Juror's Statement

In curating The Human Experience, my primary intention was to move beyond predictable clichés and seek out genuine, unvarnished truths of daily life. Across more than a thousand submissions, the most compelling images were not those that relied on overt drama or staged emotion, but those that captured the friction, absurdity, and profound intimacy of simply being alive in the world today.

In selecting the 35 physical exhibition wall selections and 40 online pieces, I sought out imagery that grounded itself in authentic visual storytelling. The physical wall pieces favor rich environmental context and striking visual balance: children playing against a weathered urban backdrop, the surreal absurdity of a figure resting on a sunlit lawn, subtle reflections in domestic spaces, and the raw geometry of human interaction in shared spaces. Across the exhibition, the work spans a diverse visual vocabulary, balancing the high-contrast drama of direct flash and atmospheric, cinematic noir with delicate natural light and precise graphic form.

The online gallery expands this conversation, highlighting high-impact compositions that take advantage of the digital space through sharp silhouette games, reflected gazes, bold chromatic pops, delicate juxtapositions, and poignant evidence of human presence even in their absence. Together, both bodies of work showcase the broad spectrum of modern street and documentary photography.

What unites these selections is a shared sense of empathy, curiosity, and observational rigor. Every selected photograph invites the viewer to pause and reconsider the ordinary rituals that surround us. Whether through solitude, spontaneous play, or subtle social critique, these photographs honor the unpredictable rhythm of human connection. Selecting this exhibition was both a privilege and a profound reminder of photography's unique power to bridge personal worlds. Thank you to every photographer who submitted their work and trusted me with their vision.

—Meredith Fleischer

Director's Statement 

The Human Experience brings together a remarkable range of photographs that reflect the complexity, beauty, and challenges of being human. I want to thank our juror, Meredith Fleischer, for her thoughtful selections and the diversity of perspectives represented in this exhibition. Each photograph carries its own story, and together they offer a powerful reflection on our shared experiences, histories, and connections. I am particularly struck by the depth of these stories and the many different ways photographers have approached what it means to be human.

I selected Holocaust Remembrance for its powerful connection to human history. Through reflection, blur, and the sharp focus on numbers representing individual lives, the image elegantly blends the human form with the cold reality of our painful past. It is a moving reminder of the humanity behind those numbers.

- Zach Hoffman, Photoplace Gallery Director

Call for Entries

PhotoPlace Gallery invites photographers to submit work for The Human Experience, a juried exhibition exploring the richness, complexity, and diversity of human life. From portraits, street photography, and documentary work to current affairs, family, labor, culture, identity, community, and the places we inhabit, we welcome a broad interpretation of what it means to be human.

We seek photographs that engage with the ordinary and extraordinary, the personal and collective, and the joyful, difficult, and complex realities of our lives. Work may be documentary or conceptual, quiet or dramatic, focused directly on people or on the places, events, and traces of human presence that tell our stories.

We are honored to welcome Meredith Fleischer as juror for The Human Experience. She will select up to 35 photographs for exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont, along with approximately 40 additional photographs for our Online Gallery. All selected work will be reproduced in the exhibition book, remain permanently on our website, and be promoted through PhotoPlace Gallery's publications and social media channels.

About the Juror

Meredith Fleischer is the founder of The MF Gallery in Royal Oak, Michigan, and serves as Director of The Detroit 15, an archival photography institution. She holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, and her career is rooted in the high-intensity New York photography market, where she managed the legacy portfolios of internationally recognized photographers including Deborah Turbeville, Miles Aldridge, and Gilles Bensimon.

Her work centers on the primacy of the original photographic print, the integrity of authorship, and independent literary publishing. In May 2026, she published The Orbit: A Study of Presence and Power, a forensic nonfiction novella released as a first edition of 100 signed and numbered copies.

In addition to her curatorial and publishing work, Fleischer offers portfolio reviews for photographers at critical stages in their artistic practice.