Act One: A Century in the Making / Book Signing & Panel Discussion Oct 23, 2026

Join us for a book signing & panel discussion of Act One: A Century in the Making w/ several contributing photographers at Picto Gallery.

Act One: A Century in the Making

A book. An exhibition. A public conversation.

Book Signing & Panel Discussion

Join us for a book signing and panel discussion with several contributing photographers to Act One: A Century in the Making—an evening of photography and conversation with contributing photographers Andrew Boroweic, Darcy Padilla, Greg Miller, and Natalie Keyssar.

Bringing together the work of more than 100 internationally recognized photographers alongside original essays by leading scholars, writers, and journalists, Act One is an ambitious 704-page publication creating a collective portrait of the first quarter of the 21st century.

Across nine thematic chapters, the book examines many of the forces that have defined these first twenty-five years—from climate change, public health, and human rights to democracy, race, war, technology, and globalization—through an extraordinary range of photographic perspectives.

Hosted at Picto Gallery New York, the evening will feature a panel discussion exploring photography's role in documenting, interpreting, and shaping our understanding of a rapidly changing world. The participating photographers will discuss their work featured in Act One, the events and communities they have photographed, and the questions that arise when more than 100 individual perspectives are brought together to create a portrait of our shared time.

Participating Photographers

Andrew Borowiec — Acclaimed documentary and fine-art photographer Andrew Borowiec has spent nearly four decades documenting the changing industrial and post-industrial landscape of the United States, with particular attention to the Ohio River Valley, the Midwest, and the Gulf Coast. He is the author of several books, including Along the Ohio, Industrial Perspective, and The New Heartland. Borowiec is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, multiple Ohio Arts Council Fellowships, and the Cleveland Arts Prize. His photographs are held in major collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Library of Congress, and Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Darcy Padilla — Internationally acclaimed documentary photographer Darcy Padilla is known for immersive, long-term projects examining poverty, public health, displacement, family, and social inequality. Her landmark The Julie Project followed one woman and her family for more than two decades. Padilla is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, Open Society Institute Individual Fellowship, Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellowship, Getty Images Grant, and three World Press Photo Awards, including the inaugural Long-Term Projects Award. In 2024, she became the first recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Award for Documentary Photography.

Greg Miller — Fine-art photographer and Guggenheim Fellow Greg Miller is known for using an 8×10 view camera and chance encounters with strangers to create richly detailed narrative portraits of American life. His long-term projects include Nashville, County Fair, Unto Dust, and Morning Bus, exploring community, ritual, childhood, and the ways people inhabit public space. Miller's photographs have been exhibited internationally and are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of the City of New York, George Eastman Museum, and Cleveland Museum of Art. His work has appeared in publications including TIME, LIFE, and Esquire, and he has taught at the International Center of Photography since 1999.

Natalie Keyssar — Brooklyn-based documentary photographer Natalie Keyssar focuses on inequality, youth culture, migration, and the human consequences of political turmoil and conflict, particularly across the Americas. Her work has appeared in publications including National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, TIME, and The New Yorker, and has been supported by the Pulitzer Center, Magnum Foundation, National Geographic Society, and International Women's Media Foundation. Keyssar is the recipient of the 2018 ICP Infinity Award for Emerging Photographer, 2019 PHmuseum Women Photographers Grant, and 2023 Aperture Creator Labs Photo Fund, with additional recognition from the Aaron Siskind Foundation, PDN 30, Magenta Flash Forward, and American Photography. She is also a Canon Explorer of Light.

Following the discussion, guests will have the opportunity to meet the photographers, have copies of Act One signed, and continue the conversation with members of New York's photography, creative, academic, and cultural communities.

Whether you are a photographer, student, educator, journalist, or simply interested in photography and the world around us, the evening offers an opportunity to engage directly with photographers whose work has borne witness to some of the defining events, transformations, and questions of our time.

Event Details

Friday, October 23, 2026
Picto Gallery New York
77 Washington Ave., 3rd Flr.
Brooklyn, NY 11205

Attendance is limited to 150 guests. Advance registration is required.

A limited number of tickets are available that include a copy of Act One: A Century in the Making. Books will also be available for purchase and signing at the event. Priority is given to books pre-ordered through purchase of attendance ticket that includes a copy of Act One.

Act One: A Century in the Making is published by Other Side Editions in a first and only edition of 2,000 copies.