The annual Joy of the Lens exhibit, inaugurated in 2009, features original photographs by current Maine residents, both amateur and professional, aged 16 or older. The three entry categories are: Color, Black & White, and a special “Challenge” posed by the previous year’s winner of the Peoples’ Choice Award. Awards are made in all three categories with an additional Peoples’ Choice Award announced at the close of the exhibit. This signature event is co-sponsored by the Trustees and the Friends of the Topsham Public Library.
FIFTEENTH ANNUAL JOY OF THE LENS
Live in the Crooker Gallery, April 1 – 26, 2024
The 2024 Joy of the Lens exhibit will be hosted in-person in Topsham Public Library’s Crooker Gallery and Highland’s Community Room. A reception is scheduled for Saturday, April 6, 2024 at 1pm and is open to the public. We’d love to have you join us! There will be no photographers’ talk this year.
Registration for the Fifteenth Annual Joy of the Lens is now closed.
Congratulations to the 2024 Joy of the Lens Award Winners!
- COLOR: Lilac Breasted Roller Takeoff by Linda Cullivan
- BLACK & WHITE: Whilamut Passage: Transmission andTransportation by Patrick Dowd
- ROB’S CHALLENGE – ABSTRACT REALITY: Urban Mirage by Marie Stuckey
Honorable Mentions
- COLOR: Frost by Thomas Burrage
- BLACK & WHITE: The Washer Woman by Dick Tarr
- KAREN’S CHALLENGE – TRANSITIONS: Hellnar Morn by Bill Peabody
Find the printable guidelines with rules of entry and key dates for Joy of the Lens 2024 here.
Again this year is the option for the public to purchase a color catalog of the exhibit. All funds raised will go to the Friends of TPL and will be used for future Joy of the Lens expenses. Click the image below to order your copy of last year’s exhibit.
If you have any questions, please email Monique Marchilli-Barker at tplgallery@topshamlibrary.org or call the library at 725-1727.
** Sign up to receive email notifications about the JOY exhibits by clicking here. **
Please note that if you have previously “unsubscribed” from the gallery or Friends emails, you must re-subscribe if you wish to receive any JOY updates via email.
Congratulations to the 2023 Joy of the Lens Award Winners!
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Roskva the Troll by Douglas Kanes
- COLOR: Goin’ Clammin’ by Bill Peabody
- BLACK & WHITE: Katahdin in Winter by Jack Sharkey
- KAREN’S CHALLENGE – TRANSITIONS: Swift River by Rob Smith
Honorable Mentions
- COLOR: Quizzical by Dick Tarr
- BLACK & WHITE: Family Ties by Norma Warden
- KAREN’S CHALLENGE – TRANSITIONS: Build a Better Bridge by Craig Snapp
You may purchase a color catalog of this exhibit. All proceeds go directly to the Friends who pay for programming at the library, including the JOY competitions. Purchase your copy here.
Joy of the Len…
by Friends of TPL
2023 Friends Photo Lottery
Norma Warden has graciously donated her photograph, “The Weight of Sorrow Cannot Be Measured”, for the Friends Photo Lottery. All members of the Friends of TPL are automatically entered. If you aren’t a member and would like a chance to win, join the Friends at friendstopshamlibrary.org/membership/ or stop by the library.
