Susan Lapides

“Boston has such a huge history with photography,” says Bruce Myren, board member of the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) at Boston University.  From an early involvement with commercial daguerreotype studios in the 1840s, to the proliferation of modern photography schools like the New England School of Photography, the Hub has long been home to camera enthusiasts and professionals. Now, from May 1–8, Flash Forward Festival Boston is putting Boston’s photography scene on display for all to see. “What the festival does,” says Myren, “is it allows us to reach a larger audience, really concentrating the entire city’s focus on photography.”  

Flash Forward is the brainchild of the Magenta Foundation, a non-profit arts publishing house in Canada. While the festival itself is more than a decade old, this is year six for Boston, and local photography enthusiasts are excited about the opportunities the festival provides. Myren explains that, at the PRC this year, the annual juried exhibition, Exposure, was planned to coincide with Flash Forward in order to be a part of the roster of events that attract many new faces. “Every year the festival grows,” says Myren. “Every year it gets more popular…[the PRC] is very excited to be showcasing work as a part of this.”

Visitors are encouraged to add a little contemporary art into their stay by attending an exhibition or two; residents may want to dive into the city’s photographic universe by attending the artist talks and special panels. The festival has an event just about everywhere in and around Boston, from Cambridge to SoWa, where you can find The Fence, an outdoor photography exhibit, and the Flash Forward Group Show. Nearly every day during the festival there is an opening reception on the roster, all of which showcase incredible examples of either local or international work brought to Boston especially for this week. You may also support young photographers in high school by attending a silent auction—the Flash Forward Boston Incubator on Saturday, May 7—in which all proceeds raised go towards scholarship awards that help students further their artistic goals. Myren plans on attending as many of the events as possible. “It’s a wonderful look at contemporary photography, not just in our area, but across the world.” 

Exposure: The 20th Annual PRC Juried Exhibition

April 28–June 26 at the Photographic Resource Center, 832 Commonwealth Ave., 617-975-0600, bu.edu/prc. 

Opening reception May 5 from 5–8 p.m. Visit flashforwardfestival.com for more information.