The Lens

The Sidney Project is an archive exhibition of photopolymer prints and other ephemera, resulting in a series of three books that document the architecture, history, and personal stories of the people who have lived at 2878, 2880, and 2930 Sidney Avenue in Camp Washington in Cincinnati, Ohio. A neighborhood that once cultivated a deep sense of community amongst the 21,000 residents during the 1920s and 30s now only has 1,234 people residing there. With much of the residential housing stock demolished as a result of the construction of Interstate 75, parking needs, and general blight, this exhibition focuses on three still-standing structures... Continue reading Lacey Haslam: The Sidney Project

Student Reflections highlights artwork by current Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) students working with lens-based materials and equipment. The exhibition is a juried open call, available exclusively to AAC's current student body. Student Reflections allows the public to gain insight into the perspective of college art students in the contemporary age.

Student Reflections presents selected artwork by AAC students and welcomes guest judge Vikesh Kapoor, whose work is also featured in the Art Academy’s Pearlman Gallery show, Deeply Rooted.

Willy Castellanos’ post-documentary practice emerged from the photographic record he made in Havana, Cuba, during the 1994 Rafter Crisis. Despite the scarcity of 35mm film in the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Castellanos photographed complete sequences of events that included the construction of the rafts, farewell rituals, and scenes of crowds launching into the sea. Between August and September 1994, over 35,000 Cubans embarked toward the United States on hand-built rafts in what became one of the most dramatic exoduses in contemporary history.

A decade ago, the exhibition Exodus: Alternate... Continue reading Willy Castellanos: Exodus. Alternate Documents, 1994–2024

An extension of Bridges Not Walls, an arts and culture exchange program, Through A Stranger’s Eyes brings together two Cuban and two American artists who met in Havana, Cuba, in 2017. The exhibition includes photographs and narrative components of the Cubans’ journey to the United States and the Americans’ impression of Havana after dozens of trips and thousands of photographs taken during their visits. From the perspective of the Americans, M. Katherine Hurley and Jens Rosenkrantz Jr., Cuba is a time capsule of the 1950s with old cars, crumbling buildings, empty shelves, and long lines. Having relocated to the United States,... Continue reading Through A Stranger’s Eyes

Years ago, Cuban-born artist Juan-Si González traveled through Missouri and stumbled on a sign: “Burger King, Cuba, 3 Miles.” The ironic juxtaposition led him to investigate. He later found 16 small towns called Cuba in the United States, most founded around the time of the Spanish-American War. Born out of that surprising discovery, Looking for Cuba Inside is a multimedia installation that moves like a travel diary along the walls of the gallery. It is a montage of documentary images and an absurd chronicle, oscillating constantly between memory, reality, reportage, and fiction.

The... Continue reading Juan-Si González: Looking for Cuba Inside