May 11: 11:00 - 1:00 (EST) Zoom
Griffin Museum of Photography
”From Our Libraries: Extraordinary & Innovative Photobooks With Mary Virginia Swanson and Susan kae Grant
Zoom Presentation for Photobook Month

September 23 - 27 - Rockport, ME
Maine Media Workshops
To Be Published, Self-Publish, and Artists’ Books
5-day lecture/site-visit workshop co-taught with
Mary Virginia Swanson and Susan kae Grant
5-day lecture/site-visit workshop

September 30 - October 4 - Rockport, ME
Media Media Workshops
The Handmade Photographic Artist’s Book:
A Synthesis of Form & Content
5-day hands-on workshop

November 6-9 - Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP)
The Photo Book as Art with Susan kae Grant
Evening lecture + 3-day hands-on workshop

Workshops, Mentoring & Lectures

Information:
Susan kae Grant inspires and empowers photographers and book artists in their creative practice through in-person & virtual mentoring sessions on topics designed specifically for each individual or group.

Grant’s unique style of mentoring focuses on the creation and implementation of time-based plans for bringing projects and book ideas into fruition from development to production.

Her mentoring sessions often include discussions of photo works, guided writing prompts for balancing form and content through materiality and image sequence, best practices in book design, creation of and feedback on photobook mock-ups, as well as creative and technical problem-solving, fabrication solutions, resources, and strategies for marketing to collections and publishers.

For information & scheduling:
Contact Susan kae Grant

Collaborative Teaching:

Information:
From 2003-2019, following their tenure on the SPE Board of Directors, Susan kae Grant along with Mary Virginia Swanson established and co-taught the workshop Strategizing a Career in Photography to student volunteers and scholarship winners at the SPE National Conferences.

Grant and Swanson were named SPE Honored Educators in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

In 2023 they celebrated their twentieth anniversary in presenting this workshop and continue to provide advice to the next generation of photographers through workshops, consulting and mentoring.

Strategizing a Career in Photography is available to programs of higher education and community groups.

Schedule Lecture or Workshop
Contact Susan kae Grant

2023 Collaborative Workshops (Past)

Mary Virginia Swanson & Susan kae Grant

Main Media
To Be Published, Self-Publish, and Artists' Books: Choices for Photographic Artists Today
September 25, 2023 - September 29, 2023
This is a lecture/site-visit workshop co-taught with Mary Virginia Swanson and Susan kae Grant in Portland Maine.

Join Mary Virginia Swanson and Susan kae Grant in this dynamic lecture/site visit workshop, where photographers will explore publishing options and gain insights on book design, editing, marketing, and distribution.

Information: Click Here

The Grace Museum
Making & Marketing Art:
Strategizing & Sustaining a Career in Photography
July 15 @ 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm

In conjunction with her solo exhibition, Shadowing Grace, join Susan kae Grant and Mary Virgina Swanson for an afternoon on professional development for artists at The Grace Museum.

Discussions will address structures for making work and presenting it in the public arena, print sales, strategies for promotion of your work through print and social media today. Session concludes with a look at promotional materials and Q & A with the presenters.

Information: Click Here

The Photobook: An Overview of Traditional Publishing, Limited Editions & Artists’ Books with Mary Virginia Swanson & Susan kae Grant
November 19 & December 3, 2022
Sponsored by La Luz Workshops

Past Workshops: 2023

Santa Fe Workshops
The Handmade Artist’s Book:
Envisioning Form & Content
July 31 - August 4, 2023.
5-day hands-on workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Join lens-based artist Susan kae Grant in the ambiance of Santa Fe to tap into your memory, personal insight and intuition to design and create a handmade book of your photographs that symbolically balances form and content.

Information: Click Here.

Past Workshops: 2022

Los Angeles Center of Photography
The Photo Book As Art With Susan kae Grant
April 2, 3 & 9, 10, 2022 (Online Learning)

Description Summary:
Blending traditional and contemporary practice, this virtual masterclass introduces participants to the art of handmade photographic artists’ books that are as diverse in style and direction as they are in technique. Through brainstorming techniques and guided writing exercises, we concentrate on memory, experience and imagination to inspire the content, design and execution of personal photo book-works.

Each class day includes lectures, hands-on demonstrations, writing exercises, guided studio time and a one-hour lunch break. Topics focus on the technical execution of three binding styles and an array of techniques to physically incorporate images and text into photobooks. Examples of original works are used to illustrate strategies for design, sequence and materials.

More Information: Contact LACP

The International Center of Photography (NYC)
The Art of Photographic Bookmaking
(Exclusive to ICP Students Only)
May 14, 15, & 21, 22, 2022

Course Description:
The art of bookmaking can expand the way photographs are viewed and interpreted. This workshop surveys the methods of photographic bookmaking as well as the theoretical concerns that arise from interpreting images in sequence and in various presentations. Demonstrations and discussions address design, content, structure, imaging techniques, materials, and sources needed for production.

Students examine work by contemporary artists who draw inspiration from traditional book forms, but transcend or deviate from such structures. Through hands-on experience, students learn to create a bookwork that balances form with content in a symbolic and provocative way.

Past Workshops: 2021

Description Summary:
Knowing the techniques and skills to make a book of your own is one thing—tapping into your creativity and subconscious to create a book is yet another. In this workshop, we concentrate on memory, experience and imagination to inspire the content, design and execution of personal handmade photo book-works.  

 Participants learn through lectures and discussions to develop methodologies for collecting and recording dreams and memories. Classes include guided meditations and written exercises designed to elicit creative insights to strengthen and combine writings and images for their books. 

The International Center of Photography (NYC)
The Art of Photographic Bookmaking
(Exclusive to ICP Students Only)
May 8, 19, & 15, 16, 2021 (on-line)

Course Description:
The art of bookmaking can expand the way photographs are viewed and interpreted. This workshop surveys the methods of photographic bookmaking as well as the theoretical concerns that arise from interpreting images in sequence and in various presentations. Demonstrations and discussions address design, content, structure, imaging techniques, materials, and sources needed for production. Students examine work by contemporary artists who draw inspiration from traditional book forms, but transcend or deviate from such structures. Through hands-on experience, students learn to create a bookwork that balances form with content in a symbolic and provocative way.

Past Workshops: 2020

• The International Center of Photography
  The Art of Photographic Bookmaking
  (Exclusive to ICP Students Only)
  May 9, 10, & 16, 17, 2020 (on-line)
  

• Santa Fe Photographic Workshops
  Myth, Metaphor & Memory: The Constructed Image
  Santa Fe, New Mexico
  July 26-31, 2020 (Postponed due to COVID)
  

• 20/20 Photo Festival Philadelphia
  The Photo Book as Art
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  September 26 & 27, 2020 (Postponed due to COVID)

Past Workshops: 2019

• Anchorage Museum of Art

• Anderson Ranch Arts Center

• Arizona State University

• Athenaeum Music & Arts Library

• Center for Creative Studies

• Center for Book & Paper Arts

• Houston Center for Photography

• International Center For Photography

• La Luz Workshops

• Los Angeles Center of Photography

• The Art Institute of San Antonio

• The Light Factory

• Maine Media Workshops

• Museum of Photographic Arts

• Oklahoma Arts Institute

• Ringling College of Art & Design

• Ryerson University

• Santa Fe Workshops

• Southwest School of Art

• University of Colorado Denver

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne

• University of New Mexico-Albuquerque

Selected Teaching Awards