MODE: The World’s Photography Festival

Edwina Hay is a photographer and avid music fan born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Ever since attending Fordham University, she has captured musicians performing on stage for more than two decades. Her images have appeared in outlets such as BrooklynVegan, Creem, Gothamist, Impose Magazine, and Rolling Stone. She has also documented performances for Bowery Presents, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Museum of Modern Art, and Pioneer Works. She is a member of Black Women Photographers, The Photo Ladies, and has been a member of Flickr since 2004.

Éléonore Menga is a Congolese-born, Swiss-raised, Montréal-based photographer whose work explores memory, belonging, and human connection through portraiture, documentary photography, and experimental image-making. Drawing from a life lived across the Congo, Switzerland, and Canada, she creates images that reflect on cultural continuity, identity, and community. Her practice often incorporates double exposure and the layering of digital and analog processes, weaving together temporalities and perspectives to connect individuals with their environments and histories. Menga is a recipient of the 2025 Flickr × Black Women Photographers Grant. Her work has also gained international recognition, including distinctions from the BBA One Shot Award (2025) and the FotoSlovo Awards (2026).

Ecuadorian-born, NYC-raised Erick Hercules has redefined photography with viral techniques, blending fine art and pop culture. His work has been seen in Hollywood, on billboards, in VOGUE and Rolling Stone, with brands like Converse, Diesel and Puma and artists like DJ Khaled and the Hamilton Cast on Broadway. As a Sony Alpha Ambassador and the founder of Hercules New York, Erick continues to inspire the next generation, spearheading multiple communities and leading creative strategies for brands like Red Bull and HBO. Fun fact: He's also a retired opera singer who has performed at iconic venues like Carnegie Hall before turning 16.

Genesis Falls is a Chicago-based film photographer whose black-and-white practice centers on intimacy, memory, and the emotional weight carried within everyday moments. Working primarily with vintage cameras and film processes, her portraits and documentary-style images focus on people often overlooked, creating space for vulnerability, softness, and honesty to exist without performance. Inspired by early experiences photographing with her grandfather’s instant camera, she later studied Cinematography at Flashpoint Chicago, where she deepened her understanding of visual storytelling and light. Her work has been exhibited at the Evanston Art Center and through the Black Women Photographers collective, where she received the 2023 Black Women’s Photography & Flickr Grant. Influenced by Gordon Parks, Falls approaches photography as both documentation and care, using image-making to preserve humanity, resilience, and connection in their most raw and tactile forms.

GMUNK is a digital artist, live-action director, and motion designer whose creativity and innovation span a unique range of mediums. The throughline in his work utilizes a fusion of psychedelic themes and richly textured palettes, and his signature lens-based style is enigmatic, atmospheric, and metaphysical, much like the Munky himself. His ethos is driven by his desire to learn and stay uncomfortable. He continuously seeks to apply his foundation in motion design to new mediums, with new collaborators. The results of these labors often take unexpected forms as short films, installations, digital art, data visualizations, commercials, music videos, title sequences, and various applications of motion design. GMUNK's work has been exhibited and sold at Christie's, Sotheby's, and in fine-art galleries around the world. His early Flash and Motion Design work set the bar for experimentation in the medium and has been studied in schools internationally for over two decades. His projection-mapping opus BOX is one of the most viral short films ever made and won prestigious awards including the Cannes Grand Prix and Siggraph's Best in Show. He produced one of the world's most iconic image campaigns with the Microsoft Windows 10 desktop wallpaper, seen by over a billion people worldwide. He pioneered early Augmented Reality concepts by designing the holographic content in science-fiction pillars Tron: Legacy and Oblivion. His full-spectrum photography series InfraMunk has inspired an entire generation of artists and has been published worldwide in numerous print and online platforms including Fubiz, DesignBoom, and Engadget. Over decades, his commercial work has been prolific, with commissions for clients such as Apple, Disney, Nike, Adidas, Samsung, Microsoft, Meta, Audi, Maserati, Mercedes, NASA, Sony, Uber, Dolby, HP, Adobe, Coca-Cola, Tonal, Dobel, The Creators Project, Asus, Hummer, Infiniti, and HBO. His work often centers around themes of identity, the subconscious, and our human connection to technology.

