By Elin Spring
Don’t you love playing with toys, especially those that absorb your thoughts and let your imagination soar? Since 2013, that has been the idea behind the Somerville (MA) Toy Camera Festival (STCF), champions of serendipitous imagery created using low-fidelity toy cameras such as the quirky plastic Holga. More recently, photographers using hands-on alternative processes such as pinhole lenses, photograms, expired film or any method with minimal or no exposure control have been encouraged to submit work to this now biannual event.
Feature Image: “Urban Sinewave” by Christianna Kreiss, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“Radiation Time” by Kerrie Kemperman, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“Steam and Birds” by John Nordell, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Juried this year by Guggenheim Fellow and Somerville-based photographer Mary Kocol, two galleries are exhibiting 80 wild and wonderful photographs by 56 artists who embrace the thrill of chance. This is a world of voracious experimentation and happy accidents! I am sharing some images here that offer delightfully different ways to see buildings, just as an example to whet your appetite. Of course, there is so much more and it is especially rewarding to see these unique pieces in person. But you already know that.
“Inflience I” by Lars Janer, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“Folding Structure” by Rachel Winslow, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“Chicago Chicago Chicago” by Julia Holcomb, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“Pretender” by Kyle Massak, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
The festival is being held through September 27th, 2025 at the Nave Gallery and Washington Street Gallery in artsy Somerville, MA. Programming includes an online event with juror Mary Kocol and in-person workshops. For all the details, go to: https://www.somervilletoycamera.org/
“Doublesky” by Cara Gaetano, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“The Laundry and the Ladder” by Marky Kauffmann, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“Window to the Clouds” by Martha Wakefield, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“Lost and Found” by Steven Taddei, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
“The Island” by Silke Hase, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
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