Center For Railroad Photography And Art Inc

TO INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART THROUGH EDUCATION, RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS, AND EXHIBITIONS, AND TO SERVE AS A FORUM FOR THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY OF RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.

PUBLICATIONSTHE CENTER PUBLISHES A QUARTERLY JOURNAL, RAILROAD HERITAGE, THAT USES PHOTOGRAPHS AND ART TO INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE RAILROAD'S INFLUENCE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, AND THE LIVES OF THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO BUILT, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN NORTH AMERICA'S RAILROADS. WITH THE JOURNAL SERVING AS ONE OF THE CENTER'S PRIMARY MEANS OF MEMBER ENGAGEMENT DURING THE PANDEMIC, STAFF MEMBERS EXPANDED EACH ISSUE WITH MORE PAGES TO INCLUDE MORE ARTICLES AND SHOWCASE MORE WORK FROM WITHIN THE CENTER'S COMMUNITY OF MEMBERS, INCLUDING A SPECIAL ARTICLE ABOUT THEIR WORK DURING THE PANDEMIC, "CREATIVITY & COVID". BOOKS ADD TO THIS MESSAGE, AND THE CENTER CONTINUES TO PUBLISH ONE EACH YEAR. THE TITLE FOR 2020 IS THE RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPH OF DONALD W. FURLER, WHICH DRAWS FROM THE COLLECTION. SALES HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY STRONG SO FAR, AND THE BOOK HAS GARNERED SEVERAL POSITIVE REVIEWS. A NEW TITLE FOR 2021, THE RAILROAD AND THE ART OF PLACE: AN ANTHOLOGY, IS CURRENTLY BEING PRINTED AND WILL DEBUT IN THE FALL. CENTER STAFF MEMBERS ARE ALREADY WORKING ON ANOTHER TITLE FOR 2022, WHICH WILL SHOWCASE CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY FROM MEMBERS AND BEYOND.

COLLECTIONSTHE CENTER MAINTAINS AN ARCHIVE OF APPROXIMATELY 450,000 PHOTOGRAPHS AND PERFORMS ARCHIVAL PROCESSING OF ITS COLLECTION INTO ARCHIVAL-SAFE STORAGE MATERIALS. ANTICIPATED ADDITIONS IN 2021 AND BEYOND SHOULD PUSH THE TOTAL NUMBER OF IMAGES ABOVE 700,000. THE CENTER DIGITIZES BOTH THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED METADATA, SHARING IMAGES THROUGH ITS WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, AND PUBLICATIONS, WHILE MAKING THE IMAGES AVAILABLE TO RESEARCHERS, AUTHORS, AND OTHER USERS. GROWTH OF THE COLLECTION HAS LED TO A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN IMAGE USAGE REQUESTS, AND IMAGES FROM THE CENTER'S ARCHIVE NOW APPEAR FREQUENTLY IN BOOKS AND MAGAZINES BY OTHER PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS. ONE EXAMPLE IS THE "ARCHIVES TREASURE" FEATURE THAT APPEARS IN EACH ISSUE OF CLASSIC TRAINS MAGAZINE AND SPOTLIGHTS A PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE CENTER'S ARCHIVE. THE CENTER'S COLLECTION IS NOT RECORDED ON THE CENTER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.A HIGHLIGHT OF THE CENTER'S ARCHIVE INCLUDES THE JOHN GRUBER COLLECTION, WHICH ARRIVED IN JULY 2020 AND CONTAINS APPROXIMATELY 109,000 PHOTOGRAPHS COVERING RAILROADS IN WISCONSIN, THE UPPER MIDWEST, AND THROUGHOUT THE U.S., FROM THE 1940S INTO THE 2010S. GRUBER WAS THE CENTER'S PRINCIPAL FOUNDER AND A LUMINARY IN THE FIELD OF RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHY FROM 1960 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 2018. HIS WORK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED EXTENSIVELY IN BOOKS AND MAGAZINES, AND HE AUTHORED SEVERAL BOOKS AND NUMEROUS ARTICLES DURING HIS LIFE. PROCESSING THE GRUBER COLLECTION WILL TAKE MULTIPLE YEARS AND IS ONE OF THE CENTER'S TWO FOREMOST ARCHIVING PRIORITIESALONG WITH THE JIM SHAUGHNESSY COLLECTION - FOR 2021.

