Ben Altman

benaltman123@gmail.com

+1 773 561 9660


Selected Awards

2023     New York State Council on the Arts   FY 2023 Artist Support Grant for I Own This Stolen Land

2022     Center for Photographic Art   Project Support Grant

                New York Foundation for the Arts   NYFA Fiscal Sponsorship for I Own This Stolen Land

2019     John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation   Fellowship

               New York Foundation for the Arts   NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship in Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design

               New York State Council on the Arts   Individual Artist Grant

               The Print Center   Philadelphia, PA   Honorary Council Award of Excellence

2018     Photolucida's Critical Mass   Finalist

               The Print Center’s 93rd Annual International Competition  Semi-finalist

2017     Photolucida's Critical Mass   Finalist 

               Meitar Award at Photo Is:rael  Shortlisted

2016     Silver Eye Center for Photography  Commendation Award  Fellowship 17 International Photography Competition

2015     Photolucida's Critical Mass   Top 50

               Houston Center for Photography   HCP Fellowship 2015

               Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY   Elmer Louis Award   65th Rochester-Fingerlakes  

               Schweinfurth Art Center   Auburn, NY   First Place Award, Made in New York 2015 

               The Print Center’s 89th. Annual International Competition   Semi-finalist

2014     Photolucida's Critical Mass  Finalist

                Soho Photo Gallery   New York, NY   Runner-up Award   Annual Photographic Competition 

                NY State Council for the Arts   Artist in Community Grant forTalk Tompkins  

2012      NYFA Fiscal Sponsorship   The More That Is Taken Away

                NYSCA    Electronic Media and Film Finishing Funds Grant   The More That Is Taken Away

                Sculpture Space, Utica, NY  Residency with 2X2 Collective


Selected Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions

2024     I Own This Stolen Land   ArtRage Gallery, Syracuse NY

2023    The More That Is Taken Away  Granary Arts, Ephraim, U.T.  In parallel with US Holocaust Museum traveling 

                exhibition Americans and the Holocaust at Snow College 

2017     Reverence   Dowd Gallery   SUNY Cortland   Cortland, N.Y.

               The More That Is Taken Away Sol Mednick Gallery, University of the Arts   Philadelphia, PA

               Dream Sofa 7   Stone Hill Quarry Sculpture Park   Cazenovia, NY

2016     Site/Sight   Light Work  Syracuse, NY

               Dark Passage: The More That Is TakenAway   Handwerker Gallery   Ithaca College, NY

               Seeing Memorials   Community School of Music and Arts   Ithaca, NY

2015     Site/Sight    Kopeikin Gallery   Los Angeles, CA

               HCP Fellowship Exhibition   Houston Center for Photography   Houston, TX

               Projects in Black and White    Corners Gallery    Ithaca, NY 

2014    Talk Tompkins   Tompkins County Public Library   Ithaca, NY   Sesquicentennial

2013     Say Peekskill   Peekskill Project V   Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, NY 

2011      Memory Mechanism   Community Art Partnership of Tompkins County Ithaca, NY 


Exhibitions with 2X2 Collective

2021         Unbalance of Power   Atrium Gallery   Corning Community College, Corning, NY

2013         2x2 Collective: double consciousness  Art Center of the Capital Region   Troy, NY

2012         skin hides   Gallery Aferro   Newark, NJ


Selected Group Exhibitions

2020    The View from Here   Ain’t Bad Magazine   Online exhibition

2019     The Qualities of LIGHT   The Center for Creative Photography   Tucson, Arizona

                Everything I Ever Learnt   Art at the ARB/Shutter Hub  Cambridge University

2018     Borders   Bridewell Theatre   London, UK

               Context 2018   Filter Space   Chicago, IL

2017     Artificial Things   Art at the ARB/Shutter Hub  Cambridge University, UK (featured artist)

               Old School: New School   Pingyao International Photo Festival, China (eight artists)