Founded in 1996 in San Francisco, California, Heather Elder Represents was born out of the creative energy of the 90s dot-com boom; a time when innovation and imagination shaped the city’s identity. It was the perfect moment for Heather Elder, whose passion for artists and their craft inspired her to build something enduring: a community that celebrates creativity, collaboration, and excellence. Over the years, Heather and her agency have earned a reputation for representing artists whose work pushes boundaries and inspires audiences. With a discerning eye for talent and an unwavering commitment to clients, Heather has grown her agency into a trusted resource for brands and creatives alike. Today, Heather Elder Represents is a respected industry leader with a team of five, representing 14 photographers/directors and a CGI/AI + Animation studio. Together, they bring diverse perspectives and world-class storytelling to global brands. Beyond the agency, Heather is an active voice in the creative community; hosting the Dear Art Producer and Community Table podcasts and serving as a founding board member of the Artist Management Association, where she continues to advocate for artists and the evolving role of representation in today’s industry.

House of Dance Twin Cities is Minnesota's first and premier dance studio dedicated to teaching the highest quality Hip Hop Dance and Breakdancing classes to people of all ages and experience levels. The studio has key partnerships with the NBA/WNBA Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx Basketball organizations. House of Dance Twin Cities is the Midwest regional representative/host of the competitive circuit for youth/adult breakers on the pathway to the 2024 Olympics.

Jesse DeFlorio is a Nashville-based photographer and director. Touring since sixteen, he’s worked in all 50 states and over 30 countries photographing artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Kelsea Ballerini, Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Dermot Kennedy, and The All-American Rejects. His work can be seen on record covers for Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, and Beyonce. He enjoys travel, black coffee, and rock & roll.

Jessica Glassberg is an American photographer, cinematographer, and writer known for her work in climbing and adventure media. Her photography focuses on athletes, landscapes, and the culture surrounding rock climbing, capturing both the physicality of the sport and the quieter, human moments that define life within climbing communities. Rooted in photojournalism, her broader body of work spans portraiture, expeditions, extreme sports, and women’s stories, combining documentary storytelling with a refined visual sensibility. She collaborates with leading outdoor and lifestyle brands including Adidas, The North Face, and Red Bull, and contributes to major publications such as Sports Illustrated and Outside. In addition to her creative practice, Glassberg is a photo historian and researcher. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on early Western American photography and the construction of American identity following the Civil War, and in 2022 she received her doctorate in Visual Arts and Culture from Université de Paris. Her scholarly background grounds her contemporary image-making in a deep understanding of photography's cultural and historical foundations.

Jigisha Bouverat is a founder and executive producer with more than three decades at the forefront of art, advertising, and cultural storytelling. She is co-founder and Chief Content Officer of Rise Creative Studios, a women-owned production company committed to inclusive, authenticity-driven content, and the founder of Jigisha Bouverat Collective (JBC), built on her belief that representing artists is a deeply personal commitment to long-term creative growth. As the Director of Art Production at TBWA\Chiat\Day for over 18 years, Jigisha built one of the industry's most respected art production departments, shaping landmark campaigns for Apple, Energizer, Nissan, Pepsi, Gatorade, Sony PlayStation, and more. She also co-founded Komyoon Inc., a technology platform designed to increase access and visibility for women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA commercial artists. A respected voice in the art and commerce community, she has served as panelist and judge for D&AD, APA National, The Lucie Awards, ArtCenter, ASMP, and At-Edge.

