Since the early 1980's, Seattle's Photographic Center Northwest has provided opportunities for emerging and established photographers ranging from photography classes to community darkrooms, exhibition and studio space. Originally named The Exposure School of Photography, and later called the Northwest Center For Photography, the non-profit evolved from a small educational program into a vibrant, accredited institution, now led by Minor Matters Books founder, and former Aperture co-publisher Michelle Dunn Marsh, photographer Eirik Johnson, Terry Novak and Jennifer Brendicke. As the program has grown, they've been consistently generating some promising photographers, with this year's crop of thesis students rivaling many recent MFA graduates. Below are some highlights from the exhibition, which is up through August 10, 2017, alongside each artists's statement about their work.

Water Tower, Unique daguerrotype, 2015 © Daniel Carrillo

Photography has a rich history struggling for acknowledgement within the larger art world. In its early days, many artists and painters dismissed its artistic merits couched in a "my kid could do that" perception of mechanical process, and early debates frequently sparked over whether the medium should be regarded as an "art" or a "science." Still, into the twentieth century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art waited nearly half a century to display its second photography-focused solo exhibition, with the work of Stephen Shore (Alfred Stieglitz was first, in 1928.)

In Seattle today, despite the city's international recognition for a range of artistic media, this struggle lives on, and photography is rarely considered in the same conversation, often living in a silo'd state. This past spring, Michelle Dunn Marsh, the Executive Director of Seattle's Photographic Center Northwest had a solution.

Seattle's Photographic Center Northwest is Producing Some Promising Photographers

Experimental Residency Bridges Photography, Sculpture, Psychedelic Soul and Augmented Reality