NEWS
2023
PINGYAO INTERNATIONAL PHOTO FESTIVAL
2022
MAST ART FOUNDATION COLLECTION, BOLOGNA, IT
The MAST Collection has now become a truly unique point of reference for industry, work and technology sphere of photography. Besides images from the 19th and early 20th century, the collection also includes contemporary production, the result of a value-focused selection process and a careful methodological approach.
BLUE SKY GALLERY, PORTLAND OR
Dan Nelken’s solo exhibition of HeadStrong: The Women Of Rural Uganda contains 24 portraits that are both 36" and 48" in length. A separate room showing the women and children who work in the quarry has a sound and sculpture installation, replicating a woman's workstation. Notably, the images are accompanied by first-person stories of many women as told to Ugandan author Beatrice Lamwaka.
Blue Sky Gallery
University of Indiana
FOTO NOSTRUM issue #25
MEITER AWARDS: PHOTO IS:RAEL, TEL-AVIV, IL
2021
EMERALD ART CENTER SPRINGFIELD, OREGON
Emerald Art Center SPRINGFIELD, Oregon- February 4-March 31 2021
Dan Nelken’s solo exhibition of HeadStrong: The Women Of Rural Uganda contains 25 portraits of women that Nelken photographed beginning in 2017. Notably, the images are accompanied by first-person stories of many women as told to Ugandan author Beatrice Lamwaka.
"Another quarry worker draws my eye, Vicky Aciro....Ask yourself, “ What do I love about this image?” then take time to let the image come into you, inform you, change you." "Beauty and Power at the Emerald Art Center" Klcc.org NPR February 14, 2021
“Dan Nelken’s current photo show HeadStrong: The Women Of Rural Uganda wastes little time with pleasantries . . . Nelken takes on portraiture, family dynamics, economic inequity, and global labor issues. And that’s just the start . . . Nelken is a skilled portraitist . . . His subjects may not smile but they express an inner resolve of positive spirit . . .Nelken’s pictures are arresting on their own, but their captions are just as interesting . . . many tell longer stories of work history, family anecdotes, and reflections on life.” "Visions of Work, Oregon" Artswatch, February 12, 2021
2020
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London
Two portraits from Nelken's portfolio, HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda, were selected for inclusion in the National Portrait Gallery (UK)’s Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 exhibition. Dan Nelken’s two photographs -- “A. Olga, Age 74, working in the quarry for 28 years”, and “Olga’s Hammer” -- were among 5531 photos submitted by 2169 photographers. The exhibition features 50 images by 37 photographers.
- List of Exhibitors NPG
- Virtual Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery
- Another-Observer blog reviewed Nelken’s work and that of a dozen other exhibitors: excerpt below
"Dan Nelken . . . utilises the white background approach but in this instance, the method adds a very interesting storytelling method, I’d call it a ‘contextual apparatus’. . . Nelken’s portrait is striking and sobering . . . What I find most interesting in Nelken's work is the historical references he makes with documentary portraiture..." Another-Observer
Photolucida: Critical Mass Top 50
Dan Nelken was selected as a Top 50 photographer in Photolucida's annual juried competition for his portrait series, HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda."
15th Annual Julia Margaret Cameron Awards for Women
Juror Elizabeth Avedon awarded Dan Nelken First Prize in the only category in the Julia Margaret Cameron Award that was open to men: “The Feminine Universe.” This was the inaugural year for this category. Portraits from Nelken’s HeadStrong portfolio won highest honors. A May 2021 exhibition is anticipated at FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona, Spain.
Africa Photo Awards
Jurors awarded Dan Nelken Honorable Mention for his portrait “Two Couples“ from Nelken's portfolio, County Fair Portraits.
2019
Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards (KLPA), Malaysia
KLPA awarded Dan Nelken First Prize for his series, HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda. The KLPA 2019 theme was “Unyielding Gaze – Portraits in Photojournalism." Nelken received the top award in the professional category in Kuala Lumpur where he gave an artists’ talk at the Ilham Gallery, host of the 2019 Award Winners Exhibition.
2017
I Choose Film: Film Photography Now, Manchester, Vermont
Dan’s color portraits from his series and book, Till The Cows Come Home, were included in this group exhibition of twenty living photographers at the Elizabeth de C. Wilson Museum. His work featured farm families who participate in agricultural competitions at County Fairs. Nelken’s photo of a fair participant and his prize-winning dairy cow served as the poster for the show, which was curated by Stephen Schaub.
2005
Internationale Fotoage Mannheim/Ludwigshaten-Contemporary American Photography, DE
Curated by Tina Schelhorn, Co-founder, Galerie Lichtblick, Cologne, DE) (catalog)
VIDEOs
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Quarry Workers: Gulu Uganda
Dan Nelken's photographic portrait series "HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda," is about the women who support themselves, as well as their families, while working in the local quarries.
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HeadStrong -- Women of Rural Uganda; Photography At Oregon and Emerald Arts Center.
Sponsored by Photography At Oregon, this is Dan Nelken's Artist Talk on March 14, 2021. His collection of work, "HeadStrong -- Women of Rural Uganda", is showing at the Emerald Arts Center in Springfield, Oregon throughout February and March of 2021.
