Portal : doorway, entrance, opening, entry, gate, egress, opening, aperture, porte, exit, hatch, mirror, passage, threshold, cut, entrada, hole, scuttle, window, approach, camera, breach, mirror….



“Portals have been sought as long as man has been man, real and imagined.

A lecturer in art history expressed that the painter Paul Gauguin sought a portal into the home of his artistic daemon by traveling to Tahiti. She defined the word daemon as: a supernatural being whose nature is intermediate between that of a god and that of a human being. Many of her students were frightened, many were intrigued. Some began painting.

Was Jim Morrison simple – “The Doors?”

Danny Sugarman sat in the Jardin in San Miguel de Allende, haranguing a retired Wyoming dentist, expressing his tremendous delight at the invention of the digital camera; “Man this place is lousy with doors, really killer doors. Can you imagine the pain in the ass shooting all these doors with film would be?”

The dentist replied, “Tan absolutamente hermosa, aqui es un lugar de puertas majias, portales de espiritu y gente muy amable.”

“Ok, yeah,” said Danny Sugarman.

“The old saying goes, “The eyes are the windows to the soul.” So, probably right but some folk’s eyes are doors, windows are primarily made to look out of, but doors are for walking through, running through, hauling groceries through, heading out of, bringing bourbon through for the eggnog, opening when you’ve burned the bacon….”
From Lost in the Neighborhood with Books By Franklin Cincinnatus



JUROR | Ann M Jastrab will be the juror for “portal.” Ann is the Executive Director at the Center for Photographic Art (CPA) in Carmel, California. CPA strives to advance photography through education, exhibition and publication. These regional traditions—including mastery of craft, the concept of mentorship, and dedication to the photographic arts—evolved out of CPA’s predecessor, the renowned Friends of Photography established in 1967. While respecting these West Coast traditions, CPA is also at the vanguard of the future of photographic imagery.

Before coming onboard at CPA, Ann worked as the gallery director at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco for 10 years. While being a champion of artists, she created a thriving artist-in-residence program at RayKo where multiple residents, received Guggenheim Fellowships. She was also the gallery manager at Scott Nichols Gallery in San Francisco where she incorporated contemporary artists with the legends of photography. Prior to moving to California, Ann taught for a decade at the Maine Photographic Workshops (now Maine Media Workshops) in Rockport, Maine.

AWARDS | The awards are as follows:

Jurors Award – an online solo exhibition, “The 27” exhibition book and feature story on the gallery blog
Directors Award – “The 27” exhibition book and a feature story on the gallery blog
Visitors Award (most Instagram likes) – $100

The solo exhibition awarded as the Juror and Director Awards will be scheduled at a mutually agreed time for the duration of a month.