Exhibitions
BFA Thesis | March 25 – April 7 | 2024
We are proud to announce the Thesis Exhibition for the BFA Photography class of 2024!
Open from March 25th – April 7th in the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center (66 5th Ave, New York)
There will be a closing reception on Friday, April 5th from 4-7pm.
Please also visit the Thesis website.
2023 Thesis Reception | Tuesday May 16th 5-7pm, 2023
BFA Photography Thesis Reception
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
2 West 13th and 66th Fifth Ave
BFA Photography Professor Graham MacIndoe and Journalism + Design Professor Susan Stellin Curate Reframing Recovery at Aronson Galleries
Curated by Graham MacIndoe & Susan Stellin
April 6-21, 2019
Gallery hours: Open daily 12:00–6:00 p.m. and Thurs. until 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 9th: Opening reception : 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Panel discussion: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Parsons School of Design, The New School
66 Fifth Ave. @ 13th St., New York City
There are about 23 million people in the United States who have successfully resolved a problem with drugs or alcohol, but we rarely see or hear their stories compared to depictions of addiction in media, art, music, and film. Although not everyone identifies as being “in recovery” and many people can’t publicly acknowledge their past because of stigma or the consequences of admitting illegal drug use, a growing movement is working to offer examples of success and hope to those still struggling with addiction.
The goal of this exhibit is not just to show that recovery is possible, but also to highlight some of the ways people have rebuilt their lives: reconnecting with their families, finding rewarding work, developing meaningful relationships with partners, peers, and others who offer support. We also wanted to feature some of the treatment providers and harm reduction services that many people rely on, often at times when they feel isolated and overwhelmed. Recovery is rarely a solo journey and it usually involves setbacks and hurdles, but the more we talk about it, share ideas, and embrace different paths, the more people will find their way.
vice president of policy advocacy, Legal Action Center, and Pedro Mateu-Gelabert, principal Investigator and deputy director, Institute of Infectious Disease Research National Development Research Institutes, Inc. The program is part of the Open Society Foundation’s Dialogue on Drug Policy series at The New School and will be moderated by Susan Stellin . Panelists will discuss how art, media, research, and advocacy can influence how we respond to problematic drug use—through treatment, harm reduction, and other services—and help people rebuild their lives after addiction.
Contributing Artists: Nina Berman, Allan Clear, John Donadeo, Yannick Fornacciari, Tony Fouhse, Paul Gorman, John Linder, Luceo, Graham MacIndoe, Josh Meltzer, Jackie Neal, Neil Sneddon, and Susan Stellin.
Student Projects, supervised by Graham MacIndoe and Julia Gorton, assistant professor of communications at The New School: Sara Akiki, Carly Bayroff, Scouts Palframan, Ellie Plass, Josie Stevenson, and Lucy Xin.
Curator bios:
Graham MacIndoe is a photographer and assistant professor at Parsons and Susan Stellin is a reporter and adjunct professor in the Journalism + Design department at The New School who recently completed a master’s in public health at Columbia University. They have collaborated on various projects combining interviews and photography, including exhibitions, talks, and a memoir documenting Graham’s addiction, incarceration, and recovery.
Many of the contributing artists in this exhibition have personal experience with addiction and recovery, while others have worked closely with the people whose stories they documented through long-term collaborative projects.
Graham MacIndoe & Susan Stellin: Re-Entry & Recovery
Portraits and interviews with people navigating life after addiction and incarceration, from a larger series documenting stories of recovery.
Nina Berman: An autobiography of Miss Wish
A multi-dimensional collaborative work focusing on the story of one woman and the intersection of sexual trauma, mental illness, addiction, and recovery.
Allan Clear: Lower East Side Needle Exchange
Photos of people, events, activism, and art from this community center at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s.
John Donadeo: Family Ties
Portraits of John’s extended family and friends exploring the socioeconomic and familial factors that impact addiction and recovery.
Yannick Fornacciari: Heroin Days
Images and text juxtaposing Yannick’s first day on methadone with how he felt after a year of treatment.
Tony Fouhse: Live Through This
Photos of a young woman Tony met who asked for help getting into a rehab program, which enabled her to escape life on the street.
Paul Gorman: Rip and Run
Spoken word pieces and images commenting on Paul’s past drug use and his life now in recovery.
John Linder: Art Therapy
Artwork John created in a program that helps participants use art as part of a therapeutic process to address drug and alcohol problems.
Luceo: Harm Reductionists
Photos of supporters of the harm reduction movement paired with handwritten responses to question prompts.
