Critical Mass 2025 Welcomes New Jurors
Let’s take a moment to welcome some incredible new jurors to Critical Mass this year! We’re so grateful to have them on board. Their expertise and perspective help make Critical Mass the most dynamic and unique fine art photography program in the world.
From top left to bottom right:
Eszter Bakos is the Gallery Manager at the Amsterdam-based Elliott Gallery, specializing in fine art photography, and holds an MA in Arts Management, Policy, and Cultural Entrepreneurship. Bringing a strategic and creative approach to curating exhibitions, managing gallery operations, and leading marketing initiatives, she works to enhance artist visibility and foster audience engagement. With a background that blends academic insight and professional experience, she navigates the art world with a balance of creative vision and cultural advocacy, and is passionate about connecting contemporary photography with diverse communities through thoughtful, impactful curation.
Lindsey O’Connor is the Executive Director of the Atlanta Center for Photographyand formerly served as Biennial Coordinator at the Whitney Museum, where she oversaw the 2017, 2019, and 2022 Biennials. She has held roles at the Guggenheim, High Museum, American Federation of Arts, and Biennial of the Americas. O’Connor has curated exhibitions in Cape Town and New York City, and her writing has appeared in the Whitney Biennial Catalogue, Hyperallergic, Art Papers, and more.
Alisa Swindell is Associate Curator of Photography at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College. Her exhibitions include And I’m Feeling Good: Relaxation and Resistance and Femme is Fierce. She has held roles at the Block Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 400, and Saint Louis Art Museum. Swindell is widely published and is ABD in art history at the University of Illinois–Chicago, with degrees from SAIC, the University of New Orleans, and Bryn Mawr College.
Stephen Frailey is the Founder and Editor of Dear Dave, magazine and author of Looking at Photography (Damiani, 2020). He writes for Artforum, Frieze, Aperture, and more. Chair Emeritus at SVA, he led the BFA Photography and Video Department (1998–2018) and founded its graduate fashion photography program. His next photo book will be published by Silent Face Projects in 2026.
C. Rose Smith is a photographic artist and the Assistant Curator of Photography at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Her work focuses on elevating underrepresented voices in photography, with research interests in 19th–early 20th-century portraiture, Black and African-American photographers, and women in photography. She has held roles at the George Eastman Museum and Boston University Libraries, and is an active member of the Photography Network and SPE. Smith holds a BFA from SCAD and an MFA from RIT, and frequently juries exhibitions and reviews portfolios nationwide.
Yana Nosenko is a multidisciplinary artist and curator from Moscow whose work explores immigration, displacement, and familial separation through a personal lens. She has exhibited at the International Center of Photography, Gala Art Center, MassArt x SoWa, and Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, and was a 2023 resident at The Studios at MASS MoCA. Yana currently serves as Director of Education and Programming at the Griffin Museum of Photography, where she leads learning initiatives, artist engagement, and public programs. She holds an MFA in Photography from MassArt and a certificate from the International Center of Photography.
Robin O’Dell is the Executive Curator at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in Tampa, where she oversees the collection and curates over a dozen exhibitions annually. A contributing writer for The Artisan Magazine and Arts Coast Magazine, she previously served as Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, and has worked with institutions including the Keith Haring Archive, the George Eastman Museum, and the Ringling Museum of Art.
Check out our growing list of jurors!
Registration for Critical Mass 2025 opens June 2nd!
