2016 was a year of exciting news from the students, faculty, and alumni of the NYU Tisch Department of Photography & Imaging. Take a look at some of their accomplishments listed below by month.
January
Pictured Above: DPI presented the exhibition "Robert Frank: Books and Films"
Department Chair Dr. Deborah Willis's photographs were featured in Vogue magazine
DPI Alum Ifétayo Abdus-Salam ('06) was featured in Design*Sponge
DPI Alum Chris Berntsen (‘08) was the recipient of 2015’s Tierney Fellowship and hosted a solo exhibition at Tisch entitled Twilight Children
February
Pictured Above: Professor Wafaa Bilal's 168:01 was featured on CNN and BBC
Faculty member Kalia Brooks was named on ArtNet's list "16 Female Curators Shaking Things Up in 2016"
March
Pictured Above: Senior Exhibition Show One was featured in Musee Magazine (image by Peter Hopkins)
DPI Seniors produced the exhibition Show Two, containing work from 17 members of the class of 2017.
Alum Hank Willis Thomas ('98) and faculty member Kalia Brooks launched the Philly Block Project, along with alumni Wyatt Gallery ('97), Hiroyuki Ito ('97), and Will Steacy ('03)
Alums Alice Proujansky ('02), Margeaux Walter ('06) and professor Joseph Rodriguez were featured in The New York Times Lens Blog
Alum Morgan Levy (‘07) had features published in WSJ Magazine and Popular Mechanics. Morgan also participated in exhibitions in New Orleans and Mexico City.
Alum Jackie Neale '94 exhibited #SubwaySeries at the Prints & Pictures Collection of the Free Library of Philadelphia and #SubwaySeriesII at Greenpoint Gallery.
April
Pictured Above: Professor Lorie Novak's project 100 Migraines was featured in The New York Times
Alum Bryan Denton's ('05) images from Palmyra, Syria appeared on the front page of the NY Times. Bryan also received recognition with the Chris Hondros Fund Award.
Department Chair Dr. Deborah Willis was interviewed on CUNY TV's Black America by Carol Jenkins
Professor Caitlin Berrigan was interviewed for Art21 magazine about her project Unfinished State
Professor Wafaa Bilal hosted performance-based workshops at the Museum of Modern Art
May
Pictured Above: DPI Senior William Martin III ('16) won PDN's Photo Annual Competition
Department Chair Dr. Deborah Willis' traveling exhibition "Posing Beauty" received critical acclaim in Seattle. Dr. Willis' work was also featured in Aperture Magazine. She co-hosted the issue's launch event, which was covered in TIME magazine.
Alum Monique Jaques' ('08) photos of Turkey's Islamic fashion revolution was featured on The New York Times Lens Blog and The New York Times Magazine
Professor Wafaa Bilal's 160:01 project opened at Calgary's Esker Foundation
Alum Hiroyuki Ito ('97) published a new photobook, Japan, and was interviewed by American Photo
Alum Ashley Valmere Fischer (‘07) received her MFA from Stanford University. Additionally, Ashley participated in residencies at SOMA Mexico and RayKo in San Francisco as well as several publications and exhibitions.
Alice Proujansky’s ('04) book Go Photo featuring hands-on and creative activities inspired by photography for children 8-12 was published by Aperture. Alice is Aperture Foundation’s coordinator of community partnerships
We said bon voyage to the Class of 2016, as well as long-time lab technician Mike Berlin ('06)
June
Pictured Above: "For Freedoms," a groundbreaking artist-run Super PAC co-founded by alum Hank Willis Thomas ('98) and Eric Gottesman, with Executive Director Wyatt Gallery ('97) was profiled in the Hyperallergic Podcast and Cultured Magazine
Alum Hank Willis Thomas ('98) also closed the exhibition The Truth Is I see You for the Public Art Fund after a year.
Department Chair Dr. Deborah Willis was featured in Essence Magazine
Alum Alexandra Gavillet ('15) had the cover photo and an interview for The FADER
Professor Emerita Elaine Mayes mounted an exhibition at Margaretville, NY's Longyear Gallery
Professor Isolde Brielmaier was interviewed in Vogue Magazine
Professor Lorie Novak's Refugees: Above the Fold was included in the exhibition Displaced at the Lodz Fotofestiwal in Poland. In May, the project was also featured in When Home Won't Let you Stay in Vienna.
