Jury Team and Gallery Speaker
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2025
Robert Calafiore was born in New Britain, Conn. to Italian immigrants. His first-generation American experience continues to significantly influence his work. Cultural traditions and visual icons of his past merge with a critical interest on the impact of new technologies on current culture, particularly social media, gaming, augmented realities, and communication platforms. The unprecedented speed at which new technologies change and reflection on personal experiences serve to develop a focused exploration and conceptual base for his work. Calafiore uses a hand-built pinhole camera (camera obscura) to create large-scale scale one-of-a-kind c-prints. In addition to his art practice, Robert is currently the Associate Dean of Administration and Finance at Hartford Art School, University of Hartford.
Kristen Joy Emack is a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, a MacDowell Fellow, a Saint Botolph Fellow and a Massachusetts Cultural Arts Fellow. Her work has been shown across the united States and internationally and has been published in magazines including Vogue Italia, Nat Geo, Black + White Photography, OATH, The Horn Book and The Sun. She has lectured at multiple universities including Harvard, Hofstra, UVA, Emerson and Boston University. Her work has been acquired by institutions and private collectors in the US and Europe. Cousins, Kristen’s first photobook, was published in Italy by L’artiere.
Juror: Lauren Wendle
Lauren Wendle is an independent photography consultant with a distinguished career in the photography and publishing industries. She most recently served as President of the Lucie Foundation from 2018 to 2022, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring master photographers, discovering emerging talent, and promoting the appreciation of photography. Prior to that, she was Vice President and Group Publisher at Emerald Expositions, where she led the Photography Group - the largest collection of magazines, websites, and trade shows serving professional photographers in North America. Her earlier roles include Director of Photography at The Image Bank and Director of New York Advertising Photographers, where she helped advance the visibility and impact of commercial photography.
Currently, Lauren consults on a range of creative and historical projects. She is curating a historical photography exhibition for the Abbott House in Irvington, New York, managing the archive of renowned photojournalist Lawrence Fried, and conducting historical research for Avanti's America line of greeting cards. In addition to her professional work, she serves on the board of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund and volunteers her time developing and leading an arts program for undocumented immigrant children in Westchester County, New York. Lauren's career reflects a lifelong dedication to the power of photography as both an art form and a social force.