               Meitar Award Shortlist Exhibition   Photo Is:rael  Tel Aviv, Israel

               The Curated Fridge   Flash Forward Festival   Gallery Kafayas  Boston, MA

               Center Forward   The Center for Fine Art Photography   Fort Collins, CO

               Somerville Toy Camera Festival  Somerville, MA

               3rd Annual Group Show   Davis Orton Gallery   Hudson, NY

               Reclaiming Our Cultural Landscapes   Reclaim Festival, UK

               On Beauty   Humble Arts Foundation NY   Online exhibition

               All You Can Eat   Ain’t Bad Magazine   Online exhibition

2016    Critical Mass Top 50   Fotofestiwal Łódź, Poland

               People Who Came To My House   ArtRage Gallery   Syracuse, NY (curator/anchor)

               IPE 159 Royal Photographic Society London, UK and touring.

               FRESH 2016   Top Ten Finalist   Klompching Gallery  Brooklyn, NY

               22nd Juried Exhibition   Griffin Museum of Photography   Winchester, MA

2015      RESPOND!  Smack Mellon   Brooklyn, NY

                I-Thou    Kimmel Center Galleries, NYU   New York, NY

                65th Rochester-Fingerlakes Exhibition   Memorial Art Gallery   Rochester, NY

                Made in New York 2015   Schweinfurth Art Center   Auburn, NY

                8thAnnual International Juried Plastic Camera Show  RayKo   San Francisco, CA

2014     This May Have Happened   Filter Photo Festival   Chicago, IL

               The National: Best Contemporary Photography   Fort Wayne Museum of Art, IN

               Social Portraits: Six Photographers     Kirkland Art Center   Clinton, NY

               Fresh Air   Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Artspace64   New York, NY

2013      Illusive Self   Taller Boricua    New York, NY

2012      Constructed Ambiguity   City Without Walls   Newark, NJ

               The Fearless Eye   The Other New York Biennial   ArtRage Gallery   Syracuse, NY

                Dream Sofa 4   Saunders Farm Project   Collaborative Concepts   Garrison, NY 

                The More That Is Taken Away  Pratt MWP, Utica, NY 

                Citizens Are Encouraged to use the Pencils Provided   Tompkins County Public Library


Collections

                  Fort Wayne Museum of Art   Fort Wayne, Indiana

                  Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center   New York, NY

                  Candela Collection   Richmond, VA

                  Corporate collections


Publication

 2018       Void – The Hunger Project, Issue #4   The More That Is Taken Away  

                  Stone Canoe Journal   Photograph from Inside Out: An Expatriate’s Views

2017         Float Photo Magazine   Ben Altman “The Empty Centre”  Featured Interview

2016        BETA Developments in Photography 19  The More That Is Taken Away  

                  ARENA: The Australian Magazine of Left Commentary The More That Is Taken Away  

                  AllAboutPhoto.com   Ben Altman: Site/Sight and Memory Mechanism  Article by Ann Jastrab 

2014        Feature Shoot   Site/Sight   online magazine 

2013         Lenscratch   Site/Sight   online magazine


Education and Workshops

2016          Gatekeepers of the Art World   Sharon Louden    Creative Capital 

2014          Portrait photography workshop    Dawoud Bey  Center for Photography at Woodstock 

2014          Creative development workshop   Carrie Mae Weems   Filter Festival

2010          MARK Alumni Consultant Training    New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)

2009         MARK Professional Development    NYFA 

1976           BSc. Physics    University College London      


Work History                     

1984 – present   Self employed: at various times artist, photographer, sail designer, boat rigging, boat deliveries, theater rigger, etc

1996 – 2008        Crowley’s Yacht Yard, Chicago, IL

1986 – 1992          Sadin Photo Group, Chicago, IL, partner/photographer

1979 – 1982          Brookes and Gatehouse, marine instrument engineer, Lymington, UK and Los Angeles, CA

1976 – 1979          Marex, offshore oil oceanographic services and iceberg protection