Upcoming Exhibits

Poster for exhibition with image of a guitarist jumping in the air and text 'William Snyder: It's Only Rock N' Roll'.

It's Only Rock 'n Roll: Photographs by William Snyder

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William Snyder is an American photojournalist and former Director of Photography for The Dallas Morning News where he won four Pulitzer Prizes for his photography and editing work. Snyder has captured live music for fifty years and was the official photographer for The Who for nineteen years. In addition to The Who, Snyder's enthusiasm for photographing live music has culminated in an impressive archive of images that capture iconic performers from David Bowie, a unique performance by Eddie Van Halen and Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Diana Ross, KISS on their first North American tour, to appearances by artists Eddie Vedder, Joan Jett, and PINK. This exhibition highlights some of Snyder's music photographs from his accomplished career. 

In 2008, Snyder returned to his alma mater, Rochester Institute of Technology, where he is the director of the Advertising Photography BFA program.

All prints from exhibition available for purchase on the Shop One website.

Color photograph of musician Joan Jett playing a guitar on stage.

Joan Jett

Color photograph of musician Pink singing into a handheld microphone on stage.

PINK

Color photograph of musician Stevie Ray Vaughan standing with his guitar held in front of him.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Color photograph of musician Eddie Van Halen playing a guitar on stage while leaping in the air.

Eddie Van Halen

Color photograph of musician Chris Hynde playing a guitar on stage.

Chrissie Hynde

Color photograph of musician Diana Ross standing on stage with her arms reaching into the air in triumph.

Diana Ross

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four students with a professor standing behind glass display cases while holding handmade projects.

Worlds Fair: Worldbuilding and Storytelling

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The inaugural exhibit from the Center for Worldbuilding and Storytelling in the College of Liberal Arts inspires creativity and critical analysis, worldbuilding and transmedia storytelling for exploring real-world implications of technological and societal changes.

Learn more here.

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a graphic on a hot pink background 'Co-Crafting Democracy Redux'

Co-Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism

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Official Call for Co-Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism Entries here!

The exhibition Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism debuted in Rochester, New York – home to Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass – along with an eponymous catalogue (RIT Press, 2019). Works by the 30 artists explored how handwork probes the vulnerabilities of citizenship status, while also working toward positive social change. Over the following two years, the exhibit traveled to four additional venues in the Northeast U.S., realizing opportunities for community, conversation, and critique.

Now, the exhibition is back in an entirely new form – a “redux” that seeks to co-craft democracy. Curators Juilee Decker and Hinda Mandell, in reviving their show concept, are expanding the notion of democracy to the exhibition form itself: all work that is submitted to the show will be accepted and displayed.*

The exhibition is being developed in collaboration and with the support of RIT’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion and College of Liberal Art's School of Communication. Students from RIT’s museum studies program will be involved in the creation and installation of the exhibit. For more information, please contact Dr. Decker, jdgsh@rit.edu.

*Exhibition curators Juilee Decker and Hinda Mandell reserve the right to exclude submissions that are obscene or incendiary.

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photo portrait of Bill and Jean Stephens

Continuum: Artwork by Bill and Jean Stephens

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For more than five decades, Bill and Jean Stephens have been partners in life and in Art. They met in the RIT Printmaking Studio in 1972, and both later earned their degrees in the RIT MST Arts Education Program. Their teaching skills were sharpened at the AllofUs Art Workshop, then under the leadership of Luvon Sheppard, Art Professor at RIT.

Bill taught at FLCC and in the Webster CSD, mentoring hundreds of successful future artists and arts educators, until retiring a few years ago. Jean has taught classes out of her own studio and they both continue to offer classes at The Mill Art Center in Honeoye Falls. 

Across these fifty plus years, their artwork and artistic processes have continued to evolve and expand. There is a support “mechanism” built into their relationship.  I have had the honor and privilege to witness this seamless support both as a friend and colleague in past, and ongoing settings, within our profession. 

Beyond their partnership, Bill and Jean are individually exceptional artists. They enjoy a remarkable setting for their home and studio practices.  Even though the style of Jean and Bill's work differs widely, that work is highly influenced by the natural world around them. As individual artists, they have exhibited their work in the Greater Rochester region and nationally. In many cases, both have won competitions, awards and been asked to speak and present their unique techniques-processes and artistic philosophies at: galleries, workshops and university settings across their long careers. They continue to work, teach, mentor and grow...as artists and as valued pARTners. - Bob Geroux 

an abstract collage of shapes with central rectangle with an arch form above and below suggesting a shield.

Blue Moon mixed media collage. Jean Stephens

an abstract collage of shapes with central diamond shape overlaying a rectangle with bands above suggesting a shield.

