PAC LA PRESENTS: YEAR OF THE WOMAN

In honor of the powerful women who helped to shape PAC LA's first decade, we are launching Year of the Woman, a series of flagship public educational events celebrating notable women in fine art photography. The organization is building an entire year of programming around this central theme and will offer free, in-person events, held quarterly at venues across the city in 2025 and early 2026.

Read more here.

This groundbreaking programming initiative is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Eastman Museum Los Angeles.

Up next in this unique series of public talks: The Female Gaze: Women Photo Gallerists in Los Angeles. This dynamic panel discussion will feature three esteemed gallerists who, working over the last thirty years, have come to define the Los Angeles photo scene: Tarrah von Lintel, Theresa Luisotti, and Rose Shoshana. The discussion will be moderated by journalist Jori Finkel, who has chronicled the city’s expanding art market for multiple news outlets.

Over the course of the last fifty years, Los Angeles has established itself as a city with a vibrant photo community, home to important public collections, top tier art schools, and many galleries that regularly showcase the wide-ranging scope of the medium. Each of these formidable women has been at the forefront of the major trends in our city, and have been responsible for single handedly establishing the careers of photographers who are now part of the canon. This wide-ranging conversation will bring to the fore their individual experiences, discussions of the challenges and opportunities of working in Los Angeles and will present insights about how the field has changed over the years.

The panel will welcome audience questions and input, creating an interactive opportunity to examine the role of galleries in the broader visual arts ecosystem, in the cultivation of a collector community, and in the discovery and development of artists’ careers and legacies.

Saturday August 9 | 1 PM PST | FREE and open to all

The Reef | RSVP HERE

Year of the Woman Flagship Event: An Afternoon with Photographer Susan Meiselas

As the highlight of our Year of the Woman programming initiative, PAC LA, in partnership with Eastman Museum Los Angeles and American Cinemateque, is honored to host an afternoon with acclaimed documentary photographer and president of Magnum Foundation, Susan Meiselas. Known for her documentation of human rights issues in Latin America, this remarkable event coincides with the 2025 rerelease of Meiselas’ acclaimed publication, Nicaragua from Aperture. The book was first published by Pantheon in 1981 and is more sharply relevant today than ever.

Susan’s talk will center around her Nicaragua work over multiple decades and the various forms it has taken, as a book, exhibition and film, tracing the lives of her images as they have circulated and been repatriated, shifting their meaning over time.

We will be honoring several of PAC LA’s founding female leaders in person at the event, and there will be a book signing following the presentation.

A limited number of VIP Sponsorships are available, which will include an intimate hosted reception with the artist at a private home in Santa Monica.

Saturday,Sept 13 | 2 PM PST | FREE and open to all

The Aero Theater | Get Tickets | VIP Sponsorship inquiries

Member Opportunities

Artist Walkthrough & Book Signing: Dish Trick by Jo Ann Callis

Members, please join us for an artist-led walkthrough and book signing with long-time friend of PAC LA, Jo Ann Callis.

Of the exhibition, the gallery writes: We are pleased to present Dish Trick, an exhibition of photographs by Jo Ann Callis. In this series, Callis offers a poetic and psychological exploration of everyday objects, inviting viewers to consider the silent power these forms hold in our lives.

Callis describes the work as a deconstruction of traditional still life. Rather than arranging elements into a static scene, she isolates and re-examines each one on its own terms. “I originally thought of taking a still life and taking it apart,” she says, “looking at each object individually.”

This exhibition is accompanied by Luhz Press’ release of their latest photography book, Jo Ann Callis: Dish Trick. Members will have the opportunity to purchase the book at the event and have their copy signed by the artist.

Saturday, July 26 | 11 AM PST

ROSEGALLERY | Members - RSVP Here

Member Walkthrough: Nature on Notice: Contemporary Art and Ecology

Eve Shillo, the Associate Curator of the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department at LACMA will lead our members through Nature on Notice: Contemporary Art and Ecology on the VIP closing day of this important and beautifully curated show.

From LACMA: In Nature on Notice, more than 20 artists from around the globe engage in a visual dialogue about the “new nature” we are living in. Illuminating the need for both artistic and scientific imagination to counter threats to our ecology, these makers speak sensitively to the changes they are witnessing or, as a counterpoint, refer to cultures that have long revered nature while most of the world has steadily consumed it.

This event has very limited capacity, so unfortunately, no guests are permitted.

Saturday, August 2 | 2 PM PST

Charles White Elementary | Members - RSVP Here

Member Travel Opportunity: Paris Photo 2025

Paris Photo 2025 will be held at the Grand Palais from November 12-16. As a benefit of joining PAC LA, members are welcome to request a complementary VIP Paris Photo pass for two, but why not treat yourself to a Premium Experience that only PAC LA can offer? You'll enjoy personalized, private access to the City and photography culture beyond the Fair, expertly curated and led by our very own Paris experts. It's an unforgettable way to truly be a VIP in Paris!

November 12-15 2025

Paris, France | Members - RSVP Here

Instagram Live: A Conversation with Cecilia Paredes

Continuing our Year of the Woman celebration virtually, PAC LA is excited to present an engaging Instagram Live event hosted by Hannah Sloan with photo performance artist Cecilia Paredes.

This artist explores the theme of identity through ethereal “photo performances,” in which she camouflages her body against beautifully patterned backdrops and disappears amongst the ornamentation. By presenting herself as part of the landscape, Paredes builds her own identity in relation to the part of the world where she lives and raises the question of how our environment influences who we are. Born in Lima, Peru, a country whose early civilizations revered nature, Paredes often disguises herself against flora. The sweeping lines of foliage and the rich hues that paint the backdrop and the artist’s body put her in an intimate conversation with nature. Animals, various objects, and fabric also play a part in the complex layers of Cecilia’s oeuvre.

Thursday, Sept 25 | 3 PM PST | FREE and open to all

Online - Instagram Live | RSVP HERE