REGENHARDT GALLERY AT SHRODE ART CENTER
SHRODE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION AND EXHIBIT
October 22 – December 31, 2023
- Exhibit Open: Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm & Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 pm
- Gallery Admission – Free
GATHER AT THE GALLERIES – EXHIBIT OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, October 21 | 5:00 to 7:00 pm
- Complimentary Bar & Hors d’oeuvres | 5:00 – 6:00 pm
- Awards announcement – 6:00 pm
- Admission $10.00 | Cedarhurst Members – Free
ART CHAT – NEW YEAR’S EVE
Sunday, December 31 | 3:00 pm | Free admission
- Exhibiting photographers and public welcome
- Moderater – Carrie Stover, Director of Shrode Art Center
GALLERY SPONSORS: 
EXHIBIT SPONSORS: Doug and Debby Kroeschen | The Bernard and Naomi L. Podolsky Charitable Trust
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT:
The Shrode Photography Competition and Exhibition is a juried competition open to artists 18 years of age and older living in southern Illinois south of Interstate 70, including Charleston, IL. Eligible media accepted included photography created with photographic film, and digital images.
205 photographs were entered in this year’s competition from 51 different artists, representing 17 southern Illinois communities! 40 works were accepted representing 25 artists. We are delighted that so many people in the region are involved in the art of photography and that we are able to offer this challenge. Awards include cash prizes for Best of Show, 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place and Honorable Mention Certificates.
The 2023 competition judge was Jenny Kettler. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Photography from SIU-E and a Bachelors of Arts in Photojournalism from the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, MO and Environmental Studies Certificate. She teaches photography at Lindenwood University, Maryville University and St. Louis Community College.
Judges Statement 2023 – Jennifer Kettler
Thank you so much for having me judge the Shrode Photography Competition and Exhibit. It’s an honor and a privilege to curate a wonderful exhibit through the lens of such talented local photographers. Special thanks to Carrie and Tracy for having me as a juror. And especially high remarks to all the entering artists. There was a large amount of exceptional work entered which made it hard to curate the show. But, more importantly, it proves that this area is a hot spot for some wickedly talented artists.
This exhibition showcases a diverse amount of photographic genres, concepts and techniques. Gallery goers will be delighted to see everything from nature photography and portraiture to pictorial abstraction and conceptual photography. There are a few artists with multiple images in the show. These artists have refined bodies of work that are particularly poignant to current conversations on culture, gender, identity and the environment.
Many of the nature photos have a transformative quality. They bring the viewer into the beauty and awe of the natural world while at the same time evoking a spirit of environmentalism that goes beyond how can we, as humans, do less bad, to how can we be a better family member to nature? What can the family of forests in the Smoky Mountain Morning photo teach us? Or the penetrating eyes of Coyote Crossing tell us? These images seem to ask not what rights do I have as a human but what responsibilities do I have to the land and its creatures?
I spend a lot of time thinking about our relationship to nature. But I think British naturalists and author Michael McCarthy sums it up best:
“We might have left the natural world, most of us, but the natural world has not left us.”
May this exhibit remind you of the wild and wonderful in all of us. May this breadth and body of work help you find pause and reflection on cultural and societal conventions. There is resolution and stillness in this kind of show; one that can only be found in the willingness to seek.
I commend the courage of the photographers who shared this with us by mapping their concepts from birth to creation. Producing a transformative space like this is at the heart of photography. When done well, photographs have the ability to transport us from one time and space to another. Helping us to explore inner and outer landscapes in a whole new light. There’s a subtle kind of beyond in this type of photography that penetrates your soul.
I congratulate all the emerging artists and award winners for I congratulate all the emerging artists and award winners for doing this and helping to create an exquisite exhibition. I encourage everyone to come see and experience the show and its pensive qualities. I hope it delights and inspires you as much as it did me.
