Available May 31, 2024 in print and online with essays by Carmen Lizardo and Betty Wilde-Biasiny

Bronx, NY - En Foco is pleased to announce Tyrone Santana Copeland as curator of its summer issue of Nueva Luz and an accompanying exhibition. Since 1975, the journal has annually featured the work of early-career photographers of color selected to receive the En Foco Photography Fellowship. This issue includes essays by photographer and artist Carmen Lizardo entitled "Culture Belongs to All: (re)Constructing of Identity Through Visual Narratives" and Betty Wilde-Biasiny's "Reaching Critical Mass" which recounts the history of the influential newsletter Critical Mass and its current archiving for public access.

The 2024 En Foco Photography Fellowship awardees include Cali M. Banks, Jordana Bermúdez, Avijit Halder, Andrew Kung, Oji Haynes, Shina Peng, Sharon Miller, Lieh Sugai, Jennifer Teresa Villanueva, and Chen Xiangyun. Now in its fourth year, the Media Arts Work-in-Progress Award engages the expanding language of photography and consideration for artists of color engaged in more inclusive forms of media-making. This year's recipients include Laura Dudu, Deshon Leek, Ambika Raina, David Sainté, and Tansy Xiao.

The accompanying exhibition, Translucent Tethers: 2024 Fellowship Exhibition, also curated by Santana Copeland, will be on view from June 13 to July 24, 2024, at WallWorks NYC, 15 Canal Place, The Bronx, New York, 10451. An opening reception will take place on Thursday, June 13, from 5 to 8 PM, where the new issue will be available for purchase. Viewing is available from Tuesday to Thursday by booking an appointment at https://www.wallworksny.com/book-online or emailing [email protected].

About the curator:

Tyrone Santana Copeland (aka SantanaCopeland) is a conceptual photographer and arts educator/administrator. He studied film and electronic arts at Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York) and later transitioned to photography, earning an MFA from LIU Post (Brookville, New York). He has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including being a 2017 En Foco Photography Fellow. He also holds an MA in education from Teachers College, Columbia University (New York, New York). Tyrone is currently the School, Youth and Group Programs Manager at The New York Transit Museum (Brooklyn, New York).

About the essayists:

Betty Wilde-Biasiny is a distinguished painter and printmaker. Holding an MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from Ohio University, she received the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Individual Artist Award in 2000. A tenured Professor of Visual Arts at SUNY Empire State University (Newburgh, New York), Wilde-Biasiny has taught studio art, art history, and museum studies since 1998. She was the Assistant Director/Editor for En Foco from 1988–98.

Carmen Lizardo was born in the Dominican Republic. She is a multidisciplinary artist combining experimental processes, printmaking, and drawing, using digital media, video, and non-silver photography. Through an autobiographical lens, she examines and acknowledges the histories and narratives of marginalized voices in societal discourses on belonging, with a particular focus on women of color. She holds a BFA and MFA from Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, New York) and has received fellowships and awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Academy of Arts and Letters, En Foco, Arts Mid-Hudson, Women's Studio Workshop, and the Sustainable Arts Foundation.