Our INSIDER TRADING series are designed for in-person skill and knowledge sharing. Each meetup narrows in on a specific area of expertise along with an accomplished ambassador(s). Our guests begin by introducing themselves and answering common questions around the topic at hand. The second half is open to the natural evolution of good conversation. In the end, we hope to leave with a little more insight and courage.
In this INSIDER TRADING Meetup, “Double-Sided: A Look at the (Photo)Book,” we have the pleasure of welcoming two experts: local independent curator, editor, and writer Alexa Dilworth, and photographic essayist Matt Eich (joining us via Zoom from Charlottesville, Va.).
We will start off the conversation by hearing from two sides of the photobook-making journey—that of photographer/creator, and that of the editor/second pair of eyes.
Matt Eich is a photographic essayist working on long-form projects related to memory, family, community, and the American condition. He is the author of five monographs of photography and his work is held in public collections including the Chrysler Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and others. Matt’s projects have received support from an Aaron Siskind Fellowship, two Getty Images Grants, two VMFA Professional Fellowships and an Aperture/Google Creators Lab Photo Fund Grant. He was an artist in residence at Light Work in 2013 and at a Robert Rauschenberg Residency in 2019. Eich teaches at Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at the George Washington University, makes books under the imprint Little Oak.PRESS and resides in Virginia.
Alexa Dilworth, an independent editor and writer based in Durham, North Carolina, was the publishing and awards director at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University for more than twenty years. Currently a senior editor for Aperture’s Vision & Justice Book Series and text editor for their Photography Workshop Series, she has edited the text and/or photos for over seventy books, including Larry Fink: Hands On/A Passionate Life of Looking (powerhouse Books, 2025) and Pictures for Charis by Kelli Connell (Aperture, 2024). Her writing has appeared in Lenscratch, the PhotoBook Review, and the Oxford American, as well exhibition catalogs and photography monographs. Dilworth has a BA and an MA from the University of Florida and an MFA in creative writing (poetry) from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
As always, your input and experiences are invaluable. Please bring them, along with questions and an open mind, to share.
INSIDER TRADING meetups are sliding scale fees — if you can, please consider donating a piece of your artwork or give a little cash (in person or online) to help PHOTO FARM’s mission. One RSVP per vehicle is required; each individual in the vehicle does not have to RSVP separately. Parking is finite; please carpool.