Callanan Teaching Award

Image detail from the series The Plantation Boy © Uche Okpa-Iroha, 2022 Teaching Award Recipient

Teaching Award

Nominations are with the Juror

“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism” — Colleen Wilcox

Established in 1998, the annual Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award honors a high school, college, or postgraduate teacher’s dedication and commitment to their students and field. Educators in all areas of photographic teaching are eligible – including fine art, documentary, history, and criticism. In honor of their exemplary teaching skills and techniques the Teaching Award recipient receives $5,000 in financial support, Review Santa Fe Admission, access to Professional Development Seminars, Inclusion in the CENTER Image & Library, and a CENTER Supporting Level Membership.

EDUCATORS MUST POSSESS:
// A genuine passion for teaching
// An ability to excite students to learn
// A respect for students as individuals
// An enduring artistic curiosity

HOW TO NOMINATE:
Please fill out this Teaching Award Nomination Form prior to the March 15, 2023, deadline to officially submit your nomination.

Educators must be nominated by their student(s) or colleague(s) to be considered.

2022 RECIPIENT & 2023 JUROR

Uche Okpa-Iroha • Visual Artist, Art & Culture Producer, Art Educator, Independent Curator, Mentor, & Founder/Director, The Nlele Institute Lagos, Nigeria

FROM THE JUROR STATEMENT:
“…one nominee did stand out in a variety of ways, and he is the remarkable Nigerian photographer, teacher, and arts organizer, Uche Okpa-Iroha, the Founder and Director of the Nlele Institute, and Centre for African Art in Lagos. His students and supporters are legion, and he is a beloved figure not only at the Institute but within Nigerian and African photography at large. He founded Nlele in order to make the study of photography affordable to all, and he has taught there since its founding. His own work has been shown internationally and he has arranged multiple collaborations with other photographers to address African cultural and social issues… Many congratulations to you, Uche Okpa-Iroha.” – Peter Brown, 2021 Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award Recipient

FROM THE 2022 NOMINATIONS:
• “He is a selfless photography instructor helping marginalized youth have access to free photography training and workshop and opportunities in Nigeria.”

• “We call him mentor because he’s a great teacher, and one who follows the development of his mentees from day one to infinity. Much of our development in visual art in Nigeria is attributed to him… He is the practicing artist who teaches his students life!”

• “Dedicated to furthering art in Nigeria”, is a phrase I’d use to describe Mr. Uche… Being highly passionate about Art and its various mediums, Mr. Uche, constantly strives to expand the minds of those around him, so they can see the infinite possibilities of art.”

• “He has over the years mentored many generations of artists through the Nlele Institute and helped them to build their careers using the institute as a stepping stone.”

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2021 • Peter Brown

Photographer & Instructor at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

2020 • Frank Lopez

Photographer & Teacher, Greenhill School, Addison, Texas, USA

2019 • Tony Chirinos

Artist, Photographer, & Associate Senior Professor of Photography, Miami Dade College, Miami, Florida, USA

2017 • Cig Harvey

Maine Media College, Anderson Ranch, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, Maine, USA

2015 • Joe Johnson

Head of Photography Department, University of Missouri, Lecturer at Carnegie Mellon, Indiana University, MassArt, Rhode Island College, the DeCordova Museum, & the Beach Museum, Missouri, USA

2014 • Aline Smithson

CENTER Workshop Instructor, Fine Art Department Instructor, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, California, USA

2013 • Jessamyn Lovell

Art Department Senior Lecturer, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

2012 • Stephan Hillenbrand

Associate Professor, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

2011 • Kerry Skarbakka

Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA

2010 • Sean Kernan

Savannah College of Art and Design, Maine Photo Workshops, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops & the Art Center, Pasadena, Connecticut, USA

2009 • Archy Baker LaSalle

Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, Massachusetts, USA

2008 • Patrick Hebert

Instructor, Art Center College of Design, CA & Associate Director of Education, AIDS Project Los Angeles, California, USA

2007 • Joan Dooley

Bell School of Humanitas Academy, Los Angeles, California, USA

2006 • John Weiss

Professor of Art, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA

2005 • Rose Marasco

Professor of Art, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, USA

2004 • Lauren Shaw

Associate Professor, Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

2003 • Susan Kae Grant

Professor of Photography, Texas Women’s University, Denton, Texas, USA

2002 • Don Gregorio Anton

Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, USA

2001 • Joleen Mahoney Roe

Bethlehem Central High School, Delmar, New York, USA

2000 • Catherine Angel

Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

1998 • Eddie Soloway

Instructor, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, National Geographic Presenter, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

DONORS

Thanks to a generous donor in 2020, the Excellence in Teaching Award has been renamed to the Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award, after our Founder Reid Callanan, and will be supporting dedicated educators annually.

Thank you for the future support of the Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award.