By Elin Spring
The 4th of July weekend is fast approaching and summer is upon us. Wouldn’t you love to get out and celebrate? We recently visited The Photoville FENCE in Winchester, MA and enjoyed a trifecta of enticements: engaging, juried public art, a walking path through lovely, landscaped green spaces and the amenities of a charming community, including a Town Common sprinkled with picnic tables and benches, bustling restaurants offering outdoor & indoor seating & plentiful frozen treats. Even our dog loved it.
The Photoville FENCE is an annual, juried public photography exhibition that calls for entries in seven categories and displays over 85 selected projects in partnership with local cultural and civic organizations in the parks and downtown areas of eleven (and growing) locations throughout North America. This is the ninth edition of The FENCE and the second year that it has been presented in Winchester, MA by Photoville, in conjunction with the Griffin Museum of Photography and the Winchester Cultural District, along with the support of many local organizations.
The most notable feature of this year’s exhibition is storytelling. Whether in the category of Creatures, Food, Home, Nature, People, Play or Streets, each selection presents glimpses of unusual and absorbing narratives from all over the world, including right here in New England. Some are more story than fine art but many are both. Not surprisingly, most selections address highly topical issues, ranging from racial and gender inequities to the effects of global warming, gentrification and social media.
At the end of our loop, I felt as if I had ingested a tasting menu of teasers for magazine editorial stories. Sure enough, the producers of The FENCE anticipated this and on each vinyl, there are URL codes that you can read into your cell phone to learn more about any story or photographer. I didn’t try this, but I understand that at some of the displays, musical accompaniment can be activated.
The Photoville FENCE also includes a selection devoted to showcasing regional photographers. This year, the NEW ENGLAND SHOWCASE features Elizabeth Ellenwood’s Among the Tides: Sand and Plastic Collection, Michael Joseph’s Wild West of the East, Katalina Simon’s The Land Beyond the Forest, the Hadrian’s Wall Working Group’s Like A Whisper: Time on the Land, Kevin Bennett Moore’s George, James Collins’ Patio Life, Melinda Reyes’ The Quiet World of Aging, and WWYR Associate Editor Suzanne Révy’s A Murmur in the Trees.
The Photoville FENCE will be on public display in downtown Winchester, MA through September 6th, 2021. Handy, free maps of the exhibition, with the walking loop and information on the location and category of each photographic selection are available at the Griffin Museum of Photography, a good starting point. For more information about the exhibit, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/9th-edition-of-the-fence-2021-winchester/
For more information about the individual photographers and their projects, go to: https://fence.photoville.com/artists/