The Griffin Museum, Emily Belz, and Jennifer McClure are pleased to host an online Open House dedicated to the Photography Atelier.
Join us on Zoom to learn more about the program, ask questions, and meet the instructors. Emily and Jennifer will lead a mock critique, offering a preview of what it's like to be in the classroom. Alumni of the program will also join us to share their experiences and insights.
© Kay McCabe© Margaret Lampert© Carrie Usmar© Gordon Saperia© Jaina Cipriano
About the Photography Atelier
The Photography Atelier is a portfolio and project-building course for emerging to advanced photographers, taught by working artists Emily Belz and Jennifer McClure. Participants engage in supportive, critical discussions of each other's work and develop a deeper understanding of the field, along with the skills to edit and sequence their own projects.
This 9-month intensive program is offered once a year and culminates in an exhibition at the Griffin Museum. The Atelier is designed to support the next generation of photographic artists through sustained mentorship and rigorous dialogue.
The curriculum guides students through all stages of preparing a photographic series for exhibition, including writing for photography, sequencing work, and printing and framing options. Each student also receives one private meeting with an instructor. Additional topics include marketing work through social media, preparing for portfolio reviews, and planning next professional steps. Guest lecturers join the program to present special topics throughout the session.
The Photography Atelier was conceived by Holly Smith Pedlosky. Past instructors include Karen Davis, Meg Birnbaum, Molly Lamb, and Elizabeth Buckley. In 2025, the Photography Atelier celebrated its 40th session.
Here is what Photography Atelier Alumni say about the program:
Emily is an extraordinary teacher. The outside evaluators, weekly and biweekly critiques, and the nine-month format allowed us to learn from one another while taking a deep dive into our portfolios.
Jennifer is a fantastic teacher -- gentle yet demanding, insightful, and remarkably dedicated. The course was exceptionally well organized, and she ensured that every student's work received thoughtful, equitable attention.
About the Instructors
About Emily Belz
Emily Belz at the Griffin © Sylvia Stagg-Giuliano
Emily Belz is an independent lens-based artist, educator, and curator, and owner of Emily Belz Projects based in West Concord, MA. Belz's artistic practice focuses increasingly on the handmade, telling stories about home through the traces, objects, and slants of light that have been left behind. Belz has exhibited her photographs and artist books widely, in both solo and group exhibitions at venues including Gallery Kayafas, the Danforth Museum, and the Newport Art Museum. She was represented by Gallery Kayafas from 2017 until its closure in 2024.
Belz holds a BA in photography and art history from Hampshire College (1997); an MA in community-based art education from the Rhode Island School of Design (2009); and an MFA from the New Hampshire Institute of Art (2017). Belz has taught in settings ranging from refugee camps, to community-based art centers, to colleges and Universities. She currently runs Emily Belz Projects, where she offers workshops, facilitates critique groups, and works one-on-one with artists as a mentor. Her specialty is in editing and sequencing portfolios for review, publication, and exhibition. Additionally, Belz teaches the Atelier at the Griffin Museum of Photography, a 9-month portfolio building class, now in its 40th iteration.
Belz began her career in arts administration, working in both non-profit and commercial gallery settings. With now 20+ years in the art world, Belz brings this experience to her role as juror for photography competitions, and as a reviewer for regional portfolio reviews. She enjoys curating exhibitions in collaboration with emerging and established artists in the New England area.
About Jennifer McClure
Jennifer McClure is a fine art photographer based in New York City. She uses the camera to ask and answer questions. Her work is about longing, solitude, and an ambivalent yearning for connection. She often uses herself and her experiences as subject matter to explore the creation of personal mythology and the agency of identity.
After an early start, Jennifer returned to photography in 2001, taking classes at the School of Visual Arts and the International Center of Photography. In between, she acquired a B.A. in English Theory and Literature and began a long career in restaurants. Most of her projects today incorporate her love of literature; one series was inspired by a short story, another includes photos of transformative texts, still another draws titles from a long-form poem.
Jennifer was a 2019 and 2017 Critical Mass Top 50 finalist and twice received the Arthur Griffin Legacy Award from the Griffin Museum of Photography's Juried Exhibitions. Her first book, You Who Never Arrived, was published as one of nine Peanut Press Portfolios in 2020. She was awarded CENTER's Editor's Choice by Susan White of Vanity Fair in 2013 and has been exhibited in numerous shows across the country. Her work has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Vogue, GUP, The New Republic, Lenscratch, Feature Shoot, L'Oeil de la Photographie, The Photo Review, Dwell, Adbusters, and PDN. Lectures include the School of Visual Arts i3: Images, Ideas, Inspiration series, Fotofusion, FIT, NY Photo Salon and Columbia Teachers College. She has taught workshops for Leica Akademie, International Center of Photography, Los Angeles Center of Photography, PDN's PhotoPlus Expo, the Maine Media Workshops, the Griffin Museum, and Fotofusion. She was a thesis reviewer and advisor for the Masters Programs at both the School of Visual Arts and New Hampshire Institute of Art. She founded the Women's Photo Alliance in 2015.