Congratulations to the 2024 Pacific Northwest Drawers Artists
Blue Sky, Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts is pleased to announce the 60 artists selected for the 2024 Pacific Northwest Drawers! Each artist showcases a series of 10 photographic works, which will be on view in the Pacific Northwest Drawers flat files from April 2024 through March 2025 and on our website in perpetuity. These selections showcase the range and vibrancy of Pacific Northwest artists working in the photographic medium.
Join us in celebrating the 2024 cohort at our
First Thursday Opening on April 4 from 5 - 9 PM
2024 Artists
• Kate Ampersand • Blake Andrews • Theresa Bear • James Bianchi • Crackle Bingham •
• Steve Blackwell • Andre Buenacosa • Ezra Carlsen • Harley Cowan • Charlotte Cox •
• Neil DaCosta • Anna Daedalus • Dennis DeHart • Clara DeWeese •
• Michael Espinoza • John Francis • David Frazier • Ebenezer Galluzzo •
• Paarsa Hajari • Mick Hangland-Skill • Aaron Hartzell • James Heredia • Paul Higgins •
• Khim Hipol • Claudia Hollister • Tiara Johnson • Julian Jollon • Hermon Joyner •
• John Kane • George Kelly • Emma Kisiel • Brian Kosoff • Laura Kurtenbach • Julia Kuskin •
• Chris Lael Larson • Brian Lau • J. Jason Lazarus • Stuart Allen Levy •
• Cory Maben • Lawrence Manning • Vanessa Marsh • Lisa Martel • Brian McGloin •
• Jenny Irene Miller • Liz Obert • Kellie O’Donnell • Takaaki Okada • Larry Olson •
• Ralph Rinke • John Ritchie • Steve Rosenberg • Steven Rotter •
• Michelle Swanson • Heléna Dupre Thompson • Kerry Tremain • Kelda Van Patten •
• Aaron Wessling • Grace Weston • Rachel Wolf • Forest Woodward •
Expanding Visibility of Regional Artists
The Pacific Northwest Drawers originated in 2007 to expand the visibility of regional photographers. Each year Blue Sky invites artists from Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington to apply. The call opens in late fall and artists are selected in early winter.
Blue Sky received a huge number of submissions for its 17th iteration of the Pacific Northwest Drawers. The exhibition was juried by Aline Smithson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Lenscratch. The 2024 cohort comprises a strong showing from Blue Sky’s home state, with 41 artists from Oregon. Other artists hail from Washington (9), British Columbia (3) Alaska (2), Idaho (2), and Montana (3). The photographic work includes both lens-based and alternative processes, with a range of themes including identity, environment, connection, and social issues.
In a world where everyone has a camera, and many more image makers are contributing to the photographic dialogue, it is crucial to be unique, to be relevant, to be exacting, and to be professional.
- Aline Smithson, 2024 Juror
2024 Juror
Aline Smithson (she/her/hers) is a visual artist, editor, and educator based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her conceptual portraiture and a practice that uses humor and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. Growing up in the shadow of Hollywood, her work is influenced by the elevated unreal. She has exhibited widely including over 40 solo shows at a variety of international institutions and her work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, and PDN.
Smithson is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Lenscratch, a daily journal on photography. In 2012, she received the Rising Star Award through the Griffin Museum of Photography for her contributions to the photographic community and she also received the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award from CENTER. In 2014 and 2019, Smithson’s work was selected for the Critical Mass Top 50. In 2015, the Magenta Foundation published her first significant monograph, Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography, and in 2016, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum commissioned Smithson to create a series of portraits for the upcoming Faces of Our Planet exhibition. In 2018 and 2019, her work was exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the Taylor Wessing Prize. Kris Graves Projects published her book, LOST II: Los Angeles and included her work in SOLACE and On Death. Peanut Press released her monograph, Fugue State, in Fall of 2021. In 2022, Smithson was recognized as a Hasselblad Heroine.
The Pacific Drawers is largely supported by a generous grant from The Kinsman Foundation.
