ICP’s Virtual 2020 Spotlights
By Summer Myatt
Since 2012, the International Center of Photography’s annual benefit luncheon and auction, ICP Spotlights, has honored women in photography and film and raised critical funding for the center’s world-renowned education and exhibition programs.
This year, for the first time ever, the usually glamorous “who’s who” event was entirely virtual. The ninth annual Spotlights benefit featured a bevy of globally accessible online programs, including a presentation — recorded and available on ICP’s YouTube channel — and an exclusive Zoom Q&A, moderated by ICP’s new Curator at Large, Isolde Brielmaier, with the three honorees of this year’s benefit: Nadia Hallgren, Deana Lawson, Lindsay Peoples Wagner.
The artists honored this year are highly accomplished pioneers of the visual and photographic art world. Nadia Hallgren, an ICP alumna, is an award-winning filmmaker and director from The Bronx, New York, whose most recent and well-known work is Becoming, a documentary on former first lady Michelle Obama.
Photographer Deana Lawson is known for her stunningly intimate portraits and her work focusing on familial legacy, spirituality, and community. She’s also this year’s recipient of the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize, which honors outstanding achievement in contemporary art.
As Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue, Lindsay Peoples Wagner is the youngest ever Editor-in-Chief of any Condé Nast magazine. This year, she landed a spot on the coveted Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Media. In their virtual talkback with Brielmaier, the artists discussed the significance of storytelling, the importance of representation, and the process of forging a path within visual culture.
As Black women in the arts world, all three of this year’s honorees spoke not only of their aspirations, inspirations, and goals, but of the legacy they hope to leave for the next generation of young women following in their footsteps.
“I’m doing this for all the young Black girls who want to do this after me. I’m doing this in their honor,” Wagner said of her work as an executive in the fashion industry. The photographic lexicon of the fashion world is often heavily advertorial, sometimes noticeably lacking a distinct perspective or sense of humanity, but Wagner aims to change that. As Editor in Chief of Teen Vogue, she is “constantly questioning and challenging all of those decisions” to which traditional fashion photographers may not give as much weight or thought.
Historically, ICP’s annual Spotlights benefit has proudly provided essential funding to students in need in an effort to eliminate barriers for talented artists. Since 2015, the center has awarded yearly scholarships in honor of beloved documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark, who was extensively involved in the ICP School for decades. This year, ICP student, Shateek Mitchell, was the recipient of a one-year certificate program scholarship underwritten by this year’s Spotlights partner, Christian Louboutin.
The Spotlights event also announced the launch of ICP’s first-ever online alumni print sale. Because of the global pandemic and ensuing economic turmoil, nearly two-thirds of today’s artists are currently struggling with unemployment. ICP’s alumni print sale is delivering all of its proceeds back to alumni artists who have been financially impacted by the devastating events of 2020.
