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Al Sol:

Biography - Stella Johnson

The work of photographer Stella Johnson has spanned editorial assignments, corporate projects, documentaries and personal artistic expressions. Grounded in her photography training at the San Francisco Art Insittute and her advanced degree in journalism from Boston University's College of Communication, Stella has gone on to work extensively in both the U. S. and overseas with commissions from The Ford Foundation, EarthWatch Institute and Continental Airlines and assignments from Time, Fortune and US News and World Report.

She received her first Fulbright Scholarship to Mexico in the winter of 2003-2004 to contribute to Anthropologist Lourdes Arizpe's project "Intangible
Heritage of Mexico". She returned to Mexico in 2006 as a Fullbright Senior Specialist, teaching documentary photography and visual anthropology at the Regional Center for Multidisciplinary Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Cuernavaca. In 2008, she was awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant to teach in Ecuador. Major New England work includes two documentary projects on homelessness and one on midwifery. Other documentary projects include studies in urban development (for the Ford Foundation,) photo-essays on a Mennonite settlement in Norfolk, Connecticut, and the National Center of Afro-American Artists' annual performance of Langston Hughes' Black Nativity, both for Yankee Magazine.

Traveling on assignment has taken her to Africa, South and Central America, and Mexico. She has documented the progress of rural development programs in Mexico for the Ford Foundation, UNIFEM, and the Inter-American Foundation. For Continental Airlines she has photographed colonial architecture in Mexico, the ancient Mayan City of Tikal in Guatemala, and the tropical rainforests in Costa Rica. Stella has participated in two Earthwatch Institute projects: In Paraguay she documented anthropologists studying an endangered indigenous culture, and in Cameroon she recorded the attempt by medical personnel to eradicate intestinal parasites among nomadic Muslim tribes

Stella's personal work has been recognized by a New England Foundation for the Arts, Cultural Collaborative Artist-In-Residence Grant, a grant from The International Music and Art Foundation, and has been highlighted in dozens of shows in the U.S. and Mexico. She is best known for her work in developing countries, where she has focused on the lives of women and their families. Her photographs of the Gbaya and Fulbe tribes are displayed in a permanent exhibition in Djohong, Cameroon. Stella teaches at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and Boston University, and was a Visiting Scholar at the School of Visual Arts at Northeastern University in 2006. Stella also offers one-on-one mentoring to documentary photographers looking to hone their craft. 

Grants:

  • 2008-Fulbright Senior Specialist, Riobamba, Ecuador
  • 2006-The International Music and Art Foundation, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
  • 2006-Fulbright Senior Specialist, Morelos, Mexico
  • 2003-2004-Fulbright Scholar, Morelos, Mexico, Crim-UNAM. Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
  • 1994-Cultural Collaborative Artist-In-Residence Grant. New England Foundation for the Arts, Boston, MA

Awards :

  • 2008-Silver Award,  B&W Magazine Single Image
  • 2007-Top 50 Critical Mass 2006
  • 2007-Women In Photography International Competition, Honorable Mention
  • 1997-Finalist, Ernst Haas Awards, The Maine Photographic Workshops, Rockport, Maine
  • 1994-American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP) Big Picture Award, Boston, MA

Exhibitions:

  • “Al Sol” The University of Maine Museum of Art, Bangor, Maine. July 18-August 4, 2008.
  • “Al Sol” The Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography, Turner Falls, MA. March 20 - June 15, 2008.
  • “Al Sol” Silver Eye Online Gallery Exhibition, 2008.
  • “Texas Photographic Society National Competition 16” opens September 10, 2008 at the St. Edward’s University Art Gallery in Austin, TX. Exhibition travels to Center for Contemporary Art in Abilene, TX, Fotofest in Houston, Texas, Calumet Photo Art Gallery in New York City and San Francisco, CA through June, 2008. Juried by Michelle Dunn Marsh.
  • “Faculty Art Exhibit.” The School of Education gallery spaces, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. May 10- June 30, 2007.
  • “Interactions” Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, Co. May 4-31, 2007. Juror Alison Nordstrom, Curator of Photography at the George Eastman House
  • “12 Visual Tributes and 3 Testimonies.”  Collective Exhibition, University Cultural Center, University of Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, March 2007.
  • “ Speaking Truth to Power.” Stebbins Art Gallery, Cambridge, MA. October, 2006.
  • “Dancing With Turkeys.” The Galletly Gallery, New Hampton School, New Hampton, NH. August 29-September 29, 2006. Solo Exhibition.
  • “Dancing With Turkeys.” Solo Exhibition. Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge, MA. June 16- July 16, 2006.
  • “Cipactli.” Buba Café, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Group Show. March 25- April 25, 2006.
  • “The First Multidisciplinary Conference on Mexico/US Immigration:  Multimedia in the Border Zones.” Filmoteca de la UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico. 26 February 2006.
  • “Living in Other Worlds.” Milton Academy, Nesto Gallery, Milton, MA. October 17-November 18, 2005.
  • “Intangible Cultural Heritage.” Jardin Borda, Cultural Institute of Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Collaborative exhibition. September 1-September 30, 2005.
  • “Elusive Photography.” Impromptu…A Gallery for Fine Art, Huntington, New York. June 10-27, 2005.
  • “Humanity Is One.” Spencer Lofts Gallery, Chelsea, MA. June 1-30, 2005.  Solo exhibition.
  • “Photographic Resource Center Members’ Exhibition.” Boston MA. May-June 2005.
  • Juror, Alison Devine Nordstrom, Curator of Photographs, George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, NY.
  • “ Humanity Is One.” Casa Tomada, Mexico City, Mexico. March 10, 2005-April 10, 2005. Solo exhibition.
  • “Life Is One.” Gallery Frida Kahlo, UVyD, Mexico City, Mexico. March 14-30, 2005. Solo exhibition.
  • “Living in Other Worlds.” Endicott College, J. David Broudo Gallery of Art, Beverly, MA. January 31- February 28, 2005. Group show.
  • “Humanity Is One.” Tepotzlan, Tlayacapan, Zacualpan de Amilpas, Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico. July-October, 2004. Solo exhibition. Traveling exhibition celebrating 10th anniversary of cultural protection assigned by UNESCO to convents.
  • “From Cape Cod To Cape Of Hope.” Fidelity Investments Advertising Agencies Gallery, Boston, MA. Solo exhibition. July, 2002. Solo exhibition.
  • “Homage to Tina Modotti.” International Day of Women, Mexico City, Mexico. Group show. March 8, 2002.
  • Photographic Resource Center Member’s Exhibition (juried), Boston MA. May-June1996.
  • “Day of the Dead.” Orange County Center of Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA.  Group show. November, 1994.
  • “Mujeres Mexico.” Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA. Solo exhibition. September, 1992.
  • “Mexican Montage.” Colortek Gallery, Boston, MA. Solo exhibition. Spring, 1990.

Publications:

  • Black & White Magazine. Portfolio Spotlight.  Issue 50, April 2007.
  • Shots 96. Summer 2007
  • Los Retos Culturales de Mexico by Lourdes Arizpe,  Ed. CRIM/ Miguel Angel Porrua, Mexico, 2004.
  • Banner for Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World Awards, Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, Burlington, VT. August, 2004.
  • Maternal Newborn Nursing: A Family-Centered Approach. Ed. By Sally B. Olds, et al. New York: Addison-Wesley Nursing, A Division of The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., 1996.