A CETA Photographers Forum

Image: Photographer Forum at New School. Photo by Blaise Tobia for the CCF CETA Artists Project 1978, © Blaise Tobia 2021.

Registration is highly encouraged as seating is limited
Proof of Vaccination and masks required

In conjunction with the exhibition ART/WORK, City Lore and Artists Alliance present the CETA Photographers Forum on Thursday, March 17th at 6:30 pm.

Six New York City-based photographers–all CETA artists project alumni–come together to discuss the impact of federal funding on their personal and professional lives. Participating artists will reflect on the role of photography during CETA’s proliferation in the late 1970s, and how this support ultimately impacted the course of their artistic careers.

Moderated by Sean Corcoran, Senior Curator of Prints and Photographs at the Museum of the City of New York

Panelists Include

Daniel Dawson is a photographer, filmmaker, curator, arts administrator, consultant, professor, and scholar who has served as Curator of Photography, Film and Video at the Studio Museum in Harlem (NYC), Director of Special Projects at the Caribbean Cultural Center (NYC), Program Manager at the American Museum of Natural History (NYC), and Curatorial Consultant and Director of Education at the Museum for African Art (NYC). He has shown in over 35 photography exhibitions and curated more than 70, and is currently a member of Kamoinge, a pioneering collective of African American photographers founded in 1963.

Nina Kuo‘s art unveils the true identity behind subjects or placements in a seductive manner. Her hand-drawn articulation focuses on collaborated multi-media venues, and her multi-global layered overlays weave a futuristic world of issues that join in a larger conversation, especially on Asian American diaspora and heritage. Collections: New Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Biblioteque Nationale, and with curators L. Lippard, Kellie Jones, Thelma Golden, Janet Henry and Dawoud Bey.

George Malave has photographed the New York urban environment for over fifty years. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States. He is a recipient of a CAPS and NEA Survey Grant and has published four photography books. Malave was part of CETA’s documentary unit.

Meryl Meisler was a CETA photographer for the American Jewish Congress; she documented Jewish New York and taught photography for CETA during the day and photographed the legendary NYC discos at night. As a result of CETA’s job training experience, Meryl became an NYC Public School Art Teacher for three decades. ClampArt represents her work.

Larry Racioppo: When I returned to South Brooklyn in 1970 after two years in California as a VISTA volunteer, I had no plans and a $30 camera I barely knew how to use. I took a course at the School of Visual Arts, a job with the telephone company and began to photograph my family and friends. Things worked out better than I could have expected.

E. Lee White is a photographer and videographer whose extensive portfolio includes work in fashion, performing arts, commercial still life, corporate imaging, product marketing, and public relations. White is known for his documentation of Black heroes, architecture, and dance. He has shot executive portraits for Fortune 500 companies and photographed heads of state and numerous celebrities.

ART/WORK is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, and the André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, and presented in partnership with Creatives Rebuild New York.