The power of art is immense and wide reaching. It can pull us through difficult times, elevate the spirit, express emotion, highlight shared experiences, bring communities together, help us appreciate the mundane, and document and comment on historic events.
The Art Collections and Exhibitions Department/ Stamelos Gallery Center hosted a campus-wide photography contest as a method for telling our stories through art during the unprecedented time of the Covid 19 Pandemic. Gallery staff invited all current University of Michigan-Dearborn students, faculty and staff to search their homes and community environments for inspiration while following safe and appropriate physical distancing guidelines.
This all-inclusive campus project encouraged everyone, either with or without prior photography experience, to pick up a smart phone or any available camera and examine their homes and communities carefully with a new eye. Participants looked for interesting possibilities for abstract compositions of mundane objects that they see every day and expressed emotion by photographing family members or volunteer activities that inspired them. Some shot scenes that conveyed what they were truly feeling during this time - opportunity, love, community, hardship, loneliness or isolation. Others photographed what they observed in their community that could serve as commentary or historic documentation for the pandemic.
There were no specific guidelines or parameters. Participants were encouraged to choose any subject matter, topic, or photography style that they felt best represented the “Art in a Time of Pandemic” theme.
Each participant was permitted to enter up to three photographs. All submissions were divided into two categories: Art Photography and Documentary Photography, and then all entries were judged by UM-Dearborn Art Curator and Competition Juror Laura Cotton anonymously with no names attached. All photographs were judged solely upon merit and with a point system based on the following eleven criteria:
impact
tells a story (specifically about the historic 2020 pandemic)
expresses emotion
technical quality
sharpness
high contrast
color
creativity
composition
lighting
points of interest
use of color (or successful choice not to use color)
style
presentation
A $400 first prize and a $250 second prize was awarded to photographs in each of the two categories, along with eight Honorable Mentions.
Juror Statement
As curator and juror for “Art in a Time of Pandemic: Stamelos Gallery Center Photo Competition,” I feel an immense satisfaction in the hundreds of photography submissions from the campus community. Students, faculty and staff, many with no prior photography experience outside of snapshots and selfies, beautifully met the challenge to observe and document the historic event playing out all around them and interweaving into every aspect of their lives. They closely surveyed and considered their worlds, and found new ways to appreciate those things normally overlooked. Participants told the story of the resilience, spirit, ingenuity and determination of the UM-Dearborn community in a time of hardship, rapid changes, disappointment and isolation.
Photography is our eyes on the world and our tie to those without a shared spoken language. One photograph has the ability to capture tragedy, heartache, hope, togetherness, and resolve, communicate a narrative, and record an historic moment all at once. Images broaden our worlds, engage us with our communities, introduce new viewpoints, and help us understand humanity.
I was inspired and moved by the creativity, care and attention brought to this project by all who submitted work. My hope is that this focus on artistic expression may have allowed for a small respite, for those who needed it, from the worries of an uncertain time.
Displayed are the top four award-winning photographs and the eight that received honorable mentions. Many additional submitted photos will be added here throughout the summer as part of a more extensive exhibition.
---Laura Cotton, University of Michigan-Dearborn Art Curator and Competition Juror