DPI Alum Caleb Savage ('15) joined the DPI team as the new lab technician
July
Pictured Above: Our Summer High School Program students created some great work
Department Chair Dr. Deborah Willis and alum Evan Simon ('12) were nominated for Emmy Awards
Professor Lorie Novak received a 2016 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Photography
Alum Sam Contis ('04) received a grant from the Aaron Siskind Foundation
Alum Damaso Reyes ('01) was hired as the New York program coordinator for the News Literacy Project
We gave a fond farewell to Administrative Director Brandy Dyess and welcomed Niki Kekos to the team
August
Pictured Above: Alum Bryan Denton's ('05) reportage from Iraq was featured in The New York Times
Alum Jordan Reznick's ('08) Queer Babes exhibition opened at San Fransisco's Romer Young Gallery
Alum Chang Lee ('93) was profiled in The New York Times Lens Blog
Alum Lili Holzer-Glier ('10) was featured in Wilson Quarterly
DPI Student Rebecca Arthur ('17) completed a summer internship at NASA, photographing scientists and aeronautic technology. Alongside the marketing team, Rebecca created a magazine called ReEnvision to speak about science in relation to art. Rebecca will continue to work with NASA this spring to help construct and propose new initiatives for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Alum Jie Ling He ('15) was included in United Photo Industries outdoor exhibition Forged Worlds
September
Pictured above: We welcomed the Class of 2020, our largest incoming class yet.
Professor Bayeté Ross-Smith's #HereIsMyAmerica project was featured in The New York Times
Alum Brett Myers ('00) published a groundbreaking story for Youth Radio on the murder of Ferguson Activist Darren Seals. As Senior Producer, editor, and writer at Youth Radio., he is continually working on important stories with Bay Area Youth
Alum Rachael Morrison ('00) received an Emmy nod for What Happened, Miss Simone
Alum Blaine Davis ('07) shot a feature story for The New York Times Magazine
Alum Kristina Wilson ('99) was interviewed by JWT Intelligence and featured in New York Magazine
Alum Evan Simon ('12) received an Emmy Award for Dead Horse Bay, a project that began as his DPI Senior Thesis
Teacher & alum Sophie Lvoff ('08) was included in an exhibition at the Florence Griswold Museum
Alum Alexandra Pacheco Garcia (‘04) participated in exhibitions at the Los Angeles Visitor Welcome Center and Angels Gate Cultural Center.
Alum Mark Davis (‘15) was included in On The Shelf, an exhibition at Chicago’s Filter Photo Festival. Mark’s work was also featured in the exhibition Encounters: Picturing the Campaign for POTUS at Tisch.
Alum Monique Jaques' ('08) photos of Turkey's Islamic fashion revolution were featured in The New York Times
DPI presented Past, Present, Future, an alumni exhibition at Photoville featuring work by the Class of 2016, Ella Barnes, Elisabeth Berezansky, Zachary Blomquist, Elliott Brown, Jr., Rachel Cabitt, Mary Kang, Talia Kirsch, Joann Lee, William Martin, Tess Mayer, Kelly Morris, Rosalind O’Connor, Bella Finn Parisot, Nathaniel Palmer, Sara Radin, Morgan Russell, Julien Tell, Julia Wang and Bria Webb.
Ali Gavillet ('14) and Olivia Malone ('04) were included in the exhibition Represent: 29 Women We Admire presented by Refinery29 at Photoville
Our alumni and faculty were also well-represented in the Battle of the Boroughs event at Photoville. Manhattan: Dr. Deborah Willis, Jeffrey Hanson Scales, Jonno Rattman ('14), Bayeté Ross-Smith, Karl Peterson ('89). Brooklyn: Hiroyuki Ito ('97), Sophie Lvoff ('08), Jackson Krule ('14)
And also at Photoville, Professor Lorie Novak and alum Elliott Brown, Jr. ('16) moderated a panel with some of our Future Imagemakers alumni.
October
Pictured Above: Alum Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. ('16) was profiled in The FADER — twice! Elliott also curated and was featured in a group show in Baltimore, curated several exhibitions for MoCADA, curated a one-night-only exhibition entitled Date Night, and was interviewed in i-D Magazine.
Department Chair Dr. Deborah Willis presented a keynote speech at the Society of Photographic Education and was featured in an exhbition at Illinois State University
Professor Joseph Rodriguez's project "Down Krazy Chicanas" was featured on Swedish Radio
Alum Tess Mayer ('16) interviewed noted photographer Eugene Richards for Interview Magazine
Images by DPI senior Lea Winkler ('17) appeared in Teen Vogue
Alum Bryan Denton's ('05) images of former U.S. Detainees appeared in a powerful New York Times cover story. Bryan also reported on his experience of surviving a car bomb for The New York Times
Alums Rian Dundon ('03) and Aaron Lee Fineman ('96) released an online time capsule of images from the 90's rave scene
Alum Sarah Wilson ('00) was the cinematographer for acclaimed documentary Tower
DPI Faculty and Students raised over a thousand dollars for Haitian victims of Hurricaine Matthew with a charity headshots event
Alum Marcia Allert ('97) was appointed Director of Photography at the Dallas Morning News
Professor Caitlin Berrigan's work was included in Iceland's Cycle Music and Art Festival
Senior Kearra Gopee ('17) was featured in an augumented reality exhibition
Professor Jeffrey Henson Scales photographs Inside House’s Barbershop were featured on The New York Times Lens Blog and the book House published by SPQR Editions.
