Saturdays, March – August, 2026
This six-month intensive critique group supports individual photographic projects while building community among artists through monthly in-person sessions that provide reflective spaces of inquiry, free from the hierarchy of traditional critiques. Facilitated by LESLY DESCHLER CANOSSI, whose extensive teaching experience brings clarity and depth to the creative process, the group invites participants to explore new directions in their work within a supportive environment.
New for Spring 2026, to supplement project development and extend support between in-person sessions, a 1.5-hour online session will take place the first Monday evening of each month. This additional virtual space is intended to further support participants’ work in progress, deepen discussions, and provide ongoing support while creating flexibility in scheduling.
Through shared observation and discussion, participants will refine their work, deepen dialogue within their practice, and gain valuable feedback on portfolios, books, or exhibitions. This space welcomes anyone actively engaged in artistic practice or working toward a creative goal.
DURATION: Saturdays, March – August 2026
TIME: 2-5pm
MEETING DATES:
March 28
April 18 (12-3pm, please note the time difference for this date)
May 9
June 20
July 11
August 1
ONLINE SESSIONS (optional): 1st Monday of each month, 7:30pm to 9:00 pm EST
WHERE: Meets on the 2nd floor at 25 Dederick Street in Kingston, NY.
MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT: 12
TUITION: $380
CPW MEMBERS: $330
Please read our full class policies here.
Interested in becoming a member to receive discounts? Join here.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
LESLY DESCHLER CANOSSI is a photography educator, writer, and cultural producer. For over 14 years, she was a lead faculty member at International Center of Photography and currently leads long-term critique groups for La Luz, CPW, and her independent project, Widening the Lens Photo Community. Her extensive teaching experience, combined with 14+ years of technical expertise running Fiber Ink Studio—specializing in silver gelatin, analog Type-C, and wide-format pigment printing—provides the foundation that allows her to focus on supporting artists articulating their personal vision.
Lesly co-founded Women Picturing Revolution (2016-2022), an organization dedicated to women-identifying photographers who have documented conflicts and crises in private realms and public spaces. In 2022, she co-edited Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation: Another Way of Knowing (Leuven University Press). Her personal artists practice centers on themes of care and grief, and her research centers on recovering the contributions of women and marginalized practitioners who have been relegated to footnotes or rendered anonymous in photography’s traditional narrative, bringing this inclusive historical perspective into her teaching.
Lesly lives in Beacon, New York with her family on a micro homestead with honeybees, embodying the values of care, community and sustainability that inform her teaching practice.