During the extraordinary rise of popular culture and counterculture in the Sixties, Jim Marshall seemed to be everywhere that mattered. Called the most celebrated and prolific photographer of the 20th century, Marshall is widely known for his iconic music photography. Because he lived life alongside his subjects and never betrayed their trust, he was granted unparalleled access. His images — from the breakout performances of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding at Monterey Pop, to unguarded backstage moments, to Johnny Cash's groundbreaking prison concerts at Folsom and San Quentin — are woven into the lore of the era. In a career that ended with his untimely death in 2010, Marshall shot more than 500 album covers; his photographs are held in private and museum collections around the world. Marshall's legacy lives on through Amelia Davis, his longtime personal assistant and the person he trusted above all others — upon his death, Marshall left his entire estate to Davis to carry on his work. As owner of Jim Marshall Photography LLC, Davis has edited ten Marshall monographs, curated yearly exhibitions of his photography, and was the driving force behind Marshall receiving a posthumous Trustees Award from the Recording Academy in 2014, honoring his extraordinary chronicling of music history throughout the twentieth century.

Over his 30-year photography career, Jimmy Steinfeldt has worked with everyone from Miles Davis to the Ramones. Born in Minneapolis, he first picked up a camera at age 14, with cars among his earliest subjects. Jimmy moved to California to study at San Diego State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Management. After college, he shot his way through countless road trips and rock concerts armed with his first real camera—a one-hundred-dollar Minolta!

Jon Glassberg is an American documentary and adventure filmmaker who works as a director, cinematographer, and producer. Beginning his career as a professional climber, Glassberg transitioned behind the camera to document pivotal moments in outdoor sports, earning recognition for his immersive cinematography and character-driven storytelling. His projects have taken him around the world, including coverage of climbing’s Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, where he captured the sport’s historic introduction to a global audience. Glassberg is the founder of Louder Than 11, a production company dedicated to authentic storytelling in extreme environments. His commercial work includes 'The Cliffside Shop,' a Cannes Lions-winning campaign for its innovative outdoor storytelling. His latest feature documentary, Girl Climber, has screened globally in theaters and IMAX, earning festival recognition worldwide.

Josh Katz is a documentary photographer, published author, photo educator, and skateboarder living in Philadelphia. He leads workshops and makes videos for Canon, teaches Lightroom for Adobe, and freelances as a photojournalist. He loves the internet but refuses to call himself a content creator.  With the help of a viral Kickstarter campaign, his first photo book On the Roof: New York in Quarantine, was published by Thames & Hudson. He is a cofounder of Skatefolio, an interactive database for skateboarding videos. Josh's less professional hobbies include talking to strangers, biking, reading, and designing scavenger hunts.

Kelley Luikey is an award-winning fine art photographer based in South Carolina who specializes in birds. She is known for her signature soft, dreamy style that brings a painterly, intimate quality to her images. Her work consistently places among the top images in national and international competitions, including those hosted by the National Audubon Society and the North American Nature Photographers Association. While much of her time is devoted to photographing the birds of the South Carolina Lowcountry, Kelley also travels in pursuit of new species and fresh perspectives, embracing the challenge and excitement of bird photography in diverse environments. She shares her knowledge through one-on-one instruction, mentorships, and small group trips, helping other photographers approach bird photography with greater intention, artistry, and creativity. Kelley's fine art bird images are featured at Pluff Mudd Art Gallery in Old Town Bluffton. She donates 2% of every sale to Audubon South Carolina, supporting efforts to protect both resident and migratory birds. Through her imagery, Kelley hopes to inspire others to cherish and protect the extraordinary beauty of birdlife in the Lowcountry and beyond.

Liz Miller Gershfeld spent 23 years as an executive art producer at a creative ad agency, on photo sets and in the rooms where decisions get made about who gets hired, what gets made, and what an image is allowed to be. She left in 2022 and walked straight into the most disorienting creative moment of her career. She's been in it ever since. Working under the name Not Liz AI, she makes short films, builds experimental tools, and collaborates with clients, bringing everything she learned about craft, intention, and creative judgment into a space that is still very much being figured out. She doesn't have a tidy answer for what AI means for image-making. She has a practice, a lot of questions, and a genuine belief that the people who've spent years caring about how images are made are exactly the ones who should be in this conversation.

