Charcoal Workshops Artist Talk w/ Ackerman, Guilmoth, & Zellar
About this Event
Part lecture, part conversation, this public program brings three renowned and singular voices of contemporary photography together to unpack the images, ideas, and experiences that shape their practices. The evening concludes with an audience Q&A.
Established in 2017, Charcoal has become a leading voice in contemporary photography. Charcoal produces workshops, retreats, and mentorships for mid-career photographic artists who want to expand their practice and network. They direct Charcoal Book Club, publish books with Charcoal Press, and host The Chico Review.
Monday, September 14 at 7:00 PM (doors 6:30 PM), approximately 90-minutes, with audience Q&A. Tickets are $7 for Mechanics' Hall Members, $10 for General Admission, with no one turned away for lack of funds at the door.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Michael Ackerman was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1967. At the age of 7, his family emigrated to New York City, where he grew up and began photographing at the age of 18. He has exhibited internationally and published 5 books, including End Time City, by Robert Delpire, which won the Prix Nadar, 1999. His work is in the permanent collection of The Museum of Photography, Berlin, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Brooklyn Museum, The Virginia Museum, The Biliothèque National, France, among others, as well as in many private collections.
He currently lives in Berlin and is represented by Galerie Camera Obscura, Paris, Box Galerie, Bruxelles, Spot Home Gallery, Napoli, MC2 Gallery, Milan, Galeria Adorna, Porto.
Pia Paulina Guilmoth lives and makes art in rural Maine. She works with a 4x5 camera and various experimental analogue techniques in her practice. Her work is foremost about beauty and her experience as a trans woman in the small town she lives in. Her work is held in the permanent collection at SFMOMA. Pia released her third book in November 2024 with Stanley/Barker titled Flowers Drink the River, which received the Jury’s Special Mention for the 2025 Paris-Aperture Book of the Year award. In 2024 / 2025 she had two major solo exhibitions open in London and New York City with CLAMP Gallery and Webber Gallery. In 2024, she won a Google/Aperture Creator Labs grant and a Peter Reed Foundation grant in photography, and in 2022, she was a MacDowell Fellow in Visual. Pia’s fourth book, a collaborative project with Jesse Bull Saffire titled Fishworm, was published by Void at the end of 2025. In the spring of 2026, Pia will present at the next Forum on Contemporary Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Pia’s out-of-print monograph from 2021, At Night Gardens Grow, is being reissued in the summer of 2026 by Stanley/Barker Books. Pia is represented by CLAMP Gallery in NYC.
Brad Zellar has written and published fiction and worked as a writer and editor for newspapers and magazines. He collaborated with photographer Alec Soth on a number of projects, including The LBM Dispatch, a series of seven newspapers devoted to American community in the age of cyberspace. Zellar has also made books with Todd Hido, Adrianna Ault, Raymond Meeks, Tim Carpenter, and Jason Vaughn, and is the author of Suburban World: The Norling Photos, Conductors of the Moving World, House of Coates, and Driftless. He is currently the co-publisher of Nocturno Books. He lives in St. Paul.
PARKING & TRANSPORTATION
The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by routes 1, 7, 8, and 9B.
Street Parking: Available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and nearby streets. Pay by meter or the Passport Parking App. Free after 6 PM, on Sundays, and between Parris and Alder Street. Some blocks may vary — look for posted signs.
Garages: The Arts District Garage (41 Brown St) has 250+ spaces, is open 24/7, and accepts credit card only, with entrances on Brown, Cumberland, and Casco. The Elm Street Garage (21 Elm St) is conveniently near the Portland Library. The Spring Street Garage is three blocks away at 45 Spring St.
ACCESSIBILITY
To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step or use a modular ramp. Please note that the wheelchair ramp has a steep incline.
A wheelchair-accessible elevator is available. The elevator is 60" deep, 48" wide, with a 32" door opening. There are four wheelchair-accessible bathrooms on the third-floor level, adjacent to the Ballroom.
If you have a wheelchair or need accessibility accommodations/questions, please contact us at [email protected] or 207-773-8396.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 12.51
