Time: 9 and 10 April 2019
Venues: Turun Taidehalli and Yrkeshögskolan Arcada

Titled “The End (and Ends) of Photo Criticism”, the lecture addressed Coleman’s professional experiences over the past half-century, changes in the field of photography during that period, and the shifting situation of photography criticism across those decades.

Celebrating his 50th year as a critic, historian and curator

Currently celebrating his 50th year as a critic, historian, and curator of photography and photo-based art, Allan Douglass Coleman has published 8 books and more than 2 500 essays on photography and related subjects. Formerly a columnist for the Village Voice, the New York Times, and the New York Observer, Coleman has contributed to ARTnews, Art On Paper, Technology Review, Juliet Art Magazine (Italy), European Photography (Germany), La Fotografia (Spain), and Art Today (China). His work has been translated into 21 languages and published in 31 countries.

Coleman received the Culture Prize of the German Photographic Society in 2002, the first critic of photography ever so honored. In 2010 he received the J Dudley Johnston Award from the Royal Photographic Society (U.K.) for “sustained excellence in writing about photography.” And in 2014 he received the Society for Photographic Education’s Insight Award for lifetime contribution to the field.

His widely-read blog “Photocritic International” appears at photocritic.com. Since 2005, exhibitions that he has curated have opened at museums, galleries, and festivals in Canada, China, Finland, Hong Kong, Italy, Rumania, Slovakia, Spain, Taiwan, and the U.S.

The talks were organised by Smidiga övergångar i Svenskfinland Development Project at Yrkesinstitutet Prakticum, in co-operation with Arcada University of Applied Sciences, The Museum of Finnish Photography, Photographic Centre Peri, Arts Academy – Turku University of Applied Sciences and Allan and Bo Hjelt Art Foundation.

Alternate History and Poetry Performance
Coleman’s presentation “Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day”, was followed by a poetry performance at Club F5.6 Lavaklubi at The Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki on April 9, 2019.