The Best Places To See Photography in Madison

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While our smartphones and social media feeds are full of photos, there’s something special about seeing a photographer’s work off a screen and in real life. PhotoMidwest’s 13th Biennial Exhibition, which runs all month and has a special celebration this Friday and Saturday, brings photographers and their work from across the Midwest to the Arts + Literature Laboratory.

But once the weekend is over, there’s still plenty of places where you can appreciate photography. Here are a few of our favorites:

Arts + Literature Laboratory

The biennial photos will stay up at Arts + Lit Lab through Nov. 9, part of a renewed focus on photography in the arts incubator. Photographer George Steinmetz will talk about his book of photography, “Feed the Planet,” on Oct. 19 in a Wisconsin Book Festival event, and a film festival of photography-related movies is coming later this fall.

Overture Center For the Arts

The Overture galleries often have top-notch photography on display. Right now, in conjunction with PhotoMidwest, the juried exhibition “In Search of Awe” is on display in the Overture Playhouse Galleries through Nov. 17. From nature photography to landscapes to portraits, each of the photos have been selected with the idea of provoking a sense of wonder in the viewer.

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

Visitors can see photography in action this Thursday and Friday with “Snapshots,” an innovative new series in which the Main Galleries are transformed into a photo studio as staff document artwork in the museum’s permanent collection.

Chazen Museum of Art

In addition to photos in the museum’s permanent collection, this fall the Chazen is presenting “Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century” through Nov. 10. The exhibit, which mixes photography, film, textiles and more, looks at how African American artists like singer Josephine Baker and jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon traveled to Scandinavian countries in the first half of the 20th century, and how their experiences influenced their work.

Promega Art Showcase

Promega BioPharmaceutical Technology Center in Fitchburg has an active gallery space that’s currently showing “From This Space,” featuring the work of three Wisconsin photographers, Eric Baillies, Lewis Koch, and Terry Talbot.

Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Museum at the top of State Street is full of archival photos from the state’s past, such as a current exhibit on the suffrage movement in Wisconsin.

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