We welcome you to share your thoughts and predictions on the future of photography and the PRC in the gallery and online. As demonstrated by Jeff Weiss's above quotation and the PRC/POV essay, the PRC's founders hoped that the PRC would play an important role in exploring the boundaries of photography as well as adapting itself to suit its audience's changing needs.
Please visit the PRC gallery to leave your comments or email us prc@bu.edu. We will select various sentiments and post them here on a running basis.
Here are some questions to get you started:
What will photography become over the next 30 years?
In 2036, will we have wet darkrooms, or rather, will gelatin silver prints be the next historical process? Will photography be subsumed into the wider genre of "lens-based arts" or break out as a separate medium?
What will the PRC become over the next 30 years?
What are your hopes for the next 30 years for the PRC and what will it be like in 2036? How will it change, how will it stay the same? What new roles do you see it playing?
Join the action! The PRC couldn't exist without the input and generosity of our members. Click here to learn more about our special membership drive or to make a donation.
To inspire you further, below are remarks by several of the PRC's 30 nominators on the PRC's role and its future:
"Some argue that photographic non-profits are no longer important because most galleries and museums now show photography and photographs command high auction prices, but I would argue that such organizations support photographers early in their careers and provide much-needed specialized resources."
—Anita Douthat, 2006
"Artists, especially photographers, are very isolated. They labor inside projects that keep them away from mainstream society. It's a choice artists make. The PRC advocates for them, gives them voice, makes their presence known and adds weight to those lone choices."
—Lou Jones, 2006
"Through the countless exhibitions and lectures held at or sponsored by the PRC, I have been able to extend my knowledge about the medium and stay current with developments in the field. This vast resource of information provided by the PRC has made me a better teacher in the classroom, a keener observer of the world around me, and an enormously more enthusiastic fan of photography."
—Arno Rafael Minkkinen, 2006
"I see the PRC as a place for like-minded artists, or those not so like-minded, to come together to look at work, have a conversation, without the commercial/selling part of the equation."
—Bruce Myren
"Its next 30 years should continue this effort through the highest caliber exhibitions, lectures, publications, workshops, classes, and access to publications in its library and collections. It should extend its use of the web for as many of these as possible. But, it should also make a serious effort to publish a quality critical journal for both historical and contemporary studies."
—Carl Chiarenza, 2006
"For the future I should say that the mission might be to bridge the gaps between the academic world and the general interest in photography, which has never been higher. I think the students are often the most interesting and connective aspect of the mix and the idea that there should be a student advisory board is an excellent one."
—Jim Dow, 2006
"My hope is that the PRC will have larger quarters, a bigger staff, a huge endowment and that it will continue to be one of the premier photographic centers in the United States if not the world."
—Andrew D. Epstein, 2006
"That it will continue to serve its constituency well, be flexible as the photo landscape changes, stays fiscally well tended, continues its close association with BU, and remains relevant in the face of digital. ...Keep up the good work - you're making a difference!"
—Barbara Hitchcock, 2006
"Technology is changing the face of photography so very rapidly. I hope the PRC can take the lead in keeping up with those advances, paving the way for photography's practitioners and preserving the legacy already established."
—Lou Jones, 2006
"Foremost on my wish list is VIEWS, the return of an inexpensively published journal of New England photography. This would be in addition to any websites...the idea of being able to read print from a page in your hands is quite close to the pleasure of being able to see the photographic work on the wall, not on a screen....So, what's my hope for the future? It's something from the past."
—Arno Rafael Minkkinen, 2006
