The purpose of the Photo Soup project is to collect and share personal histories among workers in the world of photography. The core of this multi-year initiative is an annual four-day retreat in Rockingham, Vermont, during which six to eight invited participants consider their individual paths into photography in formal presentations and informal talks. Each year’s gathering is loosely organized around a given theme, and attendees represent all corners of the photographic field, including curation, academia, publishing, commerce, and artistic practice, with an emphasis on less-heard voices. Together we explore the life and ecosystem—the soup—of photography, a medium that somehow still serves us as no other can.
Each year’s Photo Soup conversations are gathered in a modest publication, and you can get the book here.
The Photo Soup project is supported by Streamway Foundation Trust and organized by Alison Nordström and Diana Stoll.
“The motivation behind Photo Soup is to look at the broader context of photography, the ecosystem—the soup. And to try to suss out some of what’s happening by examining the personal experiences of people who have been deeply immersed in various corners of the field, have seen the changes, have played a part in the changes.”
—Diana Stoll
“Photo Soup is also a reminder of certain values and approaches that characterize our experience of the Field even in times of great change. The face-to-face exchange of ideas seems harder to orchestrate these days, but when it happens, its inimitable value is clear.”
—Alison Nordström
PHOTO SOUP 4: Communities
October: To be announced soon
Streamway Foundation, Rockingham, Vermont
The theme of the 2025 Photo Soup gathering is “Communities”: the formal and informal circles of friends and colleagues that support our work, increase our knowledge, and sustain our spirits. In the realm of photography, these communities may be as formal as international organizations with membership dues, annual events, and newsletters, or as casual as a posse of art school buddies, former co-workers, or simply acquaintances with shared interests or challenges. Communities may be staunchly rule-abiding or radically subversive. They may exist only on social media. They may be invisible to outsiders. In Photo Soup 4, our participants consider the communities that have shaped their lives and careers in photography.
Participants
Mike Belleme
Gail Buckland
Vincent Cianni
Yolanda Cuomo
Jean Dykstra
Elin Spring
Wendel A. White
Alison Nordström (Co-Director)
Diana Stoll (Co-Director)
“It’s all about relationships . . . if I have any value in this industry, it’s being able to connect people, people I feel can help each other, or who would love each other.”
—Elizabeth Krist, at Photo Soup 2
Streamway Foundation, Rockingham, Vermont
“The book, the process, having it out in the world, with its own life, as an ambassador for the artist’s work, is really important. Making a book can have an imprint on the artist, not just on the viewer.”
—Joshua Chuang, at Photo Soup 1