The purpose of the Photo Soup project is to collect and share personal histories among workers in the world of photography. The core of this multi-year initiative is an annual four-day retreat in Rockingham, Vermont, during which six to eight invited participants consider their individual paths into photography in formal presentations and informal talks. Each year’s gathering is loosely organized around a given theme, and attendees represent all corners of the photographic field, including curation, academia, publishing, commerce, and artistic practice, with an emphasis on less-heard voices. Together we explore the life and ecosystem—the soup—of photography, a medium that somehow still serves us as no other can.
Each year’s Photo Soup conversations are gathered in a modest publication, and you can get the book here.
The Photo Soup project is supported by Streamway Foundation Trust and organized by Alison Nordström and Diana Stoll.
“The motivation behind Photo Soup is to look at the broader context of photography, the ecosystem—the soup. And to try to suss out some of what’s happening by examining the personal experiences of people who have been deeply immersed in various corners of the field, have seen the changes, have played a part in the changes.”
—Diana Stoll
“Photo Soup is also a reminder of certain values and approaches that characterize our experience of the Field even in times of great change. The face-to-face exchange of ideas seems harder to orchestrate these days, but when it happens, its inimitable value is clear.”
—Alison Nordström
PHOTO SOUP 4: Communities
October: October 16–19, 2025
Streamway Foundation, Rockingham, Vermont
The theme of the 2025 Photo Soup gathering was “Communities”: the formal and informal groups that support our work, increase our knowledge, and sustain our spirits. Communities may be as official as international organizations with membership dues, annual events, and newsletters, or as casual as a posse of art school buddies. The participants this year represented several corners of the photographic field, from curation, criticism, and book design to photojournalism and social justice work. Among the subjects considered were the many types of communities—teams, networks, cliques, cabals, and families—and how communities (or rejection of them) have shaped and been shaped by the lives and careers of the Photo Soup 4 attendees.
Participants
Mike Belleme
Gail Buckland
Vincent Cianni
Yolanda Cuomo
Jean Dykstra
Elin Spring
Wendel A. White
Alison Nordström (Co-Director)
Diana Stoll (Co-Director)
“It’s all about relationships . . . if I have any value in this industry, it’s being able to connect people, people I feel can help each other, or who would love each other.”
—Elizabeth Krist, at Photo Soup 2
Streamway Foundation, Rockingham, Vermont
“The book, the process, having it out in the world, with its own life, as an ambassador for the artist’s work, is really important. Making a book can have an imprint on the artist, not just on the viewer.”
—Joshua Chuang, at Photo Soup 1