Hank Willis Thomas (‘98) was a Tisch artist in residence. For Tisch Day of Community, he and Chair Deb Willis had a conversation titled Love Overrules at Town Hall. In a collaboration with Carrie Mae Weems and For Freedoms, Hank created an interactive installation for the Tisch Riese Student Lounge and the Broadway windows.
November
The Department mounted a well-attended exhbition entitled Encounters: Picturing the Campaign for POTUS, which included work by faculty, alumni, and friends of the Department. Picture above is by Mark Davis ('15)
DPI Students responded to the presidential election, documenting protests, hopes, dreams, and fears.
Alum Richard Renaldi's ('90) exhibition Manhattan Sunday opened at the Benrubi gallery
Alum Hank Willis Thomas ('98) was interviewed for TIME Lightbox
Professor Caitlin Berrigan was featured in New Cities, Future Ruins
Alum Ariel Goldberg ('05) published a new essay entitled "The Estrangement Principle." Ariel also had a solo exhibition at The Range, an artist-run space co-founded by fellow DPI alum Adrienne Garbini ('05). Additionally, Ariel continued to act as curator for The Poetry Project (now in its 50th year), organizing readings, talks, and public programming including their upcoming New Years Day marathon fundraiser.
Department Chair Dr. Deborah Willis co-organized the Black Portraiture[s] III conference, Reinventions: Strains of History and Culture in Johannesburg. Dr. Willis also gave a lecture at SUNY Old Westbury
Professor Isolde Brielmaier was appointed curator-at-large for Skidmore's Tang Teaching Museum and joined the New Museum's Board of Trustees
Alum Alexandra Gavillet ('15) launced the #UNMUTED webseries, which quickly went viral online.
Alum Liam Cotter ('14) curated an exhibition entitled Metro Texture, which included work by Jackie Neale ('94), Karl Peterson ('89), Greg Alders ('18), Denise Tien ('19), Peter Hopkins ('16), and David Tu Sun Song ('17). Liam also launched a full-service photo studio in Manhattan.
Professor Bayeté Ross-Smith continued to raise important questions with the #HereIsMyAmerica project for The New York Times
Alum Alex Tehrani ('92) traveled to the Standing Rock protest camp to document the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline
Alum Rian Dundon ('03) published the second edition of his book Changsha
Alum Tess Mayer's ('16) senior thesis project was featured in The New York Times
Alum Lara Alcantara ('02) launched LATINADYNAMITE, a webseries featuring interviews with Hispanic people in the arts, fashion, and entertainment industries.
Alum Christiaan Kier ('01) was included in a group exhibition at Los Angeles's Luxe de Ville
Alum Jackson Krule ('14) had major assignments published in Vice, Travel + Leisure, Time Out, and other distinguished publications.
Alum Elizabeth Moran (‘07) was part of The Contemporary Jewish Museum’s exhibition From Generation to Generation: Inherited Memory and Contemporary Art
Alum Jackie Neale ('94) had a solo exhibition of images from her #SubwaySeries monograph at the Bushwick Community Darkroom. Jackie also participated in the Forward Union Art Fair and the Humboldt & Jackson Short Film Festival.
Rose Desiano ('01) solo show The War Tapestries: Heroes and Beasts, on view at UConn-Stamford Art Gallery. Her work is also featured in Allentown X at the Allentown Museum in PA. She was also a Fellow at the Bronx Museum of Arts, Bronx Art Market program
December
Pictured Above: Alum Wyatt Gallery ('97) published a new book, Jewish Treasures of the Carribean
Alum Victoria Crayhon's ('94) work was featured in Edge of Humanity Magazine
Faculty member Kalia Brooks curated an exhibit at City Hall
Alum Diane Meyer ('99) was included in an exhbition at Rochester's Eastman Museum
Bryan Denton's ('05) images were included in TIME's Top 100 Photos of 2016
Professor Wafaa Bilal was named in Foreign Policy Magazine's list of 100 Leading Global Thinkers
Professor Cheryl Yun was included in an exhibition at DM Contemporary
Alum Hank Willis Thomas ('98) joined the Board of Directors for the Public Art Fund
Alum Rayne Roberts ('00) was part of the Lucasfilm team that brought Star Wars: Rogue One to life
Professor Bayeté Ross-Smith answered #AwkwardRaceQuestions in The New York Times
Alum Jonno Rattman ('14) published a book entitled ROMAN NVMERALS in addition to shooting assignments for major publications including The New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. Jonno was also featured in the DPI exhbition, Encounters: Picturing the Campaign for POTUS
Alum Sasha Arutyunova ('11) was one of several NYU Tisch alumni who founded the Brooklyn-based arts collective, Nomadique, featured in Brooklyn magazine.
Professor and NYTimes photo editor Jeffrey Henson Scales was interviewed about the selection process for The New York Times' "2016 Year in Pictures," which included several DPI Alumni. Alumni Jonno Rattman ('13), Bryan Denton ('05), and Chang W. Lee ('93) were included in the list. Professor Scales also spoke about the year's most powerful images on WNYC's The Takeaway.
