Empower Your Story and Enterprise: Leica Women Summit

281 Park Avenue South,New York NY 10010

12 March, 2022

Description

Empower Your Story and Enterprise The Business of Photography: Learn the process of building a business in photography + industry best practices. Speaker: Melanie Pullen. Moderator: Laura Roumanos. Vaccination Required: Please bring your proof of full vaccination card and a valid identification for entry to the event. About Melanie Pullen Melanie Pullen is a self-taught fine-art photographer raised in a family of photojournalists, publishers and artists. Her photography is heavily influenced by early forensic photography, war journalism, cinema and fashion. Pullen’s photographs employ the power of fashion, color, grit and grain to disguise, distract, and to draw the viewer’s attention away from the otherwise macabre subjects and locations. Her work focuses extensively on both social values and taboos while purposely taking aim at the media’s exploitation of sex, gender, and violence. Pullen herself has noted that she targets society’s obsessive glamorization by literally re-dressing what are deeply disturbing events, forcing the viewer to question their own values and observations. “I’m continuously creating imagery that questions our perceptions and our ingrained desire to glamorize other’s plight.” Nearly all of Pullen’s photo shoots resemble high-budget films, with massive teams of stylists, makeup artists and models: at times up-to one hundred people are on a shoot. Her photography has been shown in major museums and galleries internationally: it is permanently in the holdings of many of the most prominent public and private collections around the world. Most recently the Getty Museum acquired several pieces from her High Fashion Crime Scenes which now reside in their permanent collection. Melanie has published numerous books of her photography with notable fine-art publishers such as: Nazraeli Press and most recently in 2020 with Kodansha Press, in Japan. Additionally her work has been featured in hundreds of publications including: The New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Vogue, Esquire, ELLE Magazine, London’s Sunday Independent, Spin, W, Flaunt, 1814, and Vanity Fair, etc.. Melanie was awarded the D&AD Yellow Pencil Award, which is internationally regarded as the most prestigious award in design. About Laura Roumanos Originally hailing from Sydney, Australia — where she graduated from the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts— Laura Roumanos worked as a Producer and Arts Administrator before making the big move to NYC, to join the Manhattan Theatre Club. She then headed over to St. Ann’s Warehouse where she was the General Manager for several years, producing and presenting large scale international theatre, music and art events. Laura is currently the executive producer and co-founder of United Photo Industries and Photoville where she has produced over 300 photo exhibitions and public projects throughout the world including Hamburg, Tokyo, Lodz, Sydney and Shanghai, and has brokered partnerships with over 100 entities including National Geographic, Instagram, TIME Magazine, The Pulitzer Center, NYC Parks and NYC Department of Transport to name a few. While spearheading UPI over the past 8 years, Laura also has served as the Senior Producer for the Future of StoryTelling Festival in New York City and has in the last 8 years worked at various wonderful non-profit institutions such as Creative Time as their Senior Producer and has been Moonlighting as the Line Producer and Director of Operations for the World Science Festival on a freelance basis. Laura also continues to consult, manage, and produce numerous theatrical shows and events throughout New York City, including highlights such as producing Karen O’s new Psycho Opera for The Creators Project and VICE Media at St. Ann’s Warehouse, and a subsequent tour to the Sydney Opera House. Laura also recently produced the Opening Ceremony Spring Fashion Show play written by Spike Jonze & Jonah Hill and Directed by Jonze at The Metropolitan Opera and Bryce Dessner’s & the Brooklyn Youth Chorus’ Black Mountain Songs at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and toured internationally. Laura Roumanos has built a reputation in the New York Arts scene as someone to go to for consultation and advice regarding public art and multi-disciplinary projects across all mediums.