Naskademini is a Canadian born photographer and director and a first generation son of Caribbean parents. He founded Studio Espace Gris in Montreal in 2009 and is a co founder of If These Walls Could Talk Gallery. His work moves between portraiture, editorial assignments, commercial projects, and personal studies that look closely at people and the spaces they move through. He has contributed photography and visual direction to Grammy nominated and platinum selling projects, while continuing to build a body of work that pays attention to quiet moments, gesture, and the stories found in everyday settings. He is drawn to images that feel grounded and human. Studio Espace Gris remains his home base and the centre of his studio practice. From there he develops projects connected to music, culture, and contemporary life, with a continued interest in how images hold memory and carry meaning for the communities they come from. Naskademini is a Canadian born photographer and director and a first generation son of Caribbean parents. He founded Studio Espace Gris in Montreal in 2009 and is a co founder of If These Walls Could Talk Gallery. His work moves between portraiture, editorial assignments, commercial projects, and personal studies that look closely at people and the spaces they move through. He has contributed photography and visual direction to Grammy nominated and platinum selling projects, while continuing to build a body of work that pays attention to quiet moments, gesture, and the stories found in everyday settings. He is drawn to images that feel grounded and human. Studio Espace Gris remains his home base and the centre of his studio practice. From there he develops projects connected to music, culture, and contemporary life, with a continued interest in how images hold memory and carry meaning for the communities they come from.

Rooted in south-east London, where he was born, raised, and still lives, Nico Froehlich is a British photographer, director and cultural practitioner whose practice centres on human connection and belonging. His images celebrate the richness of everyday life, emphasising social realism and drawing attention to overlooked moments and perspectives that shape community and identity. Nico’s work has received international recognition, earning him awards including the Budapest International Foto Award, Creative Review Photography Annual, LensCulture Portrait Award, LensCulture Critics’ Choice Award, Lucie Foundation Award, Tokyo International Foto Award, and consecutive winning portraits in the British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain. His work has been exhibited across Europe, the USA, and Asia, at events such as Photo London and Paris Photo, as well as through a permanent display at Heathrow Airport. His photography has been featured in leading publications including the British Journal of Photography, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Guardian, ITV, NBC News, The New Statesman, The Observer, and The Royal Photographic Society Journal. In addition to his extensive personal projects, Nico collaborates on advertising campaigns, cultural commissions, and editorial assignments for clients, civic institutions, brands, and publications worldwide. As a cultural practitioner, he has been commissioned to deliver projects that combine documentary photography with cultural engagement, such as Portrait of Havering - a civic institution commission for Havering London’s cultural strategy, A Good Life. His practice often extends into youth-focused initiatives, introducing young people to hyperlocal documentary photography and encouraging them to take ownership of their perspectives in shaping authentic, optimistic representations of place.

Olivia Bee is a photographer and director. She is intrigued by the magic of everyday life, a human's inherent connection with land, the duality of love, and how the beauty of memories (real or imagined) touches us. With an initial rise in the photography world via Flickr in 2009, she began shooting commercially for international brands such as Nike and Converse at the age of 15, had a New York Times Magazine cover under her belt at 16, and a commission for Hermès by 17. While she was still a teenager, spearheading the rebrand of the iconic Cacharel fragrance Anaïs Anaïs got her foot officially in the door of the directing world. Within a few years, her music video for Olivia Rodrigo's "traitor" was nominated for a VMA in 2022, and her narrative short film "All The World" showed at multiple festivals in the US. She became the youngest artist to have a book published with Aperture Foundation with the release of her monograph "Kids In Love" at 22 years old in 2016. The work was shown as a solo show at Aperture Foundation as well as agnès b in New York City. She has been included in group exhibitions with Danziger Gallery, agnès b, Aperture Foundation, Weinstein Gallery, Bernal Espacio Galeria, and with Van Cleef & Arpels in Kyoto and Paris. Her solo show "In The Secret Distance" showed at Headstone Gallery at Upstate Art Weekend in 2025, as well as online at Danziger Gallery. Olivia has given two Tedx talks and has spoken at conferences around the world. She has been listed in PDN 30 Under 30 and Forbes 30 Under 30. Olivia lives in Southwestern Oregon with her husband, Joe, and their daughter, Mary. They run Y Knot Farm + Ranch in Oregon's Umpqua Valley, with a focus on regenerative, pasture raised meats. The dance between the rootedness of farm life, and the sparkle of international travel, punctuated with art making, is what makes Olivia tick.

