Meeting Notes: January 26

Hi People-

Sorry these notes are up so late. Getting back into the swing of things is difficult for everyone, I guess. The meeting on Monday was promising - we saw a lot of new faces thanks to Anthony Marchetti's Principles Class showing up. Thanks guys, and we hope you continue your involvement!

The big news is beginning next Monday, the 2nd of February. Mike Mergen, a freelance photographer out of Philadelphia, PA, is having a show in our Main Gallery at Ai. He's agreed to do a talk for us at 3:30 pm in the Main Gallery on Monday. A few of the teachers who teach that afternoon have agreed to bring their classes. I would like to encourage you, if you can, to show up and support the Club's efforts. We need you, the members, to make our endeavors worthwhile. If you can't make the talk for whatever reason, that's fine. Mike has also agreed to do informal portfolio reviews that evening in Room 318 at 5:00 pm. We will NOT be meeting formally this week as a result.

Moving on, we discussed possible fundraising efforts for this quarter. Bake sales have worked well for us in the past, and that it is an exceedingly easy thing to organize and carry out. Another idea that was brought up to us was something that the Minnesota Center for Photography used to do before they disbanded. It was a fundraiser that occurred just before Mother's Day that was a portrait sale known as "Shoot Your Mother". It would require a lot of work to pull it off, but it would also be a lot of fun and a great way to not only make money, but to practice some of the skills we're learning in our classes. If you're interested, please let us know - this would be a one-to-two day ordeal about a week or two before Mother's Day. We can only do this if we have enough participation from within the Club.

Finally, Rob Anderson, coordinator of Student Housing, has the Main Gallery space reserved during Pride Week. The potential show is to be installed on June 26th, and closes July 9th. I say "potential" because it sounds like Rob does not have any solid plans for the show. He has a theme, however, which is "From or Through the Queer Perspective". Basically, since Ai does not have a student organization specifically for GLBT-identified students, Rob was hoping an existing organization would step up to the plate for this show. Now it is very possible we could end up driving this boat home, and take full responsibility behind this. Photo Club is a good candidate, however, because we have experience with this (remember the show last quarter?). It is a great opportunity to work around a common theme, and will look great on our resumes. Once again, if you're interested, please feel free to e-mail the club (aiphotoclub@gmail.com) and let us know. If I can get enough interest from members, we can spearhead this and extend it to the rest of the student body.

And that is that. Hopefully we'll see you on Monday for Mike's talk, and bring your work for feedback Monday evening! We will meet again February 9th, as always in Room 318 at 5:00 pm. Remember, you can keep up with us here at the blog, and at our Twitter feed. Be on the lookout for a Facebook group soon!

Best regards,
Evan Pape
Photo Club President