Why Should Anyone Care About Your Photography? Shana Lopes, E130

Learn exactly what an SFMOMA photography curator looks for, what she passes over, and how to get your work seen without an MFA, a gallery, or a 6-paragraph artist statement.I sat down with Shana Lopes, Assistant Curator of Photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), to find out how photography actually enters a museum collection. Shana has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Center for Creative Photography, holds a PhD in the history of photography, and has spent over 7 years at SFMOMA curating exhibitions, acquiring work, and reviewing portfolios.We talked about how a curator decides which photographs get remembered, why she needs to be able to write about your work before she can acquire it, the one question every photography project has to answer, and the practical advice she gives emerging photographers trying to get exhibited, published, or noticed. Other things we discussed:What a curator actually does day to day, from wall texts to installation choreographyWhy she thinks about exhibition layouts musicallyCurating photobooks versus curating walls, and why she reads books from the backTrends in museum photography, and whether documentary is disappearingHow to write an artist statement a jury will actually readPortfolio reviews: what to bring, what not to say, and when to come backWhy an MFA isn't necessary but a community isAI, analog revival, and the art schools closing in San FranciscoFind Shana on the SFMOMA website and Instagram:https://www.sfmoma.org/about/eteam-curatorial-staff/https://www.instagram.com/lopesshana/Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!Support the show_________________________________Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. Join The Community - extended episodes & bonus featureshttps://www.mattjacob.co/insidersThe App That Transformed My Art & Mindhttps://wakingup.sjv.io/c/7738181/3958771/54965Website:https://themoodpodcast.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay