Cara Romero, Alika No. 2, 2024, archival pigment print. © Cara Romero. Image courtesy of the artist.

PHOENIX, AZ (December 9, 2025) – In early 2026, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) will present the landmark exhibition Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light), the first major museum exhibition dedicated solely to the artist’s evocative work. Romero blends fine art and editorial styles to challenge dominant narratives of Indigenous decline and erasure while disrupting preconceived notions about what it means to be a Native American. Organized by the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Panûpünüwügai (Living Light) features more than 60 iconic large-scale photographs spanning a decade of the artist’s career, including a new, never-before-exhibited work commissioned by PhxArt to be created by Cara Romero—a project based in regional, collaborative storytelling with Native peoples. Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light) will be on view at PhxArt from February 28 through June 28, 2026.

“Phoenix Art Museum is profoundly honored to debut Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light) during this historic moment for the institution, as we expand our commitment to presenting the most innovative voices shaping contemporary art today,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “Romero stands at the forefront of contemporary photography, masterfully weaving materials, myths, and Indigenous practices with urgent contemporary realities. Though rooted in her personal story and Indigenous futurism, her work speaks universally to themes of women’s empowerment, environmental stewardship, and the role of landscape in shaping identity. This exhibition represents a milestone for our communities to experience the work of a groundbreaking artist with deep cultural and historical ties to the Desert Southwest.” 

Cara Romero (b. 1977; Chemehuevi/American) is a renowned photographer known for dramatic fine-art photography that examines Indigenous life in contemporary contexts. An enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Romero was raised between the contrasting settings of the rural Chemehuevi reservation in Mojave Desert, California, and the urban sprawl of Houston, Texas. Informed by her identity, Romero’s visual storytelling represents Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural memory, countering dominant narratives of Native American experiences and showcasing the diversity within Indigenous nations and communities. 

“Having a contemporary photography exhibit at Phoenix Art Museum marks a radical turn in my journey as a Native American female photographer,” said Cara Romeo. “I am excited for the work to be integrated into an American Art museum as an intercultural conversation– I’m especially excited that PhxArt is the closest major American Art institution to my homelands on the Chemehuevi Valley Indian Reservation. 

This is my first solo exhibition touring the United States, and Phoenix is the second of four venues. It feels like such an epic venue for this exhibition. My hope is that together, we open people’s minds to the many fascinating diversities of Native people and stories.”

The exhibition’s title, Panûpünüwügai, translates to “living light,” and has multiple meanings: the spirit of light, the way light interacts with human beings, and how both light and people are enlivened through these interactions. Featured works, including site-specific installations and large-scale photographs, are organized across five thematic sections: 

California Desert and Mythos draws inspiration from Romero’s experiences of growing up in the Chemehuevi Valley in Southeastern California along the Colorado River, which shaped her worldview and work. Throughout this section, visitors encounter four young boys who represent not only themselves, but also time-traveling spirit beings of the landscape, reminding audiences that neither time nor the rich ecological and social history of the Mojave Desert are linear. 

In (Re)Imagining Americana Drawing, Romero upends stereotypical images and stories from pop culture and mass media that often define Native-American experiences and opportunities. Working with various collaborators to produce the works featured in this section, Romero riffs on images of American Girl dolls and Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, among other mainstream imagery. 

Rematriation: Empowering Indigenous Women showcases images that position female subjects in spaces of power. Created from a maternal and biographical perspective, these works are informed by the women leaders Romero has encountered in her own life and community. 

Environmental Racism spotlights some of Romero’s most memorable images, speaking to historical and contemporary issues of resource extraction and its impacts on indigenous ecosystems. These photographic dreamscapes—many of which were created underwater—encourage reflection on the relationships among humanity, place, the landscape, and extractive economies.

Throughout Ancestral Futures, Romero’s otherworldly images speculate on playful contexts but assert the sacred role of ancestral knowledges and place-based intelligences in building healthy futures, not only for Indigenous peoples, but for everyone. These works are informed by the artist’s love of magical realism and center narratives such as the life-giving power of women, the intelligence of corn, and the importance of telling stories that are both complicated and hopeful. Within this section, viewers will encounter the introduction of a newly commissioned work that Romero will create by drawing on her relationships with Indigenous community members from the Phoenix region. They will be invited to collaborate on a monumental photographic work that interweaves elements and imagery of desert ecology with the notion of nonlinear time, yielding a piece that will honor ancestors and their deep knowledge of the land while asserting the vitality of Native-American communities now and into the future. Following its debut in the PhxArt presentation of Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light), the work will become a part of the Museum’s permanent collection numbering more than 21,000 objects, building upon the institution’s existing strength in contemporary photographic portraiture. 

“Cara Romero is one of the leading image-makers of our time,” said Emilia Mickevicius, the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography at Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography, who coordinated the exhibition’s presentation at PhxArt. “I’m eager for our audiences to connect with her practice and unique storytelling through this immersive, captivating installation.” 

The exhibition curated by Jami Powell, PhD, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art at the Hood Museum of Art and is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, and Radius Books. The publication features contributions by Jami Powell, notable scholars including Suzan Shown Harjo (Mvskoke), former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), and Jordan Poorman Cocker (Kiowa and Tongan), Curator of Indigenous Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, among others. The catalogue will be available at the Phoenix Art Museum Store.

For high-resolution photography for Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light) or to request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum kaylee.weyrauch@phxart.org or press@phxart.org.   

About the Exhibition

Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light) is organized by the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, and curated by Jami Powell, PhD, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art at the Hood Museum of Art. It is generously supported by leadership gifts from Claire Foerster and Daniel S. Bernstein, Thomas A. and Georgina T. Russo, and support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Charles Gilman Family Endowment, and a gift from Karen Miller Nearburg and Charles Nearburg. The exhibition’s presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Emilia Mickevicius, PhD, the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography. Its Phoenix premiere is made possible by the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation, Every Page Foundation, and John and Lois Rogers. Additional support provided by Prime Steak Concepts. Contemporary art exhibitions and projects are made possible in part by the Rob Walton, Jordan Rose, and Rose Law Group Fund for Contemporary Art. All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.

Admission is free for Museum Members and youth aged five and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 8 pm, made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix and First Fridays from 5 – 8 pm, made possible by APS and Lexus, with additional support from Arizona Community Foundation.  For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, a monthly live-music series, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About Cara Romero 

Cara Romero, b. 1977, Inglewood, Calif. (American / Chemehuevi), is an artist known for dramatic fine art photography that examines Indigenous life in contemporary contexts. An enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Romero was raised between contrasting settings: the rural Chemehuevi reservation in Mojave Desert, California, and the urban sprawl of Houston, Texas. Informed by her identity, Romero’s visceral approach to representing Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural memory, collective history, and lived experiences results in a blending of fine art and editorial styles. Maintaining a studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Romero regularly participates in Native American art fairs and panel discussions and was featured on PBS’s Craft in America in 2019. Her award-winning work is included in numerous public and private collections, domestically and internationally, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Guggenheim Museum, Amon Carter Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, and Forge Project Collections, among others. Romero travels between Santa Fe and the Chemehuevi Valley Indian Reservation, where she maintains close ties to her tribal community and ancestral homelands.

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Terrell Groggins, Gabriels and Shields Square Up Round 1, 2018, printed 2021. Inkjet print. Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Center for Creative Photography Photojournalism Fund, 2021.01.06. © Terrell Groggins My Art My Rules

PHOENIX, AZ (September 30, 2025) – This winter, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) presents Muscle Memory: Lens on the Body, an exploration of the ways in which photographers across history have represented and reckoned with the human body and its associated dimensionality, evolution, and politicization. Drawn primarily from the collection of the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona in Tucson, along with select works from the PhxArt Collection and those by Arizona-based contemporary artists, the exhibition showcases more than 80 wide-ranging works that contend with the body’s form, physicality, and limits. Muscle Memory: Lens on the Body will be on view at PhxArt from January 24, 2026, through June 28, 2026.

“Muscle Memory: Lens on the Body offers a view into the human experience that is both compelling and relatable,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “From sports imagery and self-portraiture to abstract compositions, this exhibition considers all aspects of the body in every stage of evolution. We are excited to once again work with the Center for Creative Photography to present a captivating collection of photographic works, shown in conversation with new acquisitions to the Phoenix Art Museum Collection by contemporary voices.”

Spanning works captured from the 19^th century through the present, Muscle Memory offers a compelling look at the dynamism of the human body with works by artists such as:

• John Gutmann
• Richard Avedon
• Brian Weil
• Lauren Greenfield
• Rosalind Fox Solomon 
• Anne Noggle
• Frances Murray
• Walter Iooss
• Diane Arbus
• Manuel Álvarez Bravo
• Imogen Cunningham
• Arno Rafael Minkkinen
• Roy DeCarava
• Harold Edgerton
• Aaron Siskind 
• Charles “Teenie” Harris
• W. Eugene Smith
• Leon Borensztein 
• Jan Groover
• Ittetsu Morishita
• John Coplans
• Robert Mapplethorpe
• Eadweard J. Muybridge
• Graciela Iturbide
• Barbara Crane
• Nan Goldin
• William Camargo
• Marcus Chormicle
• Mehrdad Mirzaie
• Claire A. Warden
• Zhang Huan

The exhibition’s works are presented across four thematic sections that offer varying views on embodiment and how our bodies at once empower and limit us. Surface Tension considers skin as a surface and what is possible to know about a person by looking at them, including how a subject’s outward appearance can exist in tension with their interiority. Works in this section by artists such as Diane Arbus and John Gutmann spotlight individuals who have changed their outward appearance with tattoos, makeup, and other markings, exploring the human impulse to use the body as a canvas for personal expression. 

Kinetic Beauty features the body in motion, with a specific focus on sports imagery. It explores how bodies interact and take shape in athletic settings, particularly those that require high levels of physical performance, endurance, and even contortion. Works in this section include images of bodybuilders by Robert Mapplethorpe and Brian Weil and a photograph by Walter Iooss featuring Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, as well as abstract studies of bodily motion associated with physical training, strength, and aspiration. 

Know Thyself highlights the work of photographers who have used the medium of photography, often in the form of serial self-portraiture, to grapple with issues of aging, beauty standards, and self-image. Featured artists in this section include John Coplans, Lauren Greenfield, Anne Noggle, and Rosalind Fox Solomon.

Enduring presents works by Nan Goldin, Ittetsu Morishita, Marcus Chormicle, and others depicting the body as witness and at its physical limits, whether due to physical exertion, illness, injury, or even death and absence, prompting viewers to consider the concepts of endurance and survival.

“Muscle Memory invites audiences to consider the body’s ability to morph in response to and bear traces of lived experience, while also discovering how photographers have used the medium as a tool for self-knowledge and exploration,” said Emilia Mickevicius, the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography at Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography. “Works by living Arizona-based artists Claire A. Warden, Mehrdad Mirzaie, Marcus Chormicle, and Anh-Thuy Nguyen infuse the presentation with contemporary perspectives on the body’s legibility, how it holds memory, and how it becomes a site of negotiation between selves and others, both extending and departing from the concerns of the historical works in the exhibition.” 

For high-resolution photography for Muscle Memory: Lens on the Body or to request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org and kaylee.weyrauch@phxart.org.  

About the Exhibition

Muscle Memory: Lens on the Body is co-organized by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography. The exhibition is curated by Emilia Mickevicius, PhD, the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography. 

All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.

Admission is free for Museum Members and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 8 pm, made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, a monthly live-music series, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About the Center for Creative Photography (CCP): 

Celebrating 50 years in 2025, the Center for Creative Photography is the largest institution in North America devoted to the research and exhibition of photography. At the heart of CCP’s holdings are more than 300 archives of photographers, scholars, galleries, and organizations, complemented by an unparalleled collection of some 120,000 fine prints. In addition, CCP focuses on preserving and stewarding its holdings through a robust conservation program and digital imaging unit. The Center owns and manages copyrights for a selection of archive artists and supports licensing and image file delivery to publishers, authors, educators, and filmmakers worldwide. As unit of Arizona Arts at the University of Arizona, the Center maintains a robust calendar of free exhibitions and programs for the public, serves students and faculty through curricular engagements, and awards several international research fellowships annually.

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PHOENIX (October 25, 2023) – This winter, Phoenix Art Museum presents Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen, showcasing the remarkable, large-scale work of global contemporary artist Manjari Sharma. Organized by the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama, the exhibition features Sharma’s intricate photographic portraits from her Darshan series, paired alongside historical sculptural objects from the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art, many of which are on view for the first time. Together these works explore issues of identity, multiculturalism, and personal mythology. Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen will be on view from December 16, 2023 through April 14, 2024 in the Katz Wing at Phoenix Art Museum.

