Gordon Parks Museum announces 'The Way We Worked' photo contest

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Gordon Parks Museum is granting the opportunity for local aspiring photographers and professionals alike to share a glimpse of their view of Fort Scott at work as part of a free photo contest for residents of Bourbon County called "A Day in the Life of Fort Scott's Working World."

The contest and exhibit will be held in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute's traveling exhibit, "The Way we Worked," which will be at the Miners Hall Museum in Franklin from May 11 to June 23. Six sites throughout Kansas will host the traveling Smithsonian exhibit throughout 2013, including Lyons, Hugoton, Goodland, Concordia and Baldwin City.

The Gordon Parks Museum was selected as one of 16 partner sites to the Smithsonian exhibit in Kansas and received a $1,900 grant last October from the Kansas Humanities Council's Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition to conduct their own contest and host an exhibit highlighting a day in the life of workers in Fort Scott or Bourbon County.

The exhibit aims to explore how the workplace and workforce have changed over time.

The local contest is free to enter and the Gordon Parks Museum will cover the costs of printing and mounting the winning entries.

Gordon Parks Museum Director Jill Warford said that on Thursday, March 14, photographers are invited to take photos of people at work in Fort Scott and/or Bourbon County. All photos must be taken on March 14 only and submitted by March 22 for consideration in the contest.

"I hope we see a lot of photographers out taking pictures that day," Warford said.

Entries are limited to 10 photographs per contestant. Warford said the 10 photos may be a whole series or 10 different workers.

"It's their choice," Warford said.

She also said that participants may view the contest rules on Facebook under "A Day in the Life of Fort Scott's Working World," or on the Gordon Parks Museum page.

"I think it's going to be a fun project, because it is going to showcase Fort Scott," Warford said. "There are just a million things you could take photos of."

Warford said winning entries will become part of the "The Way We Worked" exhibit in May that will be hung in the Ellis Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus. The exhibit is slated to run May 11 to June 23 at the fine arts center in conjunction with the Franklin exhibit."

"Anybody who gets first, second and third place is guaranteed they will be in the exhibit," Warford said.

First place winners also will receive $50, second place winners $25 and third place winners will receive $15. In addition, up to three honorable mention photographs will receive $10 each. All finalists will also receive a special print from the Gordon Parks Museum. All photos submitted will also be part of an online exhibit.

Warford said photographs of any kind of worker would be appropriate for the contest.

"People out on the farm, doctors, or people working on the line, anything really," Warford said. "But it's only during that 24-hour period of March 14."

Warford said photographers of all ages and skill levels are invited to take pictures for the project.

"Just to give a different view, I hope some little kids enter," Warford said. "We've had some good little photographers in our creativity contests."

The photographs, all taken within the 24 hours of March 14, will capture the essence of everyday working life in Fort Scott -- from workers preparing for the day or carrying out the many tasks it takes to get the job done.

"This photo contest is a great way to recognize Fort Scott's working world, and showcase amateur and professional photographers from the area," Warford said. "Our hope is that we will have many unique and interesting photos submitted by photographers of all ages."

For more information or to be a photographer for the "Day in the Life" project, contact the Museum at (620) 223-2700, extension 5850 or by e-mail at gordonparkscenter@fortscott.edu.