Jurors

Victoria Will began her career in the photography industry as a photojournalist and has since transitioned her focus to celebrity portraiture, editorial, and commercial assignments. Victoria's characteristically authentic portraiture has appeared in the pages of Vogue, New York Times, Rolling Stone, ESPN and W Magazine with commercial campaigns for brands such as Carhartt, Levis, Netflix, Hulu, AT&T, Bose, Ralph Lauren, and Miller High Life. Her approach is rooted in collaboration and meaningful connection where she seeks intimacy, authenticity, and elegance with a thoughtful eye and composition.

Recognized by numerous honors, including American Photography, PDN Photo Annual, and Communication Arts, her imagery has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions internationally. Her first monograph, Borne Back, a collection of tintype portraits, was published in 2017 by Peanut Press.

A Washington, D.C. native and graduate of Princeton University, Victoria now resides in New York with her photojournalist husband, their two sons, and two French Bulldogs.


Robert Burns is the Director of the Mattatuck Museum; a position he has held since 2012. Bob is vice chair of the City of Waterbury Mayor’s Art Advisory Council and vice president of Main Street Waterbury. He also serves in advisory role on the Post University Masters in Public Administration program, the Shippensburg University (PA) Interdisciplinary Arts program, the Naugatuck Valley Community College President’s Regional Advisory Council and the Waterbury Community Investment Program. He is on the board of directors of the Connecticut Arts Alliance, the Hartford Art School Endowment, and the Waterbury Development Corporation.

Burns has been a juror for exhibitions at the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Washington Art Association, the West Hartford Arts League, the Canton Artists’ Guild, and the Pequot Library. In addition to several exhibitions at the Mattatuck, Burns has curated a group show for Five Points Gallery in Torrington. Bob joined the Mattatuck following 10 years at Olana, a New York State Historic Site and home of Hudson River School artist Frederic Edwin Church. He has worked in the non-profit sector for over 30 years. A native of West Virginia, Bob has been identified as one of the “50 Most Influential People in Litchfield County” by Litchfield Magazine and received Main Street Waterbury’s Community Partnership Award. He earned his Masters of Fine Arts from the University of South Carolina and Bachelor of Fine Arts from West Virginia University. He currently resides on a former dairy farm in Goshen, CT with his husband, writer Gary Schiro.


Brad Smith is an award winning photo editor, with 35 years experience in visual storytelling.

He's the former Director of Photography at Time Inc., Sports Group, which included Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine. He was also with the New York Times as the Senior Sports Photo Editor and Assistant Director of Photography for the White House during the Clinton administration. He's on the Board of Directors for the National Press Photographers Association and Photo Start, as well as the Creative Board for NYC Salt. He's on the faculty for the Summit Photo Workshops, FOTOFusion, and Southwestern Photojournalism Conference. He's the founder and director of Brad Smith Creative, a visual consulting group. Currently, he's the Vice President for Photography for the WWE.



IMAGES 2018 Student Winner: "Sunset in Mammoth Springs" by David Pisciotta