City of Pawtucket 20th Annual Photo Contest

Throughout the Month of September in Visitor Center Gallery

Pawtucket: Over 500 submissions have been received for the City of Pawtucket’s 20th Annual Photo Contest and are on display throughout the month of September in the Visitor Center Gallery, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI. From these entries, twelve winning photos, will be selected by a panel of local professional photographers. Following tradition, one winning photo will be chosen by Mayor Donald R. Grebien for the distinct honor of being used for the 'cover shot' for the popular city calendar. All winning photos will be featured in the City of Pawtucket's 2019 PhotoCalendar.

“Now in its 20^th year, the City’s Annual Photo Contest continues to be a great way to showcase the ingenuity of our City’s students, residents, and visitors,” said Mayor Donald R. Grebien. “We would not be in our 20^th year had it not been for the hard work and determination from Pat Zacks of Camera Werks to showcase the creativity in our city.”

"I believe the annual photo contest is a fun way to promote community spirit and involvement, while documenting the City of Pawtucket.  For the general adult entries, this contest has attracted entries from all over New England by the simple invitation to come take a picture in Pawtucket. For the student entries, their innocent minds oftentimes captivate their surroundings or with camera in hand, they are provided a reason to explore parts of Pawtucket that are new to them".

This contest was open to residents and non-residents alike, following the contest theme, but the photo must have been taken in Pawtucket. After a public call for photo contest themes was advertised this past January, the theme selected for this year’s contest was “Pawtucket:  A Closer Look” submitted by Linda Dugas of Pawtucket. This annual contest provides an opportunity to bring awareness to the daily life, historic locations and the ever-changing landscape of Pawtucket through the lens of a camera.

Also participating in this contest was the entire 5th grade population from the 10 elementary public schools in the City of Pawtucket. Their photos are the culmination of a 6-month project in which photojournalist, Omar Bradley, along with photographer, Herman Brewster and Patricia Zacks from The Camera Werks of Providence visited and worked with these 5th grade students in their classrooms. Using a PowerPoint presentation and some photo basics, students were instructed to follow the contest theme while exploring their community using a disposable Fuji film camera. Individual creativity was strongly encouraged and the contest theme was subject to the students’ interpretation. The results from these workshops are what is on exhibit. Participating students were from Agnes Little, Elizabeth Baldwin, Virginia Cunningham, Curvin-McCabe, Fallon Memorial, Flora S. Curtis, Nathanael Greene, Potter-Burns, Henry J. Winters and Varieur Elementary Schools in Pawtucket.

“The School Department is pleased that our students participated in the Annual Photo Contest,” said Superintendent Patricia DiCenso. “We thank Omar Bradley, Herman Brewster, and Patricia Zacks for encouraging our students to use their creativity and imagination.”

All photos will be on display at the Blackstone Valley Visitor’s Center throughout the month of September. Mayor’s Choice Award will receive $100 cash prize, First Place will receive $75.00 cash prize, 2nd Place will receive $50.00 cash prize with remaining winners receiving gift certificates. All winning photos will be used in the City of Pawtucket’s 2019 Calendar. Winners will be announced by Mayor Donald R. Grebien on Sunday, September 30th at 4:00pm at a public reception where they may meet the contest judges at the Blackstone Valley Visitor’s Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket.  

This contest and project was made possible by the generous support of its sponsors: The City of Pawtucket, the Pawtucket School Department and The Camera Werks of Providence.

About our Judges: 

Butch Adams, previous award-winning photographer from The Pawtucket Times and recipient of several awards from the National Press Association, the New England Press Association and the RI Press Association for his photography.

Richard Benjamin, has been a photojournalist for 32 years, 27 of them at the Providence Journal.  Today he is a “fine art photographer” and has captured various locations many times at different times of the day and in different seasons of the year.  He aspires to capture the magic of Rhode Island, which includes photos that show the lifestyle and how people in Rhode Island enjoy simply living here, which ultimately brings about a greater appreciation for the smallest state in the union.   Richard is also a provider of stock photos of Rhode Island, in addition to publishing several books on his photography.

Omar Bradley, is a local photographer & photojournalist, whose style of work is known as "street photography". His professional journey began as a young intern at the Providence Journal in the 1960's, where he eventually became their first minority photographer hired at the newspaper. Hisphotos have been published nationally and international and has received numerous press awards over the years for his work. Some of these publications include:  the Providence-Journal Bulletin, Sunday Magazine, the Fall River Herald, The Pawtucket Times, The Providence American, the Newspaper, RI Jewish Herald, National Business Review, the Providence Visitor, the New York Times, Newsweek, National Business Review, US Postal Service, US News and World Report, National Geographic, London Daily News and Der Spiegel.

Christy Christopoulos, a native Rhode Islander born and raised - is a Pawtucket based photographer who opened his studio in 1986.  With over twenty years of experience in photography, he has had the opportunity to work on numerous and exciting accounts such as GE, Reebok FM Global, and PaineWebber and specializes in product and portrait photography. He has won several awards for his work, including a number of Kodak gallery awards, Fuji awards, and the Mead paper award.

Aaron Usher is a Rhode Island based commercial photographer specializing in architecture, interiors, and fine-art photography. A 37-year pro, his clients are mainly companies in the building industry, such as architects & interior designers, as well as, web and graphic designers. This work is used to market his clients’ businesses in magazines, web sites, and company brochures. Aaron's personal work featuring Ice Abstractions and Unusual Juxtapositions, in exhibited in galleries throughout the region.  He lives in Pawtucket with his wife, Lynn and their golden retriever, Lily.

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 Some of the themes from past contests have been:

 (2017)  “The Flavor of Pawtucket”, (2016) "Pawtucket’s Color Palette”, (2015) “Pawtucket:  A Different Perspective, (2014) " Piece of Pawtucket",  (2013) “All in a Day’s Work”, (2012) “The Four Seasons of Pawtucket”, (2011) “Reflections of Pawtucket,  (2010) “Faces of Pawtucket”,  (2009) “Doorways & Gateways in Pawtucket”, (2008) “Paws (or Pause) in Pawtucket”; (2007) “Historic Places in Pawtucket”;   (2006) “Pawtucket People, Places or Things”; (2005) “Discovering Pawtucket”; (2004)  “Taking Pride in Our Neighborhoods”; (2003)  “Pawtucket Mills: Our Past and Our Future” and (2000, 2001, 2002) “Pawtucket: A City in Focus”.

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Patricia S. Zacks, 401-273-5367 (Camera Werks of Providence)

 Wilder Arboleda. 401-728-0500 Ext. 358