 Artist announcement for Metaphors of Recent Times |
| ARTISTS ANNOUNCEDMETAPHORS OF RECENT TIMES | A DIALOGUE OF THE PERSONAL, THE POLITICAL AND THE CULTURAL |
| We extend our heartfelt thanks to every artist who submitted their work to Metaphors of Recent Times | A Dialogue of the Personal, the Political, and the Cultural, a collaborative call for entry in partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission. Over the course of nine weeks, we received an outstanding 128 trio submissions. After thorough review by our jurors, we are thrilled to announce the 24 artists selected for the final exhibition: Pablo Bautista • Renee Billingslea • Barbara Boissevain • Kennedi CarterMima Cataldo • Yu-Chen Chiu • Katie Cofer • Mark CogginsIzzy Cosentino • Kelly Fogel • David Gardner • Stuart GoldsteinChristine Huhn • Judi Iranyi • Strele Laurin • Anni LopponenDarcy Padilla • Eric Robertson • Lance Shields • Nina SidnevaWilliam Mark Sommer • Liz Steketee • Rusty Weston • Harry Williams The inspiration behind Metaphors of Recent Times stems from a commitment to continuing the dialogue initiated by the PhotoAlliance INSIGHT/INCITE 20/20 Portfolio. This call for work invited photographers to reflect on themes of our planet, humanity, and societal values. By featuring both emerging and established voices, PhotoAlliance celebrates San Francisco’s ethos of inclusivity while bringing timely, thought-provoking art to the iconic venue of San Francisco City Hall. Please mark your calendar for the exhibition’s artist reception on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at 5:00 PM at San Francisco City Hall. Stay tuned for more details! |
 Wesaam Al-Badry, HERMES #V, 2018, from series Al-Kouture |
| Join us for an engaging lecture with photographers Wesaam Al-Badry and Jake Ricker, as they delve into themes of identity, community, and social justice, each offering unique perspectives through their art. PhotoAlliance is proud to partner with Mark Ryan Fine Art Services for our 2024 Fall Lecture Series! Since 2014, Mark Ryan Fine Art Services has been dedicated to expertly crafting and finishing custom frame packages in Oakland, CA. Learn more about their work by visiting their website HERE. |
| WESAAM AL-BADRY AND AL-KOUTURE |
| By examining Western consumerism and its influence on traditional Muslim Culture, Al Kouturereveals the tension between Occidental and Arab-Islamic ideologies. Al-Badry plays with symbolism and the impact of globalization as he explores the possibilities of assimilation in a vast, polarized world. Would the Western World accept the niqab if it were on the racks of luxury fashion designers? Edward Said wrote “Muhammad ‘Abdu and his remarkable contemporary Jamal al-Din al-Afghani argued either that Islam had better modernize in order to compete with the West, or that it should return to its Meccan roots the better to combat the West.” The global Muslim clothing market is forecast to be worth $320 billion by 2020, larger than the current markets of Britain, Germany, and India combined. In the last 2 years, Western brands have created clothing to appeal the millions of consumers in these markets. Positioned between the Occident and Arab-Islam worlds, Al Kouture investigates seasonal fashion trends built upon millennia-old cultural traditions. |
 Wesaam Al-Badry, from series Al-Kouture, from left to right:: VERSACE #XI, 2018VALENTINO #X, 2018FENDI #V, 2018 |
| The baseline of this project is unveiling the contradictions between cultural religious consumer corporate interests. This entails investigating the relationship between the commodity fetish object as a symbol of modernity, and women as the object of both male and market desires. What happens for the Islamic World by putting seasonal designer patterns/brands on millennia-old cultural traditions? Would the Western World accept the niqab if it were on the racks of luxury fashion designers? These entanglements and apertures form the lens through which the series investigates conflicting ideologies: Western consumerism and its influence on traditional Muslim culture. Wesaam Al-Badry’s process for this series consists of procuring vintage and contemporary silk scarves from couture houses like Hermes and Gucci. He tailors and re-purposes them into niqabs, traditional clothes some Muslim women wear to cover their faces in public. By toying with symbolism, emulation and consumerism, Al-Badry both questions the political economy of fabric and explores the possibility of assimilation in a vastly polarized world. |
 Linda Connor with PhotoAlliance board of directors member Zack Sumner Schomp and Executive Director Kristy Headleyat 2024 Community Benefit Dinner, June 13, 2024 |
| PhotoAlliance is dedicated to being a positive force in our photographic community, bringing people together, enabling education, and encouraging professional development. We strive to be a means for personal expression and a source for cultural insight. Has PhotoAlliance made a difference in your photographic journey? What role has it played? Do you have a tale about your time with PhotoAlliance that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it. We welcome short stories, heartening tales, unexpected career leaps, and, of course — your photos from along the way. Please share your story by sending them to: photo+stories@photoalliance.org. |
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