected for exhibition must be offered for sale at a price determined by the artist. Artists will receive fifty percent of the sale price. The photographer agrees to provide for the return of work, including adequate provisions for shipping costs and insurance.

14th Annual Calendar
May 15 Deadline for receipt of all entries, 9pm
June 12 Accepted artists are posted at www.pcnw.org
July 8 All artwork for the 12th Annual must be received by 9 pm
July 13 - September 4 14th Annual Photographic Competition Exhibition, Photo-Op
July 17 Lecture 7:00 P.M: Jen Bekman, Curating & Collecting Contemporary Photography, Seattle Art Museum: followed by the 14th Annual Artists' Reception & Awards at PCNW
September All unsold artwork returned.

Lecture with Ms. Jen Bekman
Curating & Collecting Contemporary Photography
Friday, July 17, 7:00 pm
Tickets: $6, $4 PCNW & SAM members & students
Location: SAM, Plestcheeff Auditorium, 1300 First Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Purchase lecture tickets at PCNW or call (206) 720-7222
Jen Bekman will discuss curating and collecting the photograph as contemporary art. Jen Bekman projects include a blog called Personism, and an international photo competition, Hey, Hot Shot! and 20x200, a place to buy editioned prints and photos at ridiculously affordable prices.

Previous jurors
1995 - Duane Michals
1996 - Joyce Tenneson
1997 - Jock Sturges (with Trevor Fairbrother)
1998 - Keith Carter
1999 - Linda Connor
2001 - Chien-Chi Chang
2002 - Michael Kenna
2003 - Anne Wilkes Tucker
2004 - Roy Flukinger
2005 - Mary Virginia Swanson
2006 - Paul Kopeikin
2007 - Charlotte Cotton
2008 - Rod Slemmons

1st Place Winners
1995 - James Soe Nyun
1996 - Phil Borges
1997 - Trina Kyounghui Yi-Weston
1998 - Lisa Hohlfeld
1999 - Frank Noelker
2001 - Sarah Oehl
2002 - Nanette Vinson
2003 - (tie) Cat Gwynn & Patricia Sandler
2004 - Dennis Chamberlin
2005 - Peter de Lory
2006 - Joelle Jensen
2007 - Sung Jin Park
2008 - Sally Ketcham

Testimonials by Past Exhibitors

Through the competition and exhibition at PCNW, it was great chance for me to expose my works widely at people. Not only PCNW has good gallery, but many famous jurors, critics, and gallerists come around and see my works. Also, it was a good step to start to exhibit my works in USA, and I got the cover photo of The Stranger newspaper in Seattle!
- JeongMee Yoon, NY

Last year I had the good fortune to learn about PCNW's Annual Photographic Competition Exhibition, titled "Please Ring Bell" juried by Rod Slemmons. The high quality of the resulting exhibit, and the professional manner in which all details were handled by PCNW personnel was very high. My only regret was that I was not able to attend Mr. Slemmons' lecture.
- David Paul Bayles, Corvallis, OR

Being selected for first place by Paul Kopeikin helped me gain greater exposure for my work, particularly on the West coast. I am proud to have the exhibition and award on my resume. I had a chance to visit PCNW last April and was very impressed with the staff and the high quality exhibitions they consistently host.
- Joelle Jensen, Brooklyn, NY

I was in the "Resonances" show juried by Paul Kopeikin in July of 2006. Having three of my animal photographs from my March 2006 trip to Oaxaca with Mary Ellen Mark chosen by such a renowned gallery director confirmed the importance of taking that photographic seminar with her. Just this month (February 2009), I received a request to send six photos to her from that trip for possible inclusion in a traveling show in Mexico as well as in a permanent collection in Oaxaca.
- Toni Bennett, Seattle, WA

I was honored to be chosen by Paul Kopeikin to take part in the 11th annual Photographic Center Northwest juried show. He selected three pieces from my Domesticated series, two of which were sold during the show. I went on to become a represented artist at the Kopeikin Gallery. The entire experience was overwhelmingly positive and led to some very nice opportunities.
- Amy Stein, New York City

I was chosen by Charlotte Cotton for UP & NOW! ''07. To have the work recognized by someone like Ms. Cotton have helped generate additional awareness about the plight of the women and children in my project Brothels and Fundamentalism.
- Kate Orne, NY, NY

Having my work juried into a show last summer by Rod Slemmons meant a great deal to me. Working in social and political satire is probably the most unpopular genre to work in, yet Mr. Slemmons selected my work for this important show. His encouragement helped me to continue working in a genre that rarely pays off financially, yet is rewarding on many other levels.
- Diane Bush, Nevada

Having had the opportunity to once again place my work in front of juror, Mary Virginia Swanson through Focused, the 10th Annual Photographic Center Northwest juried show has resulted in a very productive business relationship with her. This has led to a smart promotion strategy that has really moved my career forward. Further, the show has made me realize what a great venue the PCNW is for exhibition and I look forward to the possibility of showing more of my work there one day.
- John Chervinsky, Somerville , MA

As I am working on building up my resume with new shows, I was proud to be included in the 10th Annual Photographic Center Northwest Competition, Focused, by the incredible eyes of Mary Virginia Swanson, who selected my work for the show. This became an asset to my CV.
- Marc Yankus, New York City

Having been awarded 1st place (tie) in the 2003 PCNW Annual Photographic Competition by Anne Tucker was a high point in my artistic career to this point, and was certainly enhanced by her then having purchased the winning piece. Being able to include these things on my resume, I believe, has greatly contributed to how others view my work. Ms. Tucker's esteemed reputation in the photography world means that her opinions are highly regarded. Her genuine interest was conveyed both in a personal note I received from her in response to my thank you, and when I had the opportunity to meet her at Photo L.A. Many thanks to PCNW for the consistently high caliber of jurors and exhibits.
- Patricia Sandler, Los Angeles , CA

The show curated by Mr. Flukinger helped me gain greater exposure and lead to my being offered other shows around the country.
- John Milisenda, Brooklyn , NY

I was chosen by Anne Tucker to be in the PCNW annual contest and was given an Honorary mention and met her at the opening of the show. I then saw her again at Fotofest in 2004 and The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston , Texas has now 2 of my prints in their permanent collection.
- Michelle Sank, Devon , UK

Questions? Contact Ann Pallesen , Gallery Director, (206) 720-7222 ext. 11 or apallesen@pcnw.org