Graham MacIndoe: Thank You for Sharing
Instagram and Facebook posts reflecting on Graham’s addiction, incarceration, and recovery, which have inspired others to share their experiences as well.
Josh Meltzer: Dopesick—Agents of Change
Portraits of treatment providers, healthcare workers, activists, and counselors shot for Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America, by Beth Macy.
Jackie Neale: Common Ground Tacony
A cyanotype portrait banner of Richard, who tends to a garden in the Tacony neighborhood of North Philadelphia as part of his recovery from addiction.
Neil Sneddon: Developing Recovery
Photos taken by clients Neil asked to document the people, places, and things they identified as meaningful for their recovery.
Student Projects
Lucy Xin & Josie Stevenson: Responding to Recovery
An interactive experience inviting visitors to respond to open-ended questions about what recovery means to them by writing their thoughts on wall panels and postcards.
Carly Bayroff & Scoutt Palframan: Not Just a Label
An animated projection that replaces derogatory terms associated with people who use drugs with positive identities, to show that no one should be defined by negative labels.
Ellie Plass: Harm Reduction at The New School
An interview addressing student substance use, addiction, harm reduction services, and rehabilitation based on insight from those who have direct experience with this issue.
Sara Akiki: Recovery in Perspective
A project that uses stenciling to reframe our notion of recovery by allowing viewers to re-evaluate the world from a different perspective.
Thanks to: Luke Hayman and Elyanna Blaser-Gould at Pentagram Design, Hashem Eaddy, The National, and everyone who worked with the artists and shared their stories.
Convergence Exhibition Opening Reception November 29th, 2018
Visual Aids Day With(out) Art December 1st – 4th 2019
Day Without Art Screening
2 West 13th Street, Lobby
December 1-4, 2018
ALTERNATE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS is the 29th iteration of Visual AIDS’ longstanding Day With(out) Art project. Highlighting the impact of art in contemporary AIDS activism and advocacy, the program features new short videos from six inspiring community organizations and collectives—ACT UP NY, Positive Women’s Network, Sero Project, The SPOT, Tacoma Action Collective, and VOCAL NY.
ALTERNTE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS seeks to reflect the persisting urgencies of today’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, including HIV criminalization, Big Pharma, homelessness, and the disproportionate effects of HIV on marginalized communities. At a moment of growing interest in the histories of AIDS activism, ALTERNATE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS foregrounds contemporary engagements between activists, artists, and cultural workers on the front lines.
BFA Photography Alumni Kambui Olujimi Presents SKYWRITERS & CONSTELLATIONS at the Newark Museum
BFA Photography alumni Kambui Olujimi presents SKYWRITERS & CONSTELLATIONS, a solo exhibition at the Newark Museum. SKYWRITERS will premiere in the museum’s Dreyfuss Planetarium along with CONSTELLATIONS, a series of lithographs, debuting in the Garden Passage. Both works build on the narratives of Olujimi’s 2012 novella, Wayward North. Kambui Olujimi is a Brooklyn native whose multi-disciplinary practice calls attention to the assumptions that underlie our understanding of the world at large. The Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, November 3rd from 5pm – 7pm. RSVP ahead of time by emailing rsvp@newarkmuseum.org with the Subject “Skywriters”. 
Geste Paris Open Call Exhibition Submission Binary / Non-Binary October 19th Deadline
GESTE Paris is committed to experimental processes and invites photo-based artworks from outside the normal bounds of photography. GESTE Paris is an annual underground exhibition of experimental photography organised Shiva Lynn Burgos. GESTE brings together vintage and contemporary works by both established and emerging artists. Like a secret speakeasy GESTE is presented in the convivial setting of a classic Parisian apartment that provides a space for reflection and dialogue. GESTE is the nexus of a private collection, artwork from leading galleries, and a selection by invited curators.
GESTE Invites submissions from artists and photographers for the open call.
Black or white, on or off, male or female, digital or analog, zero or one. A binary viewpoint divides the world cleanly and everything is in one category or the other, as two alternatives existing in opposition. The non-binary viewpoint opens the world up to a multiplicity of categories, rejecting the simplification and contrasting nature of the binary position and yet must include both the single and the infinite. How do artists exemplify these concepts today and how do they co-exist?
The world is not black and white but full of greyscale and colour and even ultra- and infra- colours beyond the range of our human eyes. Where does the spectrum lie in terms of scientifically definable code, digital geometry, astrometrics, consciousness, sexuality, spirituality, artificial intelligence and the technological singularity?
