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Through a partnership with the iconic Everson Museum of Art, Light Work’s 50th Anniversary retrospective exhibition will be on view in two of the Museum’s main gallery spaces from January 28 through May 14, 2023. An opening reception and program will be held on Friday, February 3, 2023, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Please Note: This event is free for Everson Museum members, $20 for non-members, and includes hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

The exhibition is an expansive and thoughtful curation of images and objects that have entered Light Work’s Collection since the organization’s inception in 1973. Only the generosity of former Light Work artists-in-residence, grant awardees, and individual donations have made this possible. Light Work’s 50th anniversary presents a unique opportunity to share with our local, regional, and national community the legacy of support the organization has extended to emerging and under-represented artists working in photography, lens-based media, and digital image-making.

More than 4,000 photographic prints, objects, and ephemera from an extensive and diverse archive are the basis of this exhibition. The selection maps out the many programs and partnerships representing fifty years of our commitment to increasing the visibility of lens-based artists. The exhibition also highlights the hundreds of artists who came to Syracuse to expand their practice and make new work. Highlights in the show include images from acclaimed photographers Laura Aguila (residency 1993) Dawoud Bey (residency 1985), Wendy Red Star (Ellis Gallery 2019), Cindy Sherman (residency 1981), Carrie Mae Weems (residency 1988), James Welling (residency 1986), Deborah Willis (residency 1990) and many more.  

Related Programming

Light Work’s celebratory retrospective boasts a full roster of 50th Anniversary exhibition-related special events, workshops, and docent-led tours at the Everson Museum of Art.

Exhibiting Artists Include:

Laura Aguilar, Ajamu, Farah Al Qasimi, Mónica  Alcázar-Duarte, Khalik Allah, Jules Allen, Atong Atem, Karl Baden, Robert Benjamin, Zeke Berman, Charles Biasiny-Rivera, Michael Bishop, Judy Black, Nydia Blas, Phil Block, Vincent Borrelli, Samantha Box, Hilton Braithwaite, David Broda, Thomas Brown, Luke Buffenmyer, Bob Burdick, Laura Cano, Carrie Mae Weems, James Casebere, Mima Cataldo, Chan Chao, John Chervinsky, Ben Cleeton, Steven Molina Contreras, Renee Cox, Jen Davis, Dawoud Bey, Sylvia de Swaan, Lucinda Devlin, Ted Diamond, Doug Dubois, Christine Elfman, Odette England, Winfred Evers, Larry Fink, Hollis Frampton, Hollis & Faller, Courtney Frisse, Charles Gatewood, Carl Geiger, Tyrone Georgiou, Robert Giard, Jim Goldberg, John Gossage, Lonnie Graham, Kris Graves, Stanley Greenberg, Cynthia Greig, Abigail Hadeed, Gregory Halpern, James Henkel, Pao Her, Anthony Hernandez, Laura Heyman, Steven Hirsch, Jeffrey Hoone, Bob Hower, Scott Hyde, Fumi Ishino, Thilde Jensen, Jessica Magallanes Martinez, Jo Babcock, Takahiro Kaneyama, Tarrah Krajnak, Heidi Kumao, Jessica Labatte, Deana Lawson, Joseph Lawton, Corky Lee, Carla Liesching, David Lewis, Pixy Yijun Liao, Joe Librandi-Cowan, Jerry Lim, Stephen C. Mahan III, Jim Mangan, Elaine Mayes, Aspen Mays, Mark McKnight, Raymond Meeks, Meryl Meisler, Suzanne Mejean, Roger Mertin, Willie Middlebrook, David Moore, Rachelle Mozman, Doug Muir, Gina Murtagh, Marilyn Nance, Peggy Nolan, Kenda North, Toby Old, Christine Osinski, Ahndraya Parlato, Paul W. Pearce, Elle Perez, Dan Powell, Billy Quinn, Wendy Red Star, Sy Rubin, Adrienne Salinger, Arpita Shah, Zoe Sheehan Saldana, Fazal Sheikh, Cindy Sherman, Pacifico  Silano, Aida Silvestri, Laurie Simmons, Hrvoje Slovenc, Beuford Smith, Michael Spano, Mark Steinmetz, Frank Stewart, Tone Stockenström, Jim Stone, Lida Suchy, Sayler Morris, Piotr Szyhalski, Trevor Parlo Clement , Toba Pato Tucker, Brian Ulrich, Linn Underhill, Maxine Walker, Claire A. Warden, Ted Wathen, Martin Weber, James Welling, Warren Wheeler, William Earle Williams, Deborah Willis, Albert J. Winn.

Urban Video Project Exhibiting Artists Include:

Emanuel Almborg, Luis Arnías, Ephraim Asili, Shimon Attie, Sanford Biggers, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Lana Z Caplan, Ann Hamilton, Isaac Julien, Sky Hopinka, *Steffani Jemison, Kite, Makȟóčheowápi Akézaptaŋ, Simon Liu, Marie Lorenz, *New Red Order, Alison Nguyen, The Otolith Group, Doireann O’Malley, Dani ReStack, Ben Russell, *Cauleen Smith, Hito Steyerl, Zhou Tao, João Vieira Torres, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, *Saya Woolfalk

* Asterisk indicates UVP commissioned artists