Conversations 2023

Conversations 2023 returns to Lake Forest! The Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s annual conference on railroad art and photography is a great opportunity to interact with railroad photographers and artists, magazine editors, industry leaders, and scholars from wide backgrounds.

 

Register Online Today

Alternatively, download a registration form (LINK) and mail a check to our offices:
1930 Monroe Street, Suite 301, Madison, WI 53711

PRICES

Saturday and Sunday Members Non-Members* Students**
Early, by January 31

Regular, by March 31

 $140

$160

 $190

$210

 $50

$50
       
Add-on: Friday banquet $80 $80 $25
Add-on: Saturday banquet $50 $50 $20

*Non-member prices include one-year membership
**Students include any individual under the age of twenty-five

LOCATION

Lake Forest College
555 N. Sheridan Road
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045

The campus of co-sponsor Lake Forest College (campus map), is thirty miles north of Chicago. Learn more about the City of Lake Forest online or download the PDF overview.

Session times will be similar to past conferences, but some locations have changed. We will begin at 5:00 pm on Friday, April 14, with a reception including drinks and appetizers at Lake Forest College’s elegant Glen Rowan House. An optional dinner will follow in Calvin Durand Hall at the Mohr Student Center.

Saturday’s presentations, breaks, and lunch will take place entirely in Brown Hall (same as 2022) where doors will open at 8:00 am. Lunch is included with your registration. Another reception will follow, also in Brown Hall, and then we will host an optional dinner back at Calvin Durand.

Sunday’s programming will take place in Brown Hall, where doors will open at 8:00 am. The conference will conclude by noon to provide time for lunch and travel.

DOCENT SCHOLARSHIPS 

Up to four scholarships, funded by conference patrons, are available for young, new, and/or emerging photographers and artists to cover ticket prices, two nights of lodging (double occupancy), and partial travel expenses to and from the conference. The deadline is February 3, 2023; applicants will be notified of their status by February 10, 2023. Download the application here.

CATERING

The included conference package features two cocktail receptions on Friday and Saturday evenings; pastries and coffee on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and lunch on Saturday. Two dinners are available for an additional cost.

Please let us know in advance if you have any special dietary needs, and we will make every effort to accommodate them.

SUGGESTED LODGING

Hotel rooms are available at:
*Room blocks are not being offered due to underuse in recent years

Hilton Garden Inn
26225 N. Riverwoods Boulevard
Mettawa, IL 60045, 847-735-8374

Residence Inn Chicago Lake Forest Mettawa
26325 N. Riverwoods Boulevard
Mettawa, IL 60045, 847-615-2701

Dates and Times

Friday, April 14

  • Conference reception, (Glen Rowan House), 5 p.m.
  • Dinner, (Calvin Durand Hall), 7:00 p.m.
  • Entertainment: Music by Anthony D’Amato, followed by an interview featuring his brother Nicholas D’Amato, 8 p.m.

Saturday, April 15 

  • Coffee and pastries, (Brown Hall), 8:00 a.m.   
  • Welcome, 9:00 a.m.    
  • David and Liné Tutwiler, 9:30 a.m.
  • Break, 10:15 a.m.
  • Docent presentations, 10:45 a.m.
  • Brian Caswell & Chris Guss, 11:15 a.m.
  • Lunch, (Calvin Durand), 12:00 p.m.
  • CRP&A Updates, 1:00 p.m.
  • CRP&A Collections Update, 1:30 p.m.
  • Steve Smedley, 2:15 p.m.
  • Break, 3:00 pm
  • Gordon Glattenberg, 3:30 p.m.
  • Tom Gildersleeve, 4:15 pm
  • Reception, (Brown Hall), 5:00 p.m.
  • Dinner, (Calvin Durand Hall), 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 16

  • Coffee and pastries, (Brown Hall), 8:00 a.m.
  • CRP&A Collection Updates, 9:00 a.m.
  • Break, 9:45 a.m.
  • Eugene Armer, 10:15 a.m.
  • William Diehl, 11:00 a.m.
  • Conclusion, 11:45 a.m.