Local photographer, Toni Smailagić created quite a dust up on social media this morning when he called out Folio Weekly Editor, Claire Goforth and Folio Weekly A&E Editor, Madeleine Peck Wagner for an article Wagner wrote and Folio Weekly published.
The article was titled Tangled and depending on who you talked to around the water cooler today, it was either a hatchet job against Jessica Santiago, “…the CEO, curator and public face of Art Republic, a private nonprofit art entity that is responsible for many of the murals in Downtown Jacksonville” or it was an in depth piece of investigative journalism.
Smailagić, who owns Cre8Jax and is a “Natural Light Photographer” is frequently contracted by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville to photograph arts events in and around Jacksonville. His photography has taken him to Paris, New York, Los Angels and around the globe.
Through his project Cre8Jax, Smailagić now concentrates on Jacksonville’s urban core and the people that work and play in downtown Jacksonville.
Smailagić’s concern wasn’t with the words of the article published by Folio rather with the photographs, his photographs. Photographs that were published in print and online without his permission and without his being compensated or credited.
Smailagić’s post to his facebook page;
I’d love to know why Folio Weekly used a bunch of my pictures on their website and in print this week in an article discussing non-payment of artists… by stealing my work – no credit or compensation.
Claire Goforth / Madeleine Peck Wagner can you please advise when I’ll be receiving my check?
As was evident in his post, the irony of a newspaper allegedly not paying an artist for his work in an article about a nonprofit allegedly not paying artists for their work, was not lost on Smailagić.
As of press time for this article Smailagić has yet to be compensated. Folio Weekly did edit their article and give him credit for “1” of the photographs they used which they claim they were given permission to use by the artist.
That photograph is a still from Krista Kim‘s “8×8,” 2017.
It should be noted, and Folio Weekly should be well aware, that the artist of a painting can not give permission for a photograph of that painting to be used. Permission must be given by the photographer unless the photographer his given up their copyright or a portion of their copyright. Smailagić has not.