Create NYC, sponsored by Photo Plus, is the apparent successor to the venerable three-day Photo Expo event that before the pandemic had been held every autumn at the Javits Center on Manhattan's West Side. I used to enjoy riding the subway down to 34th Street each year and spending a few hours examining all the products on display at the exhibitors' booths. It was a definite treat. So much for fond memories. The new entity is a completely reimagined event that will be held from September 29th through October 1st at the Duggal Greenhouse in Brooklyn. But much more than the venue location has changed, though the long subway ride to Brooklyn alone is enough to have discouraged me from attending. For one thing, the show seems no longer to be catering exclusively to photographers, or even videographers, but rather to "creatives," an ambiguous term that takes in, according to show's announcements, even graffiti artists.
Though the three-day schedule lists "creator walks," "creator workshops," and "stage sessions," there is ominously no mention made anywhere of the exhibitor booths and displays that had in the past been my chief reason for attending.
Perhaps the biggest change is in the price of tickets. In the past, those attendees registering before a certain date were given free admission to the venue. That, unfortunately, is no longer the case. Now a "limited" number of tickets have been put on sale at the outrageous (to me at least) price of $150 for a one-day pass and $300 for a three-day pass. If I had had any lingering thought of attending, those prices have made up mind for me. I will find better ways to spend my time here in Manhattan on the days the show is in progress and I have a feeling many other photographers of my acquaintance will also skip the show.
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