PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS COUNCIL LOS ANGELES - PAC LA

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PAC LA is…

…passionate about photography as an art form.

And we’re excited to share our passion with you.

Dedicated

For over a decade, our focus has been to gather and engage experts and curious newcomers in conversation about the ways photography connects and enriches our community.

Independent

From our roots as an advisory council to one of the largest museums in the country, PAC LA is now recognized as a leading independent resource for the entire arts community in Los Angeles and beyond.

Connected

We bring together artists, gallerists, museums, collectors, educators, and individuals to create unique collaborations, programs and experiences.

Active

PAC LA produces a robust calendar of expertly curated public and member events throughout the city, along with online talks and guided travel, on our own and in partnership with other notable arts organizations. We also produce a thought-provoking digital newsletter every month. It’s free, so why not subscribe?

Here for You

PAC LA exists to build, educate, and engage our community, and that means we do this for you. Whether you are a supporting member, a viewer on our YouTube channel, a follower on Instagram, or a first time guest at an event in your neighborhood, we are so glad you found us.

 

  • The Photographic Arts Council Los Angeles creates unique collaborative programming that engages and educates the community in an evolving public conversation about photography and photo-based art.

  • We recognize photography and photo-based art connects us to one another and pushes the boundaries of our understanding.

    As we build upon our knowledge of photography’s complex history, PAC LA fosters a deeper understanding of contemporary artists and their influence on our culture. We engage our diverse community through active learning opportunities – through viewing and discussing classic and contemporary photography, hearing lectures by experts, engaging in an ongoing dialogue with artists and participating in photo-focused travel.

    Giving back is fundamental to the PAC LA culture. Through volunteer work, partnerships, mentoring and grant initiatives we empower the PAC LA community to contribute to a new generation of scholars, artists, students and social activists discovering photography as a powerful means of self-expression. Join us and experience the wide range of photographic activity in the art capital of Los Angeles and beyond.

  • Created in 2022, our strategic plan focuses on ensuring a future of self-sustainability and a growing and diverse PAC LA community.

    The plan is a living and evolving document that has been embraced and is used by our Board to chart and evaluate our progress regularly.

    Learn more and read the plan here.

Explore: Programs | Travel | Membership | Team


EXPERIENCE PAC LA

PAC LA for Everyone

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.

 
 

Upcoming Public Programs

Installation at Rose Gallery, 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


© Cecilia Paredes

 

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

 

Public Event Highlight: Photo Forward

In 2023, PAC LA organized and hosted Photo Forward, a brand new, 100% free Photography Fair at Bergamont Station in Santa Monica. Over the course of a weekend, thousands of visitors experienced the excitement of discovering new work, meeting notable gallerists, and learning from PAC LA presenters on topics ranging from the creation of photo books to starting a photo collection.


PAC LA for Members

Member Opportunities

 
 

© David LaChapelle

Member Walkthrough: Queer Lens: A History of Photography

PAC LA Members - join us for a private curator-led walkthrough of the recently opened show, Queer Lens: A History of Photography at the Getty. This exhibition has been gaining rave reviews nationwide, and is a must-see event.

The Getty writes:

Since the mid-19th century, photography has served as a powerful tool for examining concepts of gender, sexuality, and self-expression. The immediacy and accessibility of the medium has played a transformative role in the gradual proliferation of homosocial, homoerotic, and homosexual imagery. Despite periods of severe homophobia, when many photographs depicting queer life were suppressed or destroyed, this exhibition brings together a variety of evidence to explore the medium’s profound role in shaping and affirming the vibrant tapestry of the LGBTQ+ community.

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

Saturday, July 19 | 11 AM PST

The Getty Center | Members - RSVP Here


© Joanne Callis

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


© Yan Wang Preston

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 Event Highlight: The Lapis Press

In March 2024, PAC LA members were invited to The Lapis Press for a special curatorial walkthrough of the studio–visiting works from newly released editions by Stephen Shore and Daido Moriyama, as well as projects on view by Ed Ruscha, Kehinde Wiley, Matthew Brandt, Analia Saban and others.


PAC LA Online

Since early 2020, PAC LA has presented conversations with artists, curators, collectors and experts from all corners of the photography and lens-based art world. Visit our YouTube Channel to enjoy our full archive.

Production of new PAC LA online talks and our free public archive is made possible by the generous financial support of the Herb Ritts Foundation.

Recent Conversations

PAC LA Online Hightlight: A Conversation with John Simmons

Our June 2023 artist talk and discussion with acclaimed photographer and cinematographer John Simmons. The artist presented works from his archive of early photographs and from his current practice, and shared his background and stories of his multi-disciplinary career as a documentarian of social and visual culture, as well as his passion for working within the mediums of photography and film.


Questions/Ideas about PAC LA Events? | Email us!

 

THE REWARDS OF MEMBERSHIP

 
 

PAC LA Membership connects you directly to the heart of the photographic arts community here in Los Angeles.


Through expertly curated experiences, our members…

Explore and Discover

PAC LA members have unparalleled access to artists, museums, galleries, and private collections, all year long, all over Los Angeles. And beyond.

Learn and Discuss

Our private group visits are hosted by leading curators, academics, and often, the photographers themselves. We create comfortable opportunities for members to ask questions, share impressions and exchange ideas with the experts, and each other.

Connect with Each Other

Not only do our members share a curiosity and enthusiasm for fine art photography, they are also warm, welcoming and fun to spend time with. Join this vibrant community and you’ll find yourself among friends.

Support PAC LA

Membership contributions are the primary source of funding for PAC LA. Your dues allow us to serve the Los Angeles arts community as an independent council, produce outstanding programming for members and the public, and to support the health and growth of this vital ecosystem through our work.

Want to do even more with us? Become a Sponsor member!

All membership fees are 100% tax deductible.

Join or Renew today!

Member Programs include:

Artist Studio Visits & Conversations

Meet photographers where they work, or join them for a guided tour through a new installation. Get direct insight into the creative process and their personal stories.

Past Highlights: Ken Gonzalez-Day | Matthew Brandt | Zanele Muholi| Torbjorn Rodland & James Turrel | | Todd Gray | Judy Dater

Curator-Led Museum & Gallery Walkthroughs

Dive into curator-led walkthroughs at major museums including: The Getty, The Hammer, The Autry, LACMA, The Huntington, The Norton Simon Museum, and more.

Past Highlights: Mapplethorpe at LACMA | Kamoinge Workshop at the Getty | Shirin Neshat at The Broad | La Raza at the Autry

Insider Access to Private Collections and Shows

Be welcomed into private homes and spaces to see photographs that are not normally available to the public. You will also enjoy VIP treatment at photo events around the world.

Past Highlights: Stanford Libraries Collection | Salon event with Tom Gitterman | Collection Visit with Paula Ely & Cesar Rueda | VIP Passes to AIPAD, Photo London and Zona Maco

Immersive Travel

The PAC LA Travel Program offers members extraordinary photography-focused travel opportunities in the US and internationally.
Past Highlights:
Japan, Chicago, Mexico City, Paris, New York, Toronto, Carmel, Kansas City, Tucson, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco | Coming soon: London!

See upcoming PAC LA Events here.

Have a membership question? | membership@paclosangeles.com