Golden Shield mixed media collage. Jean Stephens

an abstract collage of blue circle shapes overlaying a series of white rectangles.

Sweet Spot mixed media collage. Jean Stephens

an abstract white ink on black paper drawing that resembles a satellite image of the earth from space.

Untitled #11 ink on paper. Bill Stephens

an abstract white ink on black paper drawing that resembles a satellite image of the earth from space.

Untitled #10 ink on paper. Bill Stephens

an abstract white ink on black paper drawing that resembles a satellite image of the earth from space.

Black and White Series #1. Bill Stephens

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a series of ten photographic images of a person with changing facial features and different clothing over a ten year span.

of what might yet (have) be(en)

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In 2013-2014 I worked on a series in which I photographed 58 individuals for the series, AndrogynyAndrogyny explored the power and complexity of gender identity through photographic portraits, short films, and a large-scale installation of a non-functioning public restroom where one can hear the audio interviews. The work challenged social constructions of gender and celebrated gender expression and fluidity. 

In the past 10 years, there has been an immense shift in the conversation surrounding gender, including heartening progress and troubling setbacks as gender identity continues to be a politically charged and contested space. For these reasons, I wanted to reconnect with my participants and both interview and photograph them again. It has been a delight to catch-up with folks and hear about each person's ever-emerging identities. The consensus thus far among participants is there has been progress but there is still a long road ahead of us and visibility and representation are critical. of what might yet (have) be(en)* seeks to stake a claim for difference while at the same time claiming belonging.

*The title of what might yet (have) be(en) is a sentence fragment pulled from Karen Barad’s Transmaterialities: Trans*/Matter/Realities and Queer Political Imaginings. 

- Lois Bielefeld


 

a black and white photograph of a long paved road lined with tall trees on each side.

Ancestral Roads: A Journey through Time, Place, and Memory in Poland and Beyond

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In his first major photographic exhibition, Dr. Brian Tomaszewski, a professor in RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, presents a compelling reflection on how both the past and present shape our understanding of identity, history, and place. Through evocative images of the Polish landscapes his ancestors left over 130 years ago, Tomaszewski invites viewers to explore themes of migration and memory.

In the late 19th century, millions were forced to leave Poland due to political and cultural oppression, including Tomaszewski's own forebears. With the support of a prestigious Fulbright scholarship, Tomaszewski spent nine months (2023–2024) in Poland applying spatial data science to understand the ongoing forced migration of Ukrainian refugees into Poland after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. This experience led him to reimagine his own ancestral history of displacement, tracing the paths his relatives once walked, camera in hand, through the landscapes described in 19th-century historical documents. No photographs of his ancestors remain, but this exhibit captures the echoes of the past through the places they left behind.

This exhibit is a blend of historical geography and personal reflection. It examines how the past continues to shape the present and explores the lives of those who stayed behind after Tomaszewski's ancestors departed. It also serves as a poignant reminder of how issues of migration and displacement—whether 130 years ago or today—remain strikingly relevant.

Dr. Brian Tomaszewski holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Penn State University and has been a faculty member at RIT for 16 years. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers and is the author of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Disaster Management published by Routledge press and adopted globally. His extensive research, recognized with over $5,000,000 in funding from sources such as the U.S. National Science Foundation, includes collaborations with prestigious United Nations organizations.

Beyond academia, Tomaszewski is a multifaceted artist. His passion for travel, inspired by his academic career, fuels his music and photography. A talented 5-string banjo and guitar player, he regularly performs across Upstate New York, crafting intricate multi-cultural solo performances that recreate the sound of a full band. His photography seeks to capture the unique beauty of the natural world and tell powerful stories of people, places, and experiences.

a saturated color photograph off a green tractor in front of a dilapidated masonry building with a watch tower under a brilliant blue sky with puffy clouds.

Agriculture Scene Wapno Poland

a color photograph of the back of a protestor holding a large red and white flag.

Farmer Protest. Poznań Poland

a color photograph of an austere four story block building painted bright orange with a green roof against a cloudy sky.

Apartment Building Wągrowiec Powiat Wielkopolska Poland

a color photograph of a boarded up double door entry to a brick building.

Abandonded Train Station. Janowiec Wielkopolski Poland

a color photograph of the interior of an ornate   handpainted walls with golden ribbons strung from the ceiling in a historic church chapel

Historic wooden Church Tarnowo Pałuckie Poland

photo portrait of a smiling woman with a baseball cap.

Resident Brudzyń Poland

a color photograph with a view through a chain link fence to a memorial stone.

Stalag IIIc WWII Allied Prisoner of War camp Kostrzyn nad Odrą Poland

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