Open Call submission deadline – 19 October
Public jury selection announcement – 26 October
Exhibition opens – 5 November 2018
Further details of the Open Call are on our website
Curators for Binary / Non-Binary are Shiva Lynn Burgos(US/France), Georg Bak(Switzerland) and Alisa Phommaxahay(France/Laos). The International Jury includes Raina Lampkins-Fielder (museum curator and multimedia artist), Marc Lenot (mathematician, economist and art critic), Brandei Estes(Head of Photographs at Sotheby’s London), Robin Hanson (author professor and researcher: The Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University, A.I. programmer NASA), Dominic Palfreyman (financier, art philanthropist and collector), Jason Bailey (blockchain, provenance, and digital art expert, creator of artnome.com) and ORLAN (artist) as honorable artist counselor to the jury.
The exhibition will include such notable artists as Constantin Brancusi, Frederick Sommer, Pierre Molinier, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Ned & Shiva Productions, Francis Ruyter, Olaf Nicolai, Ghost of a Dream, Zean Cabangis, CJ Heyliger, Susan Morris, Nicolas Schöffer, Hannibal Volkoff, Samra Habib, Quentin Houdas, Gianfranco Caravaggi, Martin Déselets, Elger Esser
BFA Photography Adjunct Professor Graham MacIndoe Announces Upcoming Exhibition at Contemporary Arts Center
BFA Photography Adjunct Professor Graham MacIndoe has recently announced that he will have an upcoming exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center located in Cincinnati Ohio. The Exhibition centers on MacIndoe’s photographs of the band The National and their evolving career from 2002 onward. You can read the announcement from the Contemporary Arts Center here.
The exhibition will run April 27 through May 27, 2018.
Cover for Sleep Well Beast
Contact Sheet, 2003
Irving Plaza, NYC 1/28/18
Sleep Well Beat Album Launch – Bowery Ballroom 9/28/17
Call for Entries: Curatorial Prize at Blue Sky Gallery
Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, OR is seeking proposals for a Curatorial Prize for a one-month long photography exhibition in May 2018.
“Founded in 1975, Blue Sky’s mission is to educate the public about photography through exhibitions, publications, and dialogue; and to further the careers and artistic development of the artists shown. Our main programming focuses on an ambitious exhibition schedule of 22 -24 photography shows each year in Blue Sky’s two galleries. Exhibitions represent a wide variety of work from local, national, and international photographers.
Our newly established Curatorial Prize provides an opportunity for curators to present an exhibition of photo-based work, along with related programming and publications at one of the nation’s most highly regarded photography galleries. The program seeks exhibitions of 2- 5 artists who use photography in traditional or experimental ways. Video/film are welcome.
Blue Sky Gallery’s ambitious exhibition schedule does naturally limit the extent of work possible (we only have 1 -2 days for installation and 1 day for de-install). Within those parameters, we commonly hang shows of approximately 20 – 30 images, generally either framed or hung with magnets. If your work is installation based, or is otherwise rigorous to install, please be sure to directly address a manageable approach to installation/de-installation within our fast-paced schedule.”
Financial Considerations
Curatorial stipend is $750. An additional total pool of up to $4,000 for artist stipends, travel/housing (artists and curator), honorariums for writing, printing, and shipping will be available. Blue Sky will work with selected curator to establish budget for programs and publications. Blue Sky can provide black frames for photography at no cost if the photos are of a standard size. Other alternates to framing include magnets or mirror clips.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Proposals are due to Blue Sky Gallery by December 8, 2017. Please submit to exhibitions@blueskygallery.org, and be sure to put the phrase “CURATORIAL PRIZE” in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed and a curator chosen by Blue Sky’s staff and Exhibition Committee. Applications should include the following documents merged into a single PDF:
- Curatorial statement and vision for the Curatorial Prize, including estimated costs.
- Professional resume/CV, including a link to your website if applicable.
- Examples of past curatorial work, including images and critical reviews.
- Samples of work the artists you have chosen for your exhibition (and/or links to the websites of the work selected).
- A writing sample of previous curatorial statements or published writing.
For questions, please email exhibitions@blueskygallery.org. Please note that Blue Sky is unable to give feedback on your application or the application process.
You can read more here!
Parsons Photography Alumni Jeana Lindo (BFA), Noelle Flores Theard (MFA), and Joy Mckinney (MFA) Exhibiting Work in (under)REPRESENT(ed) Exhibition
Parsons Photography Alumni Jeana Lindo (BFA), Noelle Flores Theard (MFA), and Joy Mckinney (MFA) will be exhibiting work in the upcoming (under)REPRESENT(ed) Exhibition which is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism. The exhibition opens to the public on October 17, 2017 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. You can read more on the exhibition and RSVP here.
