bye-bye scp

In 1984, a bunch of photography enthusiasts gathered on a monthly basis in the basement of a Kansas City doctor - a photo collector and founder of the group - to hammer out the mission and goals for a fledgling organization called the Society for Contemporary Photography. We were a glorified camera club at first. SCP grew into a downtown gallery space and started having exhibitions of local and regional photographers, then grew in to a larger space and started having shows by nationally known photo-based artists. SCP sponsored the well respected and highly anticipated annual juried show, “Current Works”, featuring internationally recognized curators as its jurors and important works by emerging photographers in its exhibitons.

As of mid-February, SCP will be no more.

Kathy Aron Dowell, the current director and curator, announced today: “When the SCP began, most established institutions and galleries did not accept photography as a ‘viable’ fine art medium. Our mission was clear. Since that time, the photographic community has accomplished a great deal, and we now find photography exhibits and educational opportunities flourishing around the globe. Of course, this is good news for photography, but it also means that photo-centric organizations like SCP face funding challenges alongside institutions with much larger development, staffing and/or Board resources.”

Is this a case of “be careful what you wish for”?

Luckily for Kansas City, we have the Nelson-Atkins Museum, and we have Keith Davis. Since the Hallmark Photographic Collection was acquired by the museum and Keith was kept at the helm, this city will finally get the recognition it deserves for its significant photography holdings, as well its curator who is easily one of the most well respected and knowledgeable photo historians in the country (also a very nice guy).

I guess it was a good run. Twenty-three years. I guess, too, that none of us in Tony’s basement back in those early days could ever have imagined what SCP would eventually become. It does sound kind of unimaginable that photography was not considered a “viable fine art medium.” We’ve come a long way.