George Slade, center, with Mickey Smith (left) and Vance Gellert (right) in pARTs Gallery, a predecessor of Minnesota Center for Photography. Star Tribune 2006 photo by Bruce Bisping,

George Slade, a former artistic director at the now defunct Minnesota Center for Photography, has resigned his curatorial post at the Photographic Research Center (PRC), an independent non-profit organization associated with Boston University.

"The organization and I have arrived at a place and time where our interests no longer mesh," Slate wrote in a brief e-mail announcement of his resignation. It was addressed to the "PRC Community," but datelined Minneapolis.

" I have aspired to place artists and the wide range of photographic art at the forefront of my activities as the organization's curator, editorial voice, and artistic leader. I feel gratified that so many of you have expressed your support and acknowledgment of my efforts," he added.
A St. Paul native and player in the Twin Cities photo scene for many years, Slade began his career as a protege of the late Ted Hartwell, photo curator at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. As artistic director at the Minnesota Center for Photography (MCP) he organized a somber 2007 exhibition of images related to China's monumental Three Gorges Dam project. Taken by Chinese and American photographers, the photos documented the dam's social and environmental impact on China's ancient cultural landscape. MCP closed in 2008 when its financial support collapsed after 18 years of operation.