About The Festival
William Klein, New York, NY, USA, 1955 -EOMS 4th edition
The 9th edition has ended, the 10th Edition will launch on June 1, 2024
Please see the sneak preview on this website
Press Release
International Outdoor Street Photography Festival ✓
Indoor Photography Exhibitions ✓
Youth Photography Program ✓
Public Lecture Series ✓
Free activities✓
Festival Theme: Main Street, a Crossroad of Cultures
-Main Exhibition is Outdoor over ¾ mile
The ninth edition of Eyes on Main Street, Wilson Outdoor Photo Festival will launch on June 2, 2023 in historic downtown Wilson, NC. For 100 days, 100 photographs will be display on 100 storefront windows, walls and buildings, spanning nine city blocks. Following Barnes Street, then Lodge Street and Nash Street, our city center will be transformed into a vibrant gallery of large-scale photographs. The outdoor exhibition, curated by Jerome De Perlinghi, Ghadah Alrawi and Carol Johnson, features the work of 100 photographers from 39 countries. Among the artists included in this years' edition are: Emin Özmen, Grace Ekpu, Peter Caton, Corinna Kern, Ron Haviv, Jane Hahn, Cyrus Cornut, Jenna Mulhall-Brereton, Gordon Parks and Vera Saltzman.
-Eyes on Main Street will open The American Center for Photographers (ACP) in 2023, the launch date is June 1, 2023
The American Center for Photographers (ACP) opens in a purposely designed gallery space in the heart of the City of Wilson North Carolina in the Spring of 2023. Building on the successes of Eyes on Main Street Inc. nine years of international photography festival activities, the ACP’s core goal is to celebrate established photo practitioners and elevate the profiles of emerging photographers. The ACP will present monthly photography exhibitions showcasing work from within the USA and beyond. Coupled with the exhibition programming will be education workshops, forums and other photocentric events that will grow public awareness of photographic image makers and generate networks between photographers throughout the world. Partnering with the Eyes on Main Street Inc. photographer in residency initiative, the ACP gallery will house an annually rotational portfolio collection that features works by USA and International photographers.
The American Center for Photographers, ACP, at Whirligig Station, 230 Goldsboro Street S, Wilson, NC 27893
-Eyes on the Residency, the new exhibition will open on June 1, 2023; inside ACP
9 residents photographers who worked in Wilson from July 2022 to March 2023 will be featured in a group's exhibition.
The 5th year of the program saw a record number of applicants. Photographers from around the world came to Wilson, NC, USA, each for one month to photograph all segments of our community. The results are very impressive; with the work of Kalel Koven, Freya Maes, Rodrigo Paredes, Meg Hewitt, Andrejs Strokins, Simon Vansteenwinckel, Marc Chaumeil, Chau Cuong Lê and Peter Bialobrzeski.
Chau Cuong Lê, Wilson, NC, USA, February 2023
-Living on Bombs, Raffaele Petralla, 5th Recipient of EOMS INC Reportage Grant, inside ACP
I started this project in Laos between November and December 2019 with the aim of documenting the remains of what was called the "Secret War" (1964-1973).
I met the NGO MAG which works to reclaim the area strewn with bombs. I met the members of an association that do its utmost to raise funds and handcraft prosthetics for the thousands of people who need them, and I have been to some villages where bombs are recycled. Working on the field, while exploring and interviewing Laotians, I discovered the existence of dozens of large caves which were not only a refuge but also a home for thousands of Laotians, even in the years following the war. Some became hospitals and schools.
To access the American Center for Photographers website: Click Here
Raffaele Petralla, Laos, 2022,
-Education Program is running year round since 2022
-Youth Photography Workshops: Peter Fitzpatrick, our Education Director and Professor at the School of Fine and Performing Arts of Columbia College Chicago, has supervised and conducted several youth photography workshops in partnership with local after-school groups. The Diane Dammeyer Initiative and Canon USA generously support these workshops.
-Public Lecture Series: featuring photographers discussing their ideas and techniques.
See the full program in the Events section.
-Adult Photography Workshops: Brings the opportunity to work with and mentored by renowned photographers on projects in the City of Wilson.
Festival Head Quarters
ACP, 230 Goldsboro Street S, Wilson, NC 27893
Festival Creative Team
Jerome De Perlinghi, Artistic Director/Curator
Peters Bernard, Graphic Designer & Artist
Dave Matthews, Technical Director
The American Center for Photographers
Carmen Bartlett, Gallery Operation Manager
Contact Details
Eyesonmainstreetinc@gmail.com
Phone: 1-708-271-3042
For more information, visit us online: www.eyesonmainstreetwilson.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eyesonmainstreet/
Or follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyesonmainstreetinc/
Board Members
John Bethune, Kathryn Bethune (Board President), Dale Bryce, Mehmet, Demirci, Martin Evans, Kim S. Joy, Bankston Lewis, Scott Magoon, Will Robl, Ginger Updegrave
Mailing Address
Eyes on Main Street, INC;210 Moss Street, Wilson, NC 27893, USA
Eyes on Main Street is a large outdoor and indoor photography festival in Wilson, North Carolina. We are a Non-Profit Organization and donations are tax deductible as stipulated by the IRS.