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design
Photography Faculty Thomas Werner and Parsons Alumni in “The Threads That Bind”
Parsons School for Design Photography Program alumni Fan Chen, Therese Ohrvall, Jessica Richmond, Media Studies alumni Diana Khong, and Communication Design student Whitney Badge comprise the exhibition The Threads That Bind, on view through October 22nd in the State Museum of the History of St Petersburg Poterna Exhibition Hall. The exhibition was curated by Photography faculty member Thomas Werner.
The work for the exhibition was created during a 10 day grant funded visit to Saint Petersburg to create work focusing on seven local museums.
Parsons Students Participate in “The Photograph as a Document” Exhibition in Russia
“The Photograph as a Document” The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
On Friday June 16th fifteen Parsons students participated in the exhibition “The Photograph as a Document” at The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia. The exhibition was co-curated by Thomas Werner from the School of Art Media and Technology. The opening was attended by local students and artists, representatives from the United States Department of State, and staff from the Hermitage and other museums and arts organizations from around the city.
Exhibiting Artists from Parsons: Sophie Barkham, Marianne Braine, Siho Chang, Michael Difeo, Andrew Egelhoff, Isadora Frost, Larisa Karamchakova, Maddalena McNicholas, Sergio Monti, Ana-Cristina Jimenez-Parra, Piper Strasel, Kári Thorleifsson, Richard Wade, Sarah Wang, Stone Zhu
Alex Sapp featured in RAW Artist Showcase
Current Student Alex Sapp is being featured in the RAW Artist Showcase.
The showcase is on Wednesday, June 14th at 7pm at the Brooklyn Bazaar. Tickets are $22 and can be found here.
Red Hook Labs Seeking Submissions for Exhibition
Red Hook Labs will be hosting an exhibition this summer entitled ‘Labs New Artists’. There is an Open Call for the Labs New Artists exhibition which is a group summer show at Labs Gallery which will include a select group of approximately 25 photographers.
Open Call guidelines: submit up to 20 images along with your artist bio and artist statement. Only submit your recent work.
Dates: July 12, 2017 – July 23, 2017
Application deadline: June 1, 2017
Application fee: $25
For more information you can visit here
Red Hook Labs’ Upcoming Photography Exhibitions
Red Hook Labs in Brooklyn has two exciting exhibitions coming in May
Nataal: New African Photography II
5/4/17 – 5/14/17
Opening Reception 5/4/17, 6-9pm
and
Malick Sidibé: The Eye of Modern Mali
5/4/17 – 5/7/17
Opening Reception 5/4/17, 6-9pm
A solo exhibition of the late Malian photographer, Malick Sidibé, in celebration of his iconic career beginning in 1950’s Bamako, Mali, will be jointly presented with 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair and MAGNIN-A, Paris. The Eye of Modern Mali will feature 37 works by the artist, acclaimed for his black and white images chronicling the lives and culture of the Malian capital in the wake of the country’s independence. Among extensive international exhibitions, Sidibé’s accolades include the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography in 2003, the Gold Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2007 and the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography in 2008.
Opening of 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair will be held simultaneously, and open to the public from May 5-7, 2017 12-8pm.
Gallery Hours: 10am-6pm (daily)
Part Time BFA Photo Professor Graham MacIndoe Upcoming Ted X Talk and Exhibition
Graham MacIndoe, an adjunct professor of photography at Parsons, will open his upcoming exhibition “Coming Clean” The Scottish National Portrait Gallery on April 8th and will run through November 4th 2017. “His series of self-portraits entitled Coming Clean, confronts his addiction to heroin in a group of photographs that are graphic, unflinching and
powerful.”
You can find more info on the exhibition here 
Graham MacIndoe will also be doing a TED X Talk at Stanford on April 23rd with his Partner Susan Stellin about their memoir which was published last year by Random House about Addiction and Recovery.
For more information on the Ted X Talk visit here
Bi-Annual BFA Photography Photo Feast Pin-Up
PHOTOFEAST is a collective of current BFA Photography students founded within the School of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons School of Design. Their mission is to create a platform for interdisciplinary projects, critiques,screenings, exhibitions, and publications representing new perspectives and emerging insights of young artists working in photography and beyond.