CONFERENCESIN TYPICAL YEARS THE CENTER HOSTS TWO ANNUAL CONFERENCES - ONE NATIONAL EVENT NEAR CHICAGO AND ANOTHER REGIONAL CONFERENCE IN A DIFFERENT CITY EACH YEAR - FEATURING PRESENTATIONS ABOUT RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART. THE EVENTS GIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND RESEARCHERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO NETWORK AND EXCHANGE IDEAS, BOTH THROUGH FORMAL PROGRAMMING AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES. ATTENDEES COME FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES AND SEVERAL OTHER COUNTRIES. DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE CENTER NIMBLY SHIFTED TO ONLINE EVENTS WITH GREAT SUCCESS, HOSTING TWO FULL-DAY ONLINE CONFERENCES IN APRIL AND SEPTEMBER, AUGMENTED BY WEEKNIGHT EVENTS IN EVERY OTHER MONTH. PARTICIPANTS CAME FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND WORLD, WITH ATTENDANCE RANGING FROM 100 TO 400 PER EVENT. THIS EXPANDED REACH HAS HELPED LEAD TO INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP, AND THE CENTER PLANS TO CONTINUE HOSTING ONLINE EVENTS IN THE FUTURE.

EXHIBITS - THE CENTER PREPARES AND MANAGES SEVERAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITIONS THAT TRAVEL TO MUSEUMS AND OTHER VENUES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE THEY ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. WHILE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC DIMINISHED THESE ACTIVITIES IN 2020, SOME SHOWS STILL TRAVELED, INCLUDING AFTER PROMONTORY: 150 YEARS OF TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROADING AND RAILROADS AND THE AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE: TED ROSE PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS. THE CENTER WORKED CLOSELY AND FLEXIBLY WITH ITS PARTNER VENUES TO RESCHEDULE AND EXTEND EXHIBITION SHOWINGS FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT AS WELL AS SAFETY FOR VIEWERS DURING THE PANDEMIC. THE CENTER ALSO PUT THREE OF ITS TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS ONLINE USING THE KUNSTMATRIX PLATFORM TO ALLOW MORE VIEWERS TO SEE THESE SHOWS. AS COVID RESTRICTIONS EASE, THE CENTER IS WORKING WITH ADDITIONAL PARTNER VENUES TO GET MORE EXHIBITIONS BACK ON THE ROAD IN 2021 AND BEYOND. MEANWHILE, CENTER STAFF MEMBERS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE REDUCED NEED FOR EXHIBITION LOGISTICS AND BEGAN RESEARCHING AND PLANNING FOR TWO POSSIBLE NEW EXHIBITIONS IN THE COMING YEARS. AWARDS - THE CENTER'S ANNUAL CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS PROGRAM CONTINUED UNABATED IN 2020. NAMED FOR PRINCIPAL FOUNDER JOHN E. GRUBER, THE PROGRAM SEEKS TO RECOGNIZE AND ENCOURAGE EXCELLENCE IN RAILROAD IMAGERY. FOR 2020, THE VOLUNTEER PANEL OF THREE JUDGES, CHAIRED BY A BOARD MEMBER, SPLIT THE PROGRAM INTO TWO CATEGORIES, ONE FOR COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS AND ONE FOR BLACK-AND-WHITE. THE WINNING IMAGES WERE PUBLISHED IN THE CENTER'S JOURNAL AND IN RAILFAN & RAILROAD MAGAZINE. WHILE THE USUAL PHYSICAL EXHIBITION OF THE AWARD WINNERS DID NOT TAKE PLACE IN 2020 DUE TO COVID, THE CENTER STILL PUBLISHED THE WINNING IMAGES ON ITS WEBSITE AND ALSO HOSTED A SPECIAL ONLINE EVENT FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH THE FIRST PRIZE WINNERS IN BOTH CATEGORIES.