Midwest Virtual Portfolio Review —
What to Know
Organizer / Host: NYCFotoWorks, via their “BLVD Review” virtual events.
Date: September 26
Cities Represented / Region:
Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Detroit & Milwaukee
How It Works
It’s a 1-day event, running roughly 10 AM to 4 PM.
Attendees submit a request list ~10 days before the event; this allows them to indicate which reviewers they want meetings with.
Based on the request list + reviewer availability, individual meeting schedules are created.
Meetings are 20 minutes each via Zoom or Teams (depending on what the reviewer prefers).
Attendee availability during the event day matters: you need to be available during the whole timeframe so you can attend all the meetings you’ve gotten. (NYCFotoWorks doesn’t build the schedule around individual availability beyond you being present during events hours.)
Pricing / Packages
You can choose among several packages depending on how many meetings you want:
Number of Meetings & Price
5 meetings - $625
10 meetings - $1250
15 meetings - $1875
20 meetings - $2500
25 meetings - $3125
There are discounts / priority for “blvdselect” members (25% off + first priority) and “Boulevard Artists” members (15% off + second priority) for request selection.
Who the Reviewers Are / What They’re Looking For
Here’s a snapshot of some reviewers, where they’re based, and what kinds of work they want to see.
(Tip: choose which reviewers align best with your work, so you request wisely.)
Zackary McDowell (Creative Director, Allied Global Marketing, Chicago) - Chicago
Looking for: Commercial, Broadcast/Commercial Spots, Product, Travel, etc.
Audrey Wojtonik (Executive Producer, AbelsonTaylor) - Chicago
Looking for: Health/Wellness, Commercial, Lifestyle, Motion, Non-Profit, etc.
Kelly Nercess (Sr. Producer, ARC Worldwide, Minneapolis) - Minneapolis
Looking for: Food & Beverage, Beauty/Cosmetics, Product, Motion etc.
Alessandra Coloma (Art Director, Energy BBDO, Milwaukee) - Milwaukee
Looking for: Beauty/Cosmetics, Product, Lifestyle, Motion, Automotive, etc.
Antonio Bedoya (Associate Creative Director, HighDive, Detroit) - Detroit
Looking for: Broad categories: Motion, Product, Commercial, etc.
Takeaways from reviewers’ interests:
Lots of emphasis on commercial, product/food & beverage, lifestyle, beauty/cosmetics, motion / video / broadcast spots.
Also some openness to editorial, travel, animals, non-profit, illustration, etc.
If you have crossover work (product + motion, or commercial + lifestyle, etc.), there are reviewers who work in those mixed spaces.
Important Deadlines & Notes
The deadline to join / apply for the reviewers is September 21.
Reviewers are still being added, so the list may grow.