Critical Mass 2023 Pre-Screen Panel Announced!

We’re so very excited to announce Critical Mass 2023 Pre-screening Panel!

From top left to bottom right:

Art director, photo editor and Free Juice founder, Allison Retina Stewart joins us from Los Angeles. She champions BIPOC creatives in the industry and aims to reshape the media landscape with validating representation. Allison currently works as an Art Director at Facebook. Free Juice is a 501(c)3 nonprofit accelerating diversity in the photography industry through mentorship. @allisonretina

Peter M. Krask is a creative director, photographer, writer and mentor. He is the Founder and Creative Director of The Creativity Guide which was launched in 2019. He is also a Dedicated Mentor at the New Museum’s incubator of art, design and technology, New Inc. and is an Expert Coach for Columbia University’s CUGrow program. He is on the faculty of the Paris-based International School of Management, and a contributor to a variety of podcasts including The Forbidden Apple, Beautiful Voyager, Wrote, Problem Solvers, and Why Am I – sharing his expansive knowledge on how artists and entrepreneurs can understand and deepen their creative process. @petermkrask

Sarah Leen is the Founder of the Visual Thinking Collective, a community for independent women photo editors, teachers and curators dedicated to visual storytelling. She became the first female Director of Photography at National Geographic Magazine and Partners in 2013. Leen works with photographers and agencies consulting and editing visual projects and books. She believes in sharing her knowledge through mentoring and teaching photography and photo editing workshops at the Missouri Photo Workshops, the Maine Media Workshops, the Santa Fe Photo Workshops, the Eddie Adams Workshop and the PhotoLux Festival in Lucca, Italy.  @visualthinkingcollective | @roseleen

Elizabeth Avedon is an independent curator, writer, and photo consultant, often contributing to L’Oeil de la Photographie. Former director of Photo-eye Gallery and Creative Director for the Gere Foundation, Elizabeth has received recognition for her curatorial work, exhibition design, and publishing projects, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Amon Carter Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and Art Institute of Chicago. She’s juried for the Leica Women Foto Project Awards, the Lucie Photo Book Awards and the Prix Carmignac Fondation Photojournalism Award in Paris. In 2017, Elizabeth received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Griffin Museum of Photography. @elizabethavedon

Draženka Jalšić Ernečić is Senior Curator at Koprivnica Museum in Croatia where she curates the museum art collections. She emphasizes graphic design, photography, and printing processes. She writes articles, critics, essays, and reviews on photography, the anthropology of photography, and visual communication. Also, she writes on photography in professional and specialized magazines, portals, and online editions. She is a member of the jury and photo curator in the Culture in Focus Annual Competition, the biennial of fine art photography Vizura, and the biennial of applied and commercial photography ProART. @djalsic

Lia J. Latty is a photographer who strives to connect with others in order to share their voices as a collective and initiate dialogue about social issues. Her work has been exhibited in Baltimore, New York, and at MICA, where she recently received her BFA. Lia is also the founder of Black Is, a publication that publishes the stories and work of Black photographers from around the world. Black Is is dedicated to creating a platform to showcase Black photographers whose work speaks to the diversity of Black communities and Black people. The magazine acts as a place of discussion and archival platform, keeping a database of all the Black photographers they interview/share the work of. @blackismag

Molly Roberts is a visual communications professional residing in Baltimore, Maryland. Currently she is focused on  independent curation and has curated exhibits for PhotoWorks, ArtWorks Projects, Women Photojournalists of Washington, Gallery 1448, and SXSE Gallery, among others. She also continues to work on book projects for National Geographic.Committed to the power of visual communication to educate and inform, Roberts created Humaneyes USA, a small non-profit using artistic and innovative approaches to inspire informed discussion, encourage civic engagement and create solutions for pressing American issues. @mollyarob

Federico Estol is the Artistic Director of Uruguay’s San José Foto Festival and the Editor of El Ministerio Ediciones publishing house.  He is also a photographer, currently working on long term projects as social visual storyteller in the Latin American region. He has served as a Nominator for World Press Photo, Foam Paul Huf Award and the LOBA Leica Oscar Barnak award as well as a jury member and a reviewer for many international photo festivals in Latin America, Asia and Europe. @sanjosephoto 

Tiffany Jones is the founder of Overlapse, a London-based photobook imprint started in 2015. With over 30 years dedicated to arts publishing and photojournalism, she is an editor, designer, researcher and educator working with global programmes and institutions. She collaborates in tandem with photographers and artists to communicate through the making of unique, desirable, and beautifully produced books. Subjects and stories address social, cultural, and environmental issues, and highlight enduring and universal themes connected to human experience. @overlapse

Helen Trompeteler is Deputy Director of Programs at Silver Eye Center for Photography. A passionate advocate for the arts, Helen brings twenty years of curatorial experience to Silver Eye, following roles at the National Portrait Gallery (UK), Royal Collection Trust (UK), and as an independent curator. She is deeply committed to supporting and sharing the vision of underrepresented artists through original exhibitions and unique education programs. Helen has published extensively on photography for numerous books and art publications worldwide.  @htrompeteler

Julian Lucas is a fine art photographer/photojournalist and writer living in Los Angeles. Julian is the founder and owner of Mirrored Society bookstore. His bookstore has published several publications for photographers both nationally and internationally. He most recently organized the Print Pomona Art Book Fair, which was held at the Benton Museum at Pomona College and primarily supports artists, photographers, and smaller galleries. Julian is currently working on an initiative to provide a professional platform to serve as a resource to culturally underserved communities. @mirroredsociety

Brittani Taylor is currently the Director of Exhibitions at The Light Factory in Charlotte, NC and a freelance photographer specializing in portraits, events, and products. She continues to be inspired by the world and the people she meets along her artistic journey. She is a visual artist, creative director, and photographer who exhibits a true love for art and the creative process. @brittani.taylorr