NEW ORLEANS, LA.- PhotoNOLA is an annual festival of photography in New Orleans, coordinated by the New Orleans Photo Alliance in partnership with galleries, museums and other venues citywide. The sixth annual festival takes place in December 2011 with a broad range of photography exhibitions on display throughout the month and an exciting lineup of peak programming from December 8-11.

PhotoNOLA festivities kick into full gear on Thursday, December 8, with daytime workshops including a multimedia workshop with Dave Anderson and NPR’s Claire O’Neill. The evening features several art openings in the French Quarter followed by the PhotoGALA Benefit Party & Print Auction at the Musée Conti Historical Wax Museum.

Mary Virginia Swanson leads PhotoNOLA’s Education Day on Friday, December 9, featuring a morning session focused on traveling exhibitions. In an afternoon panel discussion, Martin McNamara, Alexandra LeFaou, and David Houston will share insights and professional practices from the perspective of gallery owners, travelling exhibition companies, and curators. In the evening, The Historic New Orleans Collection will host a multi-artist book-signing with Deborah Luster and Ashley Gilbertson among others, immediately followed by our keynote presenter, internationally acclaimed photographer Josephine Sacabo.

PhotoNOLA’s portfolio review, with an international cast of more than 20 curators, editors, and gallerists, takes place December 10-11. On Saturday afternoon, Andy Adams of Flak Photo will present his Photo 2.0 lecture at the Contemporary Arts Center. The subject is online publishing, social media, and community collaboration in the digital age. Saturday evening’s PhotoWALK offers a public peek at the work of 65 rising photographers from across the country, all of them participants in our Review sessions. Receptions will follow at photography exhibitions across the city, with particular concentrations in the Lower Garden District and St. Claude Arts District.

Sunday, December 11 will bring a series of alternative process demonstrations and talks in the Bywater neighborhood, including a photogravure demonstration by Josephine Sacabo and a wet-plate collodion demo at Homespace Gallery. On Sunday night, the Contemporary Arts Center will host a panel discussion moderated by Pulitzer Prize winning photo editor Stella Kramer and featuring three photographers addressing the topic of war in less conventional ways. They are award winning photojournalist Ashley Gilbertson, 2010 PhotoNOLA Review Prize winner Jungeun Lee, and Sebastiano Tomada Piccolomini.

During the Festival, exhibitions feature work by Shannon Brinkman, Rodolfo Choperena, Michael Grecco, Kirsten Hoving, Loli Kantor, Jungeun Lee, Stephen Wilkes and many others. Additional workshops, gallery talks, and lectures are also included in the schedule of events. Other independently produced weeknight events will take place before and after the four-day festival lineup. Most events are free and open to the public.