Photographer Paul Seibert is known for his dramatic aerial images of New York City. Raised in the New York metropolitan area, he developed a deep familiarity with the city that later shaped his artistic focus. His work centers on capturing the scale, structure, and energy of urban life from perspectives rarely seen, particularly from above. Over the course of his career, Seibert has spent more than 15 years photographing New York, with a strong emphasis on aerial photography in recent years. His role as a photographer and director of digital content for a New Jersey based helicopter company gave him extensive access to helicopter shoots, allowing him to refine his technique and pursue ambitious projects. He is known for pushing technical limits, including photographing the city from extreme altitudes to achieve unique and expansive views. Seibert’s work is showcased in his book New York From the Air (2022), which features hundreds of images highlighting the city’s architecture, density, and atmosphere. His photography emphasizes patterns, light, and perspective, often transforming familiar landmarks into abstract compositions. Through his work, he offers a fresh way of seeing one of the world’s most photographed cities, reinforcing his reputation as a leading voice in modern aerial photography. Along with being a full time creator, Paul has also run large social media accounts, created, directed, produced and hosted YouTube series. Paul has worked with brands such as Canon USA, New York Road Runners, Tropicana, Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation, New York or Nowhere, National Parks Conservation Assoc., and Empire State Realty Trust. Community and education are two passion areas of Paul’s creative life, and supporting young creatives is an extremely important part of Paul’s life outside of his creative activities.

Penny De Los Santos is a visual storyteller, photographer, and director who has traveled the world documenting people, food, and culture for publications including National Geographic, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and Eating Well. From the historical all-male dining clubs of the Basque Country to third-culture life on the Mexican-American borderlands, these experiences are at the heart of Penny's work — shaping the subjects they choose and the way they make photographs. Her distinctive perspective and creative style have attracted commissions from Starbucks, Walmart, Target, and Martini & Rossi. She has also received numerous grants and fellowships, including the National Geographic Photography Grant, the Eastman Kodak Photography Grant, the Canon USA Photography Grant, and the Parsons School of Design Marty Forsher Fellowship. Penny is based in New York City.

Polly Irungu is a Kenyan-born, Washington, D.C.–based photographer, photo editor, and community builder who believes deeply in the power of visual storytelling to create access, equity, and change. Driven by curiosity, care, and a strong sense of responsibility, Polly is especially committed to uplifting Black and African women creatives whose stories have historically been overlooked. A former White House photographer and photo editor, she is passionate about representation, fairness, and building systems that allow talented people not just to be seen, but to thrive. As the founder of Black Women Photographers, Polly is most energized when she's connecting people, opening doors, and helping creatives gain the confidence, resources, and opportunities they deserve. Passionate about mentorship, collaboration, and community-building, she values both the craft of photography and the business behind it—believing sustainable careers are just as important as powerful images. Whether documenting history, leading conversations about equity in the creative industry, or supporting emerging photographers, Polly approaches everything with intention, generosity, and a belief in collective success.

Hailing from the Bronx, now residing in Brooklyn. Raheim is known in the photography community as Black Soap (a moniker that reflects his affinity for “dark and clean” images), Raheim is a New York-based digital creative. A storyteller in the truest form, his work is rooted in Black culture, grimey street photography, and abandoned spaces. Raheim is regarded for his ability to capture the emotional rawness of a moment.  Beyond his creative work, Raheim is the co founder of Environmental Hood Restoration (EHR), a nonprofit focused on uplifting underserved communities through initiatives such as food drives, youth programs, and neighborhood revitalization efforts—further grounding his work in real impact and cultural connection.

Rob Grimm is a commercial beverage, food, and product photographer with a bold, cinematic style and a serious obsession with glass, liquids, and great design. Rob has built high-impact campaigns for brands like Jack Daniel's, Bacardi, Woodford Reserve, Kraft, and Panera, but what really sets him apart is how he blends old-school craft with new-school tools—bringing AI-integrated workflows into the studio without ever losing the human touch. Rob is a creative partner, a problem solver, and someone who has never stopped evolving.