The Lens

Stories of the Infinite Sky places the artwork of Quebec-based photographer Meryl McMaster into the landscape of southwest Ohio. Blown up as semi-transparent tapestries, this outdoor exhibition presents the artist’s photographic epics within the plant and animal life of Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park. Drawing inspiration from memories and cultural traditions related to her nêhiyaw (Plains Cree), Métis, Dutch, and Scottish ancestry, McMaster dons a new persona in each photograph. Seeing each one as its own theatrical performance, McMaster constructs a layered backstory with the props she crafts, the clothing and makeup designs she creates, and the culturally significant locations to which... Continue reading Meryl McMaster: Stories of the Infinite Sky

In 2022, Daniel McInnis began a photographic survey of elementary schools in the Toledo metropolitan area, documenting both the people—teachers, staff, and administrators—and the physical spaces these professionals inhabit. The project’s fosters a greater appreciation for the individual sacrifices made by elementary educators, as teachers continue to struggle with what American communities have come to expect: low salaries, long hours, scant resources, and degraded facilities.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought on a fresh set of challenges that have not abated: anger directed at teachers for "indoctrinating" students; vilification of diversity-related teaching, much of which began... Continue reading Daniel McInnis: Elementary

CONCEPT and CODA presents photography by emerging artist Lydia Masset and established artist Ron Hoffman. Masset's conceptualized content is viewer dependent, needing viewers to find and create meaning, while Hoffman's photography responds to itself through a coda of responsive poetry, where viewers are pulled into a reflexive discourse.

In "CONCEPT," Masset isolates serendipitous, contrived content in images that beg the viewer to ask “what's happening?” Her work is an exploration of the art form, a restatement of observations, and a call to viewers to see the unseen. The backstories transpire in the time and... Continue reading CONCEPT and CODA: Lydia Masset and Ron Hoffman

Yonder is a multi-stage, educational, photo-documentation program engaging the public (regional, national, and international) in a collaborative chronicling of the many ways horizons determine and evolve our quotidian understanding of the world. Beginning in August of 2022, and in support of Manifest Drawing Center’s photographic educational mission, the project includes two free workshops, two free public demonstrations on the conversion of digital photographs into analog black-and-white darkroom prints, a public multi-week showcase of the resultant works, and a printed book of the final, edited photographs. Continue reading Yonder

The Perspectives is a photo-based, mixed-media mural celebrating Black iconography, culture, expression, and joy. Produced in partnership by Mz. Icar, an anonymous, interdisciplinary art collective, and ArtWorks, this public artwork is informed by the collection of oral histories and archival photographic records from residents of Walnut Hills, a Cincinnati neighborhood with an incredibly rich Black history. The creation process includes neighborhood engagement and the employment of four local Youth Apprentices under the mentorship of both Mz. Icar and an ArtWorks Teaching Artist. This highly collaborative mural is a powerful record of Black voices and histories, past and present.... Continue reading Perspectives