Photographers gather at GVSU

More than 300 educators, professionals, and students from 13 states attended the Midwest Society for Photographic Education Conference, hosted recently by the GVSU School of Communications.

Conference events included public lectures by internationally known artists Maggie Taylor and Arthur Tress, as well as various student and professional presentations, a juried student show, and community events held in collaboration with the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, and Kendall College of Art and Design.

Photographer David Plowden, a visiting professor at GVSU, was honored by SPE for his lifetime of achievement in photography. Former University of Michigan professor and photographer Phil Davis was also recognized with the 2002 Honored Educator Award.

Shown above, conference co-chairs and Grand Valley photography professors Anthony Thompson, right, and Victoria Veenstra, second from right, present appreciation awards to student co-chairs Nathan Eikelberg and Michele Kleinhenz.