Smartphone Photo Contest/Exhibit

Smartphone Photo Contest & Exhibit at Cooperative Gallery

When the first-ever local Smartphone Photo Contest and Exhibit opens at the Cooperative Gallery 49 photographers will show 121 photos snapped on their phones. The state of emergency cancelled First Friday but the gallery is open Fridays 3-6 and Saturdays 12-4. According to Peg Johnston, curator of the show, “Smartphone photos are ubiquitous on social media and at all gatherings, and I am impressed with both the sheer beauty and often the serendipity of the images these people have captured.”

Joshua B. Ludski will be the judge for the contest and there will also be voting for a People’s Choice Award. Cash prizes will be awarded at 1 pm on Saturday March 17th.  Proceeds from the entry fees will split between cash prizes for winners and a donation to the Dept. of Public Art. Participating photographers will gather for a Gallery Tour including brief presentations by entrants.  The public is welcome.

Peg Johnston has been a member of the Cooperative Gallery since its inception in 2000 and has mounted several installations and curated exhibits including the “TRASH Eco Art” exhibit, “Binghamton: A Memoir,” and the “Book as Art” show. In 2016 she received the Heart of the Arts Award from the Broome County Arts Council.

The Cooperative Gallery, a popular stop on the First Friday Art Walk, located at Artists Row –State of the Art, at 213 State Street in Binghamton, is open on First Friday 3- 9 pm and regularly Fridays from 3-6 and Saturdays from 12- 4 pm.  A free weekly e-newsletter is available by signing up at  www.cooperativegallery.com or on Facebook  at Cooperative Gallery 213.

Photo: “Phones at the Ready” a photo of the Carnegie Library at the Luma Projection Festival by Peg Johnston