CRITICAL MASS 2014 IS OPEN!

The birds are chirping and the sun is shining! Critical Mass 2014 is officially open for registration!

Critical Mass is one of the best ways to gain meaningful new exposure for your work. The primary goal? To help photographers make connections with important gallerists, museum curators, book/magazine publishers, and new media producers: people who can offer concrete opportunities to artists. Instead of a single juror, Critical Mass puts finalists’ work in front of 200 top-notch jurors. That translates to a lot of exposure.

Take a look at the list of jurors – it’s growing by the minute!

Success Stories

We know it’s not always easy to make inroads with professionals in the field. Many venues are not open to unsolicited submissions, and professionals can be difficult to contact. Sending email newsletters out into the void can get disheartening. Critical Mass was designed to address these stumbling blocks, while giving professionals an accessible platform for the discovery of new talent. And, it works. We hear success stories from photographers and jurors every week. Connections are being made. Careers are being made. We love helping to make these success stories possible.

“I am incredibly grateful for all the attention my work has received as a result of Critical Mass. My participation resulted in my work being featured on Slate.com and Petapixel.com, and in upcoming one person shows at photo-eye Gallery in Santa Fe and Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles.”
—Richard Tuschman

“I was honored to be selected to the Critical Mass 2013 Top 50. My work was featured on Lens Culture, Lenscratch, Wired, Featureshoot, and more. My work will be known all over the world. And, the sales of my photography book increased in the USA.”
—Tsutomu Yamagata

“I have so much excellent new work on the radar that I might not have seen without Critical Mass. We were able to do a solo show this year here at Pictura with Brandon Thibodeaux, and I have several people in mind for group shows. Thanks for assembling some of the best new portfolios.”
—Lisa Woodward, Curator, Pictura Gallery (juror)

“I was honored that Hamidah Glasgow at The Center for Fine Art Photography selected my body of work “The Evolution of Ivanpah Solar” for one of the three Critical Mass 2013 Solo Show awards. Another direct result of Critical Mass was my inclusion in the Top 50 Traveling Exhibition, which was at the Corden|Potts Gallery in San Francisco in March 2014 and is at the Houston Center for Photography during May 2014. Previously, my work was included in the 2012 Top 50 Traveling Exhibition, and exhibited in both the Jennifer Schwartz Gallery and the Southeast Museum of Photography. It’s been great exposure!”
—Jamey Stillings

The 2014 Awards

Monograph Award – One photographer will be chosen for Photolucida’s prestigious monograph award. A hardbound book of their work will be published, distributed internationally, and given to all jurors and entrants in this year’s Critical Mass.

Artist Residency Award – One photographer will be chosen for a four-week residency in 2015 at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s Captiva Island (Florida) estate.

Solo Show Award – One photographer will be chosen for an exhibition at Blue Sky Gallery in Portland during Portland Photo Month in April, 2015. The exhibition will be one of the highlights of Photolucida’s biennial Portfolio Reviews event.

The Critical Mass Top 50 Exhibition – Rebecca Senf, Curator at the Center for Creative Photography, will curate the Top 50 exhibition, a group show of photographers selected for the Top 50. The show will be a main exhibit at GuatePhoto 2015 in Guatelmala City. The Top 50 photographers’ portfolios will also be archived on Photolucida’s website for years to come.

Art Photo Index Listing – All photographers selected for Critical Mass’ Top 50 will receive inclusion in Photo-Eye’s invitation-only Art Photo Index, a global, searchable database of vetted art and documentary photographers and their work.

>> Between now and May 31st, Photolucida is offering an early-bird discount. Entry is $65 ($80 for international entrants). View the entry details.