“Phoenix Art Museum is proud to present Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen as the inaugural exhibition in a newly renovated temporary exhibition space located on the third floor of the Katz Wing,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “This exhibition will acquaint our visitors with Manjari Sharma, an outstanding contemporary artist who is taking classic Hindu images and reimagining them through the photographic medium, in conversation with a selection of sculptural objects from the Birmingham Museum of Art collection. Expanding Darshan further illuminates our institutional approach of pairing historical works of art with modern and contemporary works, thus deepening connections and relationships with diverse and multi-generational communities. Expanding Darshan is accompanied by a robust series of arts-engagement programming, highlighting the tenets and cultural practices of Hinduism, the third largest religion worldwide.” 

Based in Los Angeles, Sharma was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and creates work rooted in photographic portraiture that addresses issues of identity, multiculturalism, and personal mythology. The series’ name refers to the Sanskrit word Darshana, which means “sight,” “vision,” or “appearance.” In the Hindu faith, ‘darshan’ refers to the experience of seeing or witnessing a deity, spiritual object, or holy person in either real or imagined form. True darshan is not simply a voyeuristic relationship—it is a mutual interaction between viewer and subject that results in a powerful form of worship.

To bring her Darshan series to fruition, Sharma worked across continents to organize and manage a large team of models and craftspeople, including prop builders, makeup artists, art directors, painters, carpenters, jewelry experts, and assistants, whose labor and expertise informed her photographic recreations of nine Hindu deities in temple settings. These images were created with custom fabrication and have been featured in The New York Times, Vice Magazine, and Los Angeles Times, among others.

“My practice is shaped by my cultural curiosity about the inner landscape of the human mind and its inextricable, elemental, and sacred relationship to ritual and mythology,” said Sharma. “I use my lens of introspection to conceptually collage from scriptures of yesterday juxtaposing them with how they transpire into everyday narratives of today. Darshan was the culmination of my deep-seated interest in studying, questioning, and celebrating these epic states of human imagination, history, performance, and transformation.”

In dialogue with these contemporary images, the exhibition presents much earlier sculptural objects from the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art, many of which are on view to the public for the first time. These works date as early as the 7th century and offer waves of stylistic and regional iterations—from both South and Southeast Asia—of these same nine Hindu deities. Together with Sharma’s works, they amplify ongoing conversations about the inextricable relationship between art and religion, and how each generation of contemporary artists continues to cull inspiration from their personal experiences, individual cultures, and spiritual practices to refresh and re-envision images from an earlier history.

“Amplified by Sharma’s extraordinary photographs, this exhibition demonstrates—over centuries—a larger sphere of exchange throughout South and Southeast Asia of magnificent shared visual and textual sources not only for Hinduism, but also for Buddhism, Jainism, and even aspects of Islamic religious traditions as practiced throughout the regions,” said Katherine Anne Paul, PhD, the Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring photographs by Sharma and historical works from the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art. The publication serves as an accessible primer to the arts of Hinduism by introducing nine of the most significant deities of the Hindu pantheon and their contemporary relevance in art and faith. The book also places Sharma in conversation with renowned curator Bridget Bray of Asia Society Texas Center, content that provides insight into the contemporary thoughts, challenges, and opportunities Sharma generated through her Darshan series. Angela May contextualizes other forms of contemporary artistic practice in Angkor, Cambodia, which respond to the UNESCO world heritage site. Finally, select case studies offer insights into institutional transparency, connoisseurship, and provenance for specific works featured in the volume.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.

About the Exhibition
Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen is organized by Birmingham Museum of Art. The exhibition’s presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Janet Baker, PhD, Curator Emerita of Asian Art, and Rachel Sadvary Zebro, associate curator for collections, at Phoenix Art Museum, in collaboration with Katherine Anne Paul, PhD, the Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen is made possible through the generosity of Men’s Arts Council, with additional support from E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and Vermaland, LLC.

All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty military, and their immediate families; youth aged 5 and younger; and Maricopa County Community Colleges students. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

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PHOENIX (May 31, 2023) – Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) and the University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography (CCP) announce Emilia Mickevicius, PhD, as the newly appointed Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography. Mickevicius will divide her time between the two institutions, working with CCP’s world-renowned collections to curate exhibitions that will be presented in Phoenix Art Museum’s Doris and John Norton Gallery for the Center for Creative Photography. She comes to PhxArt and CCP from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), where she has served as curatorial assistant in the photography department since 2019. Mickevicius begins her role on June 5, 2023.

