(West Palm Beach, FL)
Fatima NeJame,
president and chief executive officer of the world
renowned
Palm Beach Photographic Centre (PBPC),
today announced the December 4 Grand Opening of the
nonprofit organization’s new Leica Shop-in-Shop,
a boutique-like retail space located within PBPC’s
Pro Shop for Photographers.
To
celebrate the Grand Opening, the Palm Beach
Photographic Centre is inviting the public to a
number of special events:
Friday, December 4 – Leica Grand Opening
6:30 to 8 p.m.
The opening of both the Leica Shop-in-Shop at PBPC,
and the exhibition Empathy by national
news anchor & Leica M photographer Ann Curry.
FREE
Saturday, December 5 – Ann Curry: Empathy
10
to 11 a.m.
A
lecture by Ann Curry about the photos in her
exhibition to be held in the City Commission
Chambers at City Hall, City Center. FREE
11:30 to Noon
Ms. Curry will autograph exhibition posters in the
Leica Shop-in-Shop within PBPC’s Pro Shop for
Photographers.
“My travels have convinced me that no human being is
really foreign to another. We have so much in
common; the truth is we are surrounded by our
sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, each life
precious. It is time for us to stand up against the
suffering caused by genocide, war and ignorance. If
we care enough about our human family, we can change
the future, said Ms. Curry.
Saturday, December 5 – Leica
7:30 to 9:30 a.m.
M9 Workshop with Justin Stailey, Leica
Product Specialist. Leica Shop in Shop, Space
Limited. $25
2 to 4 p.m.
S2 Interactive Lecture and Photo Shoot with Justin
Stailey. PBPC Photo Studio (2nd Floor). Space
Limited. $25
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Product Demonstration of the new Leica M9, X1 and S2
in the Leica Shop in Shop. FREE
“These workshops will be a unique opportunity for
photographers to actually work with Leica’s best and
newest cameras, the M9 and the S2. In fact, this
will be the first M9 workshop and one of the first
S2 Photo Shoots in the country,” said Roland
Wolff, Leica’s director of new business
development.
About the New Leica Shop-in-Shop in
West Palm Beach:
As announced earlier this week by Leica Camera,
Inc./USA, “this will be the first Leica
Shop-in-Shop to introduce the new Leica Store
design to the U.S. market following debuts in
Berlin, London, Paris and Moscow. The event will
feature commentary from Leica Camera U.S. President Roger
Horn and PBPC President Fatima NeJame.”
To celebrate the grand opening of the Leica
Shop-in-Shop, PBPC will host award-winning news
anchor and Leica M photographer Ann Curry for
the opening of her exhibition “Empathy” on December
4th and a lecture on December 5th. Ms. Curry’s news
photographs will be showcased at the Gallery
through February 21, 2010.
Additionally, Leica Camera will host new product
demonstrations for the public on Saturday, December
5th, showcasing the recently unveiled LEICA M9,
LEICA X1 and LEICA S2 and offer workshops with the
M9 and the S2 on the same day.
“With the Palm Beach Photographic Centre’s world
renowned reputation in the photography industry, we
did not hesitate to collaborate with them on our
first newly conceptualized ‘Shop-in-Shop’ at the
Centre’s Pro Shop,” says Leica Camera U.S. President
Roger Horn. “Consumers and aficionados around the
world visit the PBPC, and we are proud to partner
with the Centre to create a unique retail experience
in Southern Florida.”
PBPC’s Pro Shop for Photographers will offer Leica’s
full product portfolio, from point-and-shoot cameras
to rangefinder and medium format systems and
binoculars. Similar to Leica’s products, this
setting will follow Leica’s recently reinvented
retail display, which utilizes premium design and
materials to offer an impressionable and interactive
experience.
About LEICA CAMERA:
Leica represents a union of craftsmanship,
technology and experience. It is at once an
extension of art, knowledge and philosophy,
providing a state-of-the-art optical experience in a
precision, hand-made photographic instrument. Leica
Camera has a simple mission: to provide users with
an incomparable experience, an instrument that
defines an unsurpassed heritage and sets a standard
of excellence for the industry to meet.
Throughout the world, Leica enjoys recognition and
customer loyalty, because of its achievements in the
photography industry and its uncompromising pursuit
of high-quality standards. Leica products are
appreciated by discerning clientele; the handcrafted
designs are fabricated with unmatched mechanical and
optical precision and yet they have an extraordinary
aura that can evoke feelings and emotions. For more
than 150 years, Leica has maintained a tradition of
precision manufacturing and consistent innovation,
which have steadily reinforced its preeminent
worldwide reputation.
About the
Palm Beach
Photographic Centre:
Dedicated to the enrichment of life through
education, exhibitions, community programs,
workshops, and cultural activities that promote the
art of photography and digital imaging, the Palm
Beach Photographic Centre has been hailed by the
highly respected
Columbia Journalism Review
as one of the world’s leading photo centers.
Located in a new 26,000 square foot home at City
Center, the Palm Beach Photographic Centre has 4,000
square feet of exhibition space, 6,500 square feet
of classrooms and studios, plus a 3,000 square-foot
Pro Shop for Photographers stocked with
state-of-the-art equipment, print gallery, an
extensive library and digital printers to make
oversize prints, plus the nation’s first Leica
Camera Shop-in-Shop retail location.
The Photo Centre is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and
Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to
the exhibition galleries is free through December
31. Starting in January 2010, the admission to the
exhibition galleries will be $5 per person, while
the community gallery exhibitions will still be
free. Admission fees vary for different events, and
pre-registration is required for seminars,
FOTOshoots and computer labs.
The Palm Beach Photographic Centre is located at
415 Clematis Street
in downtown
West Palm Beach.
For more information, please call
561.253.2600
or visit
www.workshop.org or
www.fotofusion.org.