Context 2021
Juried by Juli Lowe
Filter Photo is pleased to announce Context 2021, our annual spring open call for photography-based work juried by Juli Lowe, former director of the Catherine Edelman Gallery.
On view at Filter Space March 26th through May 1st. A juror’s choice award and an honorable mention will be announced at the opening reception on March 26th.
"Context 2021 is a reflection of our time: intense, challenging, deliberate, and self-reflective. The photographs featured in this exhibition contemplate life during a pandemic, family heritage, and intimacy while offering hope through community. The images reconstruct traumatic childhood memories and search for identity and belonging within a new culture. Others examine human interaction and the power of touch as well as complex family lineages. They explore challenges within parenthood; the anxieties and fears for our children's well-being and safety. They speak to the Black American experience and unveil the nuanced effects of our global climate crisis. Context 2021 shows a vast array of photographic practices that reveal the common bonds that tie us all together.
I’d like to thank Filter Photo, Jennifer Murray, Jeff Phillips and all the applicants. This process proves there is so much exciting work being made and I encourage all of the artists to keep pushing boundaries and sharing your work with the world. We need your voices!"
- Juli Lowe
Click here to watch Juli's talk during the opening reception on March 26th!
Participating Artists:
Kalee Appleton
Bremner Benedict
Cody Bratt
Shawn Bush *
Elizabeth M. Claffey
Julianne Clark
Isabella Convertino
Eli Craven
Michael Darough
Jorge Ariel Escobar
Leslie Fry
Allison Grant
Kayla Suzanne Holdgreve
Emma Creighton Hopson
Ethan Aaro Jones
* Honorable Mention
** Juror's Choice Winner
Image Credit: Allison Grant
Tehan Ketema
Jiatong Lu
Noelle McCleaf
Jenny Rafalson
Astrid Reischwitz
Rosalie Rosenthal
Krista Svalbonas
Stephanie Taiber
Rashod Taylor
Anthony R. Vizzari
Sara J. Winston
Iris Wu
Connor Young
Jiawei Zhao **
Lilia Ziamou
Juli Lowe was named the Director of the Catherine Edelman Gallery in 2015. She was hired five years prior as the Assistant Director and within a few years, Lowe helped implement new initiatives including, Ctrl+P: Photography Taken Offline, now is in its ninth year; Art Mixer, special events that engage younger collector groups; and several of the gallery's web series including, Chat Room, Hot Off the Press and Work From Home: Inside the Artist's Studio. She also oversees The Chicago Project (an online gallery started in 2003 to promote unrepresented photographers in the Chicagoland area) and has promoted the work of these emerging photographers through exhibitions, acquisitions by private and public collections and press outlets. In 2020, Lowe curated New Formations, an exhibition that featured work by four emerging artists who use the photograph as material to construct a new visual language.
As an instructor for VVrkshop.art, Lowe leads courses about pricing artwork and the fine art market. Lowe is an advisory board member for the Arnold Newman Prize, is on the review committee for proposals for the exhibition calendar (2020+2021) at Filter Space and has juried several photography competitions including The Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture, All About Photo Awards 2020 'The Mind's Eye' and Lens 2016 International Juried Photography Exhibition.
Lowe travels extensively for the Catherine Edelman Gallery, attending and participating in art fairs throughout the United States and internationally, constantly engaging in the conversation and education of photography. With a background in photography, Juli previously worked at The Maine Media Workshops and as a producer for print and television campaigns.
This exhibition is partially sponsored by The Illinois Arts Council Agency and a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.
Image Credit: Jiawei Zhao
Exhibition Dates: March 26 - May 1, 2021
Opening Reception: March 26, 5 - 9 pm CT
Location: Filter Space | 1821 W. Hubbard St., Ste. 207
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday | 11 am – 5 pm, Saturday | 12 - 4 pm
