Time Out New York
June 16-22, 2005

TAKING YOU FOR A SLIDE Casey Kelbaugh MCs at Slideluck Potshow III Photo: Gary He

The Slideluck Potshow invents a new kind of dinner theater

On a Saturday night in February at the Chelsea art space Match, a rapt crowd of 400 took in a colorful slide show of sun-drenched swingers—the sexually open sort. Five minutes later, they viewed another slide presentation—this one on December's tsunami, followed by one on a day in the life of a barbershop. All told, 50 professional and amateur photographers presented photo essays to an audience of curators, editors and photo junkies. It was the third NYC installment of the Slideluck Potshow, a potluck dinner–cum–slide show. The entry fee? Strong booze or some homemade food. The menu included Swedish meatballs and keshy yena (Aruba's national dish).

DINNER AND A SHOW Kodak moments are on Slideluck's menu Photos: Casey Kelbaugh

The Slideluck shindig was born in Seattle, hometown of founder Casey Kelbaugh, a commercial and editorial photographer. After 20 shows in lofts, schools and backyards, Kelbaugh packed up his projector and headed east. The event has evolved since moving here in 2004, but the central mission remains the same: to bring people together and build a spontaneous gallery. "You shoot and produce," says Kelbaugh, 31, "but so little of it actually gets seen." Slideluck operates outside the competitive world of art and commercial photography, Kelbaugh explains, saying, "It allows you to say what you intended to say."

That's what intrigued photographer Lucian Reade. His images from Iraq have run in newspapers all over the world, but he wanted to experience an audience reaction to his work. "You could hear a pin drop," he says. "Lots of those images you don't see published." But the Slideluck tent welcomes both the nonsensical and the thoughtful: Sober shots of battle can be followed by a hilarious quest to find a good doughnut. Kelbaugh accepts submissions based on variety and subject, and keeps remainders for future Potshows.

Kelbaugh hopes participants continue to challenge the medium by incorporating narration and music. "Blow the audience away, make them laugh," he says. "Watch people feel something with your work."—David Gerlach

Visit www.slideluckpotshow.com for more info.

© 2009 david gerlach | contact: davidgerlach at yahoo dot com