By Elin Spring
When the whole world seems inclement, where can you turn for inspiration, insight and air conditioning? There’s a feast for the eyes this summer at the Griffin Museum of Photography. If you are anywhere Winchester, MA, I highly recommend a visit because my words cannot give the exhibitions in and around the museum enough justice. The newest installation of work includes three shows: the “32nd Annual Members Juried Exhibition,” featuring 60 images selected by Barbara Tannenbaum, Curator of Photography and Chair of Prints, Drawings & Photographs at Cleveland Museum of Art, along with Lisa McCord’s “Rotan Switch” and Preston Gannaway’s “Remember Me,” curated by Griffin Executive Director Crista Dix. Here is a taste of the Juried Exhibition, with our review of the solo shows to follow later this week. All are on view through September 6th, 2026.
Honorable Mention: “Walk This Way” 2025, by Pierre Hauser, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
Honorable Mention: “Sideways” 2026 by Sarah Salomon, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
Arthur Griffin Legacy Award: “The Sitter” 2023 by Patricia McElroy, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
Griffin Lens Award: “Inside Out” 2024 by Nina Nelson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
First and foremost, I think the work in the Annual Juried Exhibit is compelling. But I want to say something about the juror faced with an open call receiving over 1600 submissions that must be whittled to a mere sixty prints for display. Herculean? With an acceptance rate around 4% any juror is leaving a lot of great work on the table, and the task shifts from picking commendable images to creating a selection that combines visual and figurative elements into a cohesive whole. Well, there are curators and there are curators and I feel that Barbara Tannenbaum has brought an exceptionally discerning eye and inquisitive mind to the task.
Honorable Mention: “Preserved Silence” 2025, by Jingyin Che, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“Through the Looking Glass” 2022, by Diana Cheren Nygren, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“The Night Gardener” 2024, by Mary Reeve, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“Untitled #3008” from Interstices, 2024, by Torrance York, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
There is no inherent rhyme or reason to an open call for submissions, and it falls to the curator to insinuate themes and internal dialogs amongst the chosen works. This chance to catch a glimpse of the curator’s creativity and world view always captivates me.
“The Shadows Embrace” 2026 by Sandi Daniel, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“Statuary” 2026, by Steve Jacobson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“Ancient Black Pine Canopy, Ritsurin Garden” 2025, by Lynne Buchanan, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“Home Comforts” from the series The Trail, 2023, by QT Luong, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
Given today’s war-torn politics, chaotic economy, and scorched-earth weather events, it seems both a miracle and a delight to see Dr. Tannenbaum not choose darkness, desperation and death as the focus for this exhibit. Perhaps it is only natural for artists to channel ambient angst, because such work can seem ubiquitous. Instead, this show’s curator drew on our yearnings for meaning and connection.
Honorable Mention: “Jim’s Hand” 1967/1998, by Roy Crystal, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“Self-Comfort” 2016, by Honey Lazar, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“Hakeem, Boston’s South End” 2025, by Jay Weaver, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
The images are varied in mood and tone, visual perspective and narrative content. What unifies them? They emphasize personal, intimate relationships – with nature, with our histories, with each other. If art imitates life, what more validating and heartening focus can there be for a photography exhibit right now?
Feature Image: “Street Bar” 2025, by Diane Bennett, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, WInchester, MA.
This is just an appetizer of the many images on view. I encourage you to savor the entirety in person if you can. The 32nd Annual Members Juried Exhibition in the museum’s Main Gallery is accompanied by two solo shows: Lisa McCord’s “Rotan Switch” in the Griffin Gallery and Preston Gannaway’s “Remember Me” in the Griffin Atelier Gallery. These solo exhibits are curated by Crista Dix, Executive Director of the Griffin Museum, and akin to the Juried Exhibit, they center on the influential ways that memories shape our lives. Our review of these solo shows is coming next.
For more information on all current exhibits, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/current-exhibitions/
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