The Crux of Visibility: Portraits, Vision, and Empathy – Virtual

About

To be seen means to be recognized. To be photographed, or captured, means to be seen in a certain way: by the photographer, the mechanical eye, the viewers of the image, and the economic and social systems in which the photograph (and its photographed subjects) will circulate and be evaluated. Portraits hold a unique form of power, and can exist in various photographic languages; from ID cards to institutional archives, from museum collections to family albums. Portraits can be instrumental or conceptual, they can convey fragmented and complex identities, or arrest all other possible meanings by offering a single interpretation to one’s face and environment.

This show is curious about the conversations and connections enabled by portraiture, suggesting that the photographer and mechanical eye can inhabit and further problematize such limitations and photographic histories or undo them by offering a view rooted in compassion and understanding. In that sense, this show suggests that the photograph can enable a dialog anchored in empathy and acceptance.

The Juror

Shana Lopes, PhD, is an Assistant Curator of Photography at SFMOMA. Born and raised in San Francisco, she has curated or co-curated exhibitions such as Constellations: Photographs in Dialogue, Sightlines: Photographs from the Collection, A Living for Us All: Artists and the WPA, Zanele Muholi: Eye Me, The SECA 2024 Art Award, People Make This Place: SFAI Stories, and Alejandro Cartagena: Ground Rules. Over the past fifteen years, she has gained curatorial experience at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Juror Statement

For questions please email info@lacphoto.org

Features

The Crux of Visibility: Portraits, Vision, and Empathy will feature the following FREE events and happenings:

• Thursday, November 19, 2026, 12 pm – 1 pm PST on Zoom FREE, RSVP HERE

Price Sheet and Instructions for Purchasing Artwork

Download/View Pricesheet (To Come)

Interested in purchasing artwork? Please email info@lacphoto.org and a representative will contact you ASAP.  Thank you!

For questions please email info@lacphoto.org