New Juror Profiles: More Fantastic Reasons to Enter Critical Mass

Critical Mass is by far one of the most important photography opportunities out there for emerging photographers. I will always be thankful for their support and I encourage everyone interested in putting your work in front of photo-industry leaders to apply!
—Alejandro Cartagena

More new faces join the Critical Mass dream team! The jury is 200 strong and we are so thrilled with the wide diversity of photography professionals it represents. Critical Mass isn’t your typical photography competition. Entering is an opportunity to get your work in front of the tastemakers in the field. More than winning any particular award, the value is getting your work in front of 200 top curators, publishers, editors, and media producers – people who can offer exhibitions, publications, and more. Of course, Photolucida does offer some wonderful awards (a solo exhibition, two artist residency awards, and a group exhibition), but many more opportunities are offered to artists by professionals who fall in love with their work while jurying. Check out the success stories to get a taste of the excitement.

Critical Mass is open for entries now. Don’t miss it – the entry deadline is on the horizon! Learn more.

Draženka Jalšić Ernečić

Draženka Jalšić Ernečić is a Croatian art historian, ethnologist, and senior curator, as well as an expert on the arts, art history, and the cultural heritage of Croatia and middle Europe. She is the head of the museum art department at Koprivnica Museum. She curates the collection of photographs and photographic albums as well as other collections at the museum. Draženka is also a writer and occasional documentary and research field photographer. She is the author of several books and many catalogs and articles on contemporary art, architecture, and photography. Her recent work includes research and writing on analog and digital photography in the museum collections and contemporary American fine-art photography from Leonard Nimoy to Nicolò Sertorio. She also focuses on visual and anthropological research on mob shooting and visual communication in social media.

Photo by Grant Leighton

Samantha Johnston

Samantha joined Colorado Photographic Arts Center as Executive Director in September of 2015. A photographer, arts administrator, and educator, she made the move west to Denver from the East Coast in 2010. Prior to joining CPAC, she taught photography and visual arts for twelve years at high schools in Boston and Denver. She is a longtime member of the Society for Photographic Education, and served as Treasurer of the Southwest region from 2013-2016 and Co-Chair of a Southwest regional conference in Denver (Letters to an Emerging Artist). Her photographs have been shown in numerous exhibitions nationally, and she continues to be an active artist in the community, serving as a reviewer at Houston FotoFest in 2016. She holds a certificate in Arts Development and Program Management from the University of Denver, an MFA from Lesley University College of Art & Design, and a BFA from Alfred University. She was named one of Colorado’s Top 100 Creatives 3.0 by Denver’s Westword Magazine and featured on Lenscratch in April 2016.

Kayt Fitzmorris

Kayt Fitzmorris is an artist’s rep at REDEYE in Los Angeles, CA. Originally from Washington, DC, she came to California to attend Occidental College. After graduating, she cut her teeth at DSREPS and was Associate Photo Editor at The Hollywood Reporter.

Joshua Farr

Joshua Farr attended the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, N.H. where he held a three-year work-study position for the Photography Department. Upon graduating in 2011 with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography, Joshua moved to Brattleboro, Vermont where he now lives and works as a web-designer at Good Bear Productions, staff and photographer at the Brattleboro Museum, and as Gallery Director at the Vermont Center for Photography. Joshua has curated and juried dozens of photographic exhibitions in his time at the Vermont Center for Photography, including solo exhibitions by artists such as Rebecca Lepkoff, Frank Ward, Siri Kaur, Magdalena Solé, Camilo Ramirez, Sarah Malakoff, and Zora J. Murff – among others. He will be a guest reviewer at the New England Portfolio Review at the Griffin Museum of Photography in July 2016.

Jennifer Murray
Jennifer Murray is a Chicago-based artist, curator, and educator with more than fifteen years experience as an arts administrator. She is the Executive Director of Filter Photo where she directs the planning of the annual Filter Photo Festival as well as Filter Photo’s gallery space, Filter Space. She was Director of Averill and Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery at Columbia College Chicago for eleven years where she organized a broad range of exhibitions in art and design. In 2011 she inaugurated the A+D Gallery summer residency program to benefit underrepresented artists and collectives, including past participants ACRE and Bad at Sports. She is a founding member of the curatorial collective The Exhibition Project, which has curated three local photography exhibitions since their founding in 2013, Expanding the Frame and New Landscapes with a third exhibition, The Nature of Masculinity recently on view at the Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL. She continues an active photographic practice and has recently been awarded grants from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Illinois Arts Council. She is currently an Instructor of Photography at Loyola University Chicago and served as an adjunct at Columbia College Chicago for many years.

Sarah Koenig Wagner
Originally hailing from Northern California, Sarah studied photography and art history at the University of Arizona. She has worked for distinguished institutions such as the Center for Creative Photography, the Crocker Art Museum, and the Museum of Photographic Arts. When not serving as Programs Manager for the Medium Festival of Photography, Sarah enjoys taking long summer road trips, exploring with her two young sons, and photographing the little things.