The Second Annual

Across the photographic landscape, a persistent and often reductive question has taken hold: “Is this AI?” While framed as a technical concern, the question signals a deeper shift in how images are made, evaluated, and understood.

Photographers, especially, are increasingly finding their work scrutinized not for its meaning, but for its perceived origin. At the same time audiences and institutions are navigating a growing uncertainty where visual sophistication can provoke suspicion, and where interpretation is often replaced by a search for honesty.

This panel will not attempt to settle the legitimacy of AI as a tool, but examine the broader implications of its potential and consequences, including

· The instability of authorship and what it means to “make” an image today

· The emergence of aesthetic suspicion, where technical excellence is questioned

· The evolving role of the viewer, particularly in relation to trust, interpretation, and ethical judgment

· The pressures faced by competitions, galleries, and institutions in defining standards and policies

We are intentionally bringing together a range of perspectives by artists, educators, and curators to create a conversation that is not about consensus, but about clarity.

The Baltimore Camera Club, America’s oldest, continually-running photography society, has invited three artists and educators from the region to illustrate the stories behind their aesthetic and culture work, and answer questions that address the motivation to leverage artificially arbitrated media, and how this complements the work already being done in the field.

Whether joining us in person or attending via Zoom, bring your questions, ideas, and your friends: this event is FREE and open to ALL members of the community. Everyone is welcome.

*Baltimore Camera Club

 Mount Washington United Methodist Church

5800 Cottonworth Ave. Baltimore, MD 21209

baltimorecameraclub.org

*Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting chat link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89226681516

Meeting ID: 892 2668 1516 / Passcode: 155329

*For information regarding membership, or requests for promotional/press-related materials,

write: ccasamassima@towson.edu, or text 410.718.6574

 For membership/organizational information and social media presence, see baltimorecameraclub.orgAccessible via Light Rail at Mount Washington | Ample Free Parking

Kelli Williams is an animator and visual artist. She uses stop-motion animation, photography, augmented reality, installation, and humor to create work that comments on society through the lens of social media and technology. She is an alumna of Morgan State University where she majored in Fine Art, with a concentration in photography. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Columbus College of Art in Design. She is a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally and has been featured in the Huffington Post, Columbus Live, Hyperallergic, Artnet, Baltimore magazine, and Netflix’s Peabody Award winning short film, Cops and Robbers. Website: kelliswilliams.com/. Instagram: @Kshantee.

Jenee Mateer is a photographer and video artist born in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her B.A. in English/Modern Studies from the University of Virginia in 1987 and her M.F.A. from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1996. In 2007, she joined the faculty of Towson University, where she is currently Professor of Photo Imaging. Referencing art, nature, religion, and science, she uses color and layering to create hybrid images made possible by digital technologies. Her artwork has been exhibited in numerous venues, including the ArtHamptons Art Fair, Biggs Museum of American Art, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Jordan Faye Contemporary in Baltimore, Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts, Masur Museum of Art, Newport Museum, Rhode Island Foundation, San Francisco Art Market, Scope International Art Fair in Miami, the Texas Contemporary Art Fair in Houston, FotoNostrum in Barcelona Spain and Art-icon in France. She is the author of Hot House Hybrids (2023), Fairy Tale (2023), The Serpent’s Last Waltz (2023), Break Boundary Places Real and Imagined (2018), The Animals (2012), her essays and photographs have appeared in Home-Lived Experiences (2022) , the 1st and 5th International Photography Annual (2012, 2018), Alphabet (2016), Philosophy of Photography, Vol. 4 (2013), The Photo Review (2012, 2024), Masters of Photography (2012), and This is Visual Poetry (2011) and her photographs are in numerous private collections, including China Trust Bank.  She resides in Baltimore, Maryland, with her son, Alex, and her husband Lawrence. Website: www.jeneemateer.com. Instagram: @jeneemateer 

Brett John Johnson is an arts and community leader, curator, interpreter, and innovator with over 20 years of experience. He began his career at the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, then in Wilmington, DE, at the Delaware Art Museum. He later moved to the greater Washington, DC, region, where he served in key roles including Gallery Director at VisArts in Rockville, MD; Exhibition Specialist at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Preparator at the Corcoran Gallery of Art - both in Washington, DC, and Director of Visual Arts at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA. In 2017 Brett became Director of the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Home to the nation’s largest community of publicly accessible working-artist studios under one roof, the Art Center welcomes more than 500,000 visitors annually. After his start in 2017, Brett oversaw the production of acclaimed exhibitions and public programs, while forging partnerships with organizations such as Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, Amazon, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the USO, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His work consistently emphasized creativity as a driver of community engagement. Most recently, Brett served as Executive Director of The Delaware Contemporary, the states only contemporary art museum, home to multiple unique galleries, more than 20 private artist studios, and a Black Box space. Brett’s mission is to use art and culture as catalysts for community development, nurturing creativity, curiosity, and resiliency. He values creativity, excellence, equity, collaboration, and transparency. He is a Certified Public Manager through the George Washington University’s Center for Excellence in Public Leadership and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Institute for Regional Excellence. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Fine Arts from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture.

2026

Spring trip

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