kevin kuster

The Columbus (OH) Museum of Art and the #jj Community present #MobilePhotoNow, the largest mobile photography exhibition ever organized by a museum, February 6 – March 22, 2015. #MobilePhotoNow highlights the emerging art form of mobile photography and the impact of social media and smart phones as a means of creative expression.

“One of our goals at the Museum is to foster creativity,” said Nannette V. Maciejunes, CMA Executive Director. “#MobilePhotoNow speaks to that goal and to our commitment to innovation and our belief in the transformative power of art. ”

“Smart phones and social media have dramatically changed photography,” said Jennifer Poleon, CMA Digital Communications Manager and organizer for #MobilePhotoNow. “People all over the world can experiment, create and connect thanks to the camera we carry in our pockets.”

#MobilePhotoNow  is the next evolution in CMA’s ongoing initiative to connect people to art and each other. In 2012, CMA was the first museum to present an exhibition drawn entirely from Instagram. CMA used its critically acclaimed exhibition The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League, 1936 – 1951 as the inspiration for a series of photo hunts. The prompts, based on the assignments the original Photo League artists gave one another, generated more than 800 submissions and gave life to an installation of 30 works in the Museum’s Community Gallery.

The energy generated by the Photo Hunts attracted the attention of Josh Johnson whose #jj on Instagram is one of the world’s largest and most active communities of photographers. CMA and #jj Community partnered throughout October to post themed photo challenges that engaged the mobile photography community. More than 5,000 photographers from 89 different countries submitted nearly 45,000 images. The resulting exhibition, co-presented by CMA and #JJ, will feature more than 300 images from nearly 230 photographers representing 40 different countries.