Please join the Photo Department as we showcase the 2020 and 2022 senior Gertrude Käsebier Prize recipients - Caterina Maina '20 and Julia Underdah '23.

There will be a reception on Tuesday, March 21, from 4-6PM.

The show will be on display March 20 - 31, 2023.

Thanks to the generosity of a MassArt Photography Program supporter, the department has a set of prizes to offer to Photography majors each spring. As a whole, these prizes are known as the Gertrude Käsebier Prizes. Two are granted to extraordinary Photography sophomores, two are granted to excellent juniors, and one is granted to a uniquely accomplished graduating senior.

The senior applicants must submit a written statement setting forth a plan to pursue a body of work in a specific place over a period of at least six weeks. The purpose of the award is to enable the student to explore in depth a single place, and to have the experience of living in an unfamiliar landscape. The recipient will receive a $5,000 grant to fulfull their travel plans. They are invited to particpate in the Photography Department's annual Alumni Panel the following spring, and hold an exhibition of the work from their travels.

Con La Primavera - Caterina Maina '20

Con La Primavera, inspired by the poem by José Martí, focuses on the everyday lives of Cubans and showcases both the beauty and humanity of the people beyond the tourist attractions that we all see. Using a mixture of environmental portraits and landscapes, Caterina portrays the richness of the Cuban experience. She highlights their passion, love, and determination for their homeland. As a foreigner, her aim is to connect with Cubans and share their stories in an honest way. Contributing to a conversation about Cuba's ongoing struggles through this work. Caterina wishes to expand the notion that Cuba is more than just a tourist destination or an island trapped in the ways of the past. 

InstantNow - Julia Underdah '23

InstantNow includes photographs that come together in both domestic and exterior realms through self-portraits, still lifes, and landscapes. In this project Julia explores her mothers birthplace, Minas Gerais, Brazil, an environment that she is connected and disconnected to. With references to animals, Clarice Lispector’s mystical writings, the body, and the organic versus the manmade, Julia explores how one exists in a place both familiar and unfamiliar.