MEET OUR JUDGE: Thomas Werner

Thomas is the author of the book The Fashion Image for Bloomsbury Press, London, and an Editor at Large for IRKmagazine, a Paris based fashion and culture magazine and web site.  An Assistant Professor and past Photography Program Director at Parsons School of Design in New York, Thomas currently lectures internationally on topics of photography, fashion, education, and contemporary professional practices. He is also the former owner of Thomas Werner Gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea Art District, and recently lead a team developing a media and literacy web site and resource center in five languages, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic and English for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations/UNESCO. Werner has worked with the Department of State on cultural projects in Russia, and been a photography consultant for COACH and Rodale Publishing, among others. He is a recurrent instructor at the United Nations Education First Summer School, and is presenting workshops on effective message development and visual communication on an international basis.

Over the last 11 years his research work has been Russia centric spending an average of 40 days a year there partnering with 32 cultural, educational, and governmental organizations to develop projects in 29 cities. The focus has been the introduction of contemporary education methodologies, and the development of creative cultures within the country. Russian partners have included; The State Hermitage Museum, the National Center of Contemporary Art, Perm Regional Government, The Moscow Biennale for Young Art, National Centre of Photography for the Russian Federation, The Central State Archive of Film, Photographic and Phonographic Documents, The Pro Arte Foundation, and others. He has curated exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including seven co-curated exhibitions at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His private collection of Russian photographs and artifacts, have been exhibited internationally.