Thank you to everyone who submitted their documentary photographs to the Code Orange column over the past eight years. A special thanks goes out to Tulsa Kinney, editor of Artillery and staff, my assistant, Ceci Arana, the Robert Berman Fine Art gallery and staff for hosting The Code Orange Exhibition. It was an honor and great experience to work with all of you on this curatorial column.
—Laura London, Curator

 

Dear Reader,

Code Orange, our photography contest curated by LA artist Laura London, has come to an end. After eight years, Laura and I have decided Code Orange has run its course. Laura came to me after the results of the 2016 presidential election with a feeling of desperation. She wanted to do something about the grave outcome and suggested an online photography contest, urging photographers to send images that reflected the stressful and uncertain times to come. Thus, Code Orange was born.

Throughout those eight years, Laura has looked at hundreds of images, making careful decisions as to which images would become one of 10 finalists, and ultimately one winner. As Artillery is a bi-monthly magazine, there were six contests a year.

I would like to personally thank Laura for all her time and energy put into this curatorial project. Her keen eye and expertise in the fine-art photography field prompted some strong and provocative work. Many thanks to gallerist Robert Berman for hosting a group show of the winners and contestants two years ago. And lastly, I would like to thank all of the contestants for their dedication to their craft and keep up the great work. —Tulsa Kinney, Editor.