“We are thrilled to welcome Emilia Mickevicius to Phoenix Art Museum,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “The Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography position is integral to our valued and longstanding partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, and with her significant experience in researching and organizing exhibitions for institutions such as SFMOMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, and RISD Museum, Mickevicius will bring invaluable expertise to the Museum’s photography exhibitions.”

“Dr. Mickevicius has a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of photography and is invested in making the Center’s collection and the resulting exhibitions engaging, educational, and welcoming to everyone who comes to Phoenix Art Museum,” said Rebecca A. Senf, PhD, chief curator at the Center for Creative Photography. “Her authentic passion and contagious enthusiasm for photographs is a delight to experience.”

 As Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography, Mickevicius will work with CCP’s renowned photography collection to curate exhibitions for Phoenix Art Museum as part of an ongoing partnership between the two Arizona institutions, which began in 2006. The mission of the innovative collaboration, made possible thanks to the generosity of Mr. And Mrs. John R. Norton, is to bring vibrant photography exhibitions, featuring works from the Center’s unparalleled collections, to new and larger audiences. Founded in 1975 by renowned photographer Ansel Adams and Dr. John Schaefer, then-president of the University of Arizona, CCP is the premier research collection of American photographic fine art and archives. Over the past two decades, PhxArt and CCP have presented nearly 40 exhibitions that have fostered deeper engagement and understanding of some of the most important photographic works of the 20th century among local, regional, and national audiences.

“I am delighted to bring my passion and expertise in the field of photography to this role of Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography, and I look forward to building upon the history of collaboration and partnership between Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography,” said Mickevicius. “I am excited to work with the Center’s celebrated collection, develop new research and scholarship about its significant holdings, and create dynamic programming that engages, educates, and inspires Museum visitors year-round.”

Emilia Mickevicius is an art historian and curator who specializes in 20th century and contemporary U.S. photography. In her role as curatorial assistant in SFMOMA’s photography department, she organized and contributed to exhibitions such as Inside Out: Selections from the Sack Photographic Trust (2023); Sightlines: Photographs from the Collection (2022); A Living for Us All: Artists and the WPA (2022); and Kinship: Photography and Connection (2023), as well as the forthcoming presentation, Sea Change: Photographs from the Collection (2023). Prior to joining SFMOMA, Mickevicius held positions in curatorial departments at the Art Institute of Chicago and RISD Museum. In 2019, she received her doctoral degree in the History of Art and Architecture from Brown University, where her dissertation focused on the 1975 George Eastman Museum landscape photography exhibition, New Topographics. Her research has been supported by the Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Center for Creative Photography, and the Getty Research Institute. She received her undergraduate degree in art history from the University of Chicago.

The next photography exhibition organized by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography will premiere in the Museum’s Doris and John Norton Gallery for the Center for Creative Photography in December 2023. More information will be available soon at phxart.org and ccp.arizona.edu.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About the Center for Creative Photography

The Center for Creative Photography, at the University of Arizona is the premier research collection of American photographic fine art and archives. The Center opened in 1975, following a meeting between University President John Schaefer and Ansel Adams. Beginning with the archives of five living master photographers—Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind, and Frederick Sommer—the collection has grown to include 270 archival collections. Among these are some of the most recognizable names in 20th-century North American photography, including W. Eugene Smith, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Edward Weston, and Garry Winogrand. Altogether there are more than eight million archival objects in the Center’s collection, including negatives, work prints, contact sheets, albums, scrapbooks, correspondence, writings, audiovisual materials, and memorabilia. To learn more about the Center for Creative Photography, visit ccp.arizona.edu, or call 520.621.7968.

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PHOENIX (September 11, 2019) – Phoenix Art Museum announces Audrey Sands as the Museum’s new Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography, a joint appointment with the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona. Sands will divide her time between the two institutions, working with CCP’s world-renowned collections to curate exhibitions that will be presented in the Museum’s Doris and John Norton Gallery for the Center for Creative Photography. She began her role with CCP on August 26, 2019, and her first day at the Museum will be September 23, 2019.

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