Gallery 3 Student Exhibition: “EMPOWER”
Gallery 3 presents “Empower”
66 5th Avenue, 3rd Floor
(Image by Hallie Turner)
This exhibition is a representation of what different artists, whose gender is marginalized in some way, find empowering for them. This exhibition takes place during Women’s History Month and collects works which demonstrate the importance of intersectionality in feminism.
Featuring work by current BFA and MFA students Alison Viana, Azzah Sultan, Cassie Basford, Elizabeth Hernarine, Gabby Pignanelli, Hallie Turner, Jeana Lindo, Megan Tepper, Nicole Vega, Roberto Rischmaui, Victoria Rickson, Vix Walker.
Organized by Vix Walker, Hallie Turner and Victoria Rickson.
Parsons Photo Faculty Arthur Ou is showing work in Paris
Parsons Photo Faculty member Arthur Ou is showing work in Paris this month at a show called Me and Benjamin.
Xippas and M+B are pleased to announce Me and Benjamin, opening November 14 at Xippas in Paris. Renos, the owner of Xippas, invited Benjamin to curate a show at his Parisian gallery. In turn, Benjamin invited M+B artists to invite other artists—or curated group of artists—or artist run space. The artist run space would then perform an act of sub-curation where they organize a show within the larger show. The exhibition self-curates, bringing the distinctive energy and appeal of the Los Angeles art scene as it networks out across the North American continent and into Europe.
Located at the edge of the continent, in one of the last time zones and perched precariously on the Pacific Ocean, Los Angeles exists in a sense isolated from the major cosmopolitan centers of the world. And yet, artists continue to head west, settling into the vast, sprawling terrain, into the eclectic neighborhoods that networked together create this city. Los Angeles has a unique appeal and ability to foster strong knit artist communities and the burgeoning gallery scene, artist run spaces, alternative venues and shared studio spaces are what make the city relevant today. While cartographic dispersal defines this city, the importance and necessity of the networks that connect it stand out as defining. It is these strong artistic networks that Me and Benjamin—M+B—has sought to promote and expand upon.
Participating artists include Matthew Brandt, Jim Welling, Ken Tam, Phil Chang, Peter Holzhauer, Jessica Eaton, Whitney Hubbs, Cathy Opie, Larry Sultan, Dwyer Kilcollin, Nancy Lupo, Patrick Jackson, Pae White, Anthony Lepore, Michael Henry Hayden, Matthew Porter, Arthur Ou, Owen Kydd, John Houck, Moyra Davey, Alex Prager, Vanessa Prager, Mariah Roberston, David Benjamin Sherry, Hannah Whitaker, Ruby Sky Stiler, Jesse Stecklow, Favorite Goods: Orion Martin, Erin Jane Nelson, Kelly Akashi, Carlos Reyes and Aaron Angell.
Opening Wednesday, Oct 29 Exhibition: TOWaNda: An American Town Pictured
October 29 – November 13, 2014
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Parsons The New School for Design
66 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
OPENING RECEPTION WEDNESDAY, OCT 29 6:30–8:30 pm
During the fall of 2013, fifteen students from Parsons The New School for Design collaborated with Documentary Strategies Part-Time Assistant Professor, Vincent Cianni, in an effort to document the town of Towanda, PA through photography, interviews, and video. The resulting body of work, including a series of photographs by Towanda High School students, formed a portrait of a community that expands received notions of documentation, subject, and observation.
Simultaneously, a team of graphic designers led by Parsons Graphic Design Part-Time Assistant Professor, Jeanne Verdoux, collaborated in response to the photographers’ works to create a graphic picture of the town and project. The sixteen designers produced a printed poster-catalog of the project, a live website, and an overall graphic identity that broadened and synthesized the various works produced by the photography students.
This exhibition continues the project, highlighting works produced by both photographers and designers while renewing an engagement with the town of Towanda, PA, that forges a new link between rural Pennsylvania and the New York galleries at Parsons The New School for Design.
Artists: Vincent Cianni, Luke Clerkin, Jordan Jablon, Abigail Nicolas, Carsen Russell, Daniel Evan Rodriguez, Lior Tamim, Sarah Uriarte, and Olivia Zimmerman
Designers: Kathryn Carissimi, Ariel Chan, Jessica Chen, Thando Hademe, Kelin Handville, Genevieve Howe, Anri Kang, Na Youn “Jenny” Kim, Nicholas Lee, Carmen McLeod, Anna Meninger, Audrey Melick, Christopher Rodriguez, Jenna Saraco, Youshin Song, and Annette Wong
Curator: Carmen McLeod
Supervising Faculty: Vincent Cianni and Jeanne Verdoux
