2021 JURORS

Joanna Carter was born in Miami, Florida. In 2009, she received her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in Drawing from the University of Central Florida. As of May 2013, she received her Master’s in Fine Arts from Florida International University. Her work has been exhibited in shows across the east coast including the cities of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Atlanta, and New York City. She is also the recipient of the Women in the Visual Arts/ Lynn Travis Stender Scholarship. In her works on paper, mixed media, video and installation, she is interested in giving the viewer a revelation of the intimate artist’s hand through the process of Drawing.

Having been nearly robbed by monkeys on a mountain in the Sichuan province of China, documented the claimed location of the Ark of the Covenant in Aksum Ethiopia, photographed the rituals of Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala; Ryann Cooley has many stories to share. He says that his travels as a documentary photographer to over 50 countries have helped shape his ideas. Additionally, his years of advertising and editorial work in New York City–with clients including American Express, Intel, InStyle, and Vibe magazine–further refined his skills. In his current practice, Cooley classifies himself as a conceptual artist and educator working in a blend of mediums challenging the boundaries of photography. His work–which includes photography, mixed-media, sculpture, and immersive installations–exists on the fringe of photography, examining the relationship between a viewer and the image.

Ryann Cooley graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA, and received his MFA in Photography, Video, and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts, in New York City, NY. Cooley is a Professor of Photography and Digital Media and the Chair of the Department of Art